Greetings, Dear Christian friends! We are so thankful that you are able to join us in our celebration today! We’d like to take a brief moment to introduce you to our church and share with you how Orlando Bible Fellowship began, where we are, and where God is leading.

Pastor Willie Burrell Jr. is our founding Pastor. He is a native of Dallas, Texas who trusted Christ as his personal Savior on September 28, 1975 in Great Falls, Montana, while on active duty in the United States Air Force. So inspired by his new faith in Christ, Pastor Burrell felt compelled to pursue formal training in the study of God’s Word, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree (BA) from Denver Baptist Bible College in 1982 and a Master’s in Theology Degree (ThM) from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1988.

With a strong desire to evangelize the lost and educate saints in a deeper knowledge of the Word of God, Pastor Burrell went on to serve six years as a professor at the Southern Bible Institute in Dallas, Texas. He also served as the Minister of Christian Education and Youth Pastor at our mother church, Forest Hill Community Bible Church. He was instrumental in providing the foundation for Christian living and service in the lives of young men and women who would grow to be successful leaders in their communities.

In 1993, Pastor Burrell, began to feel the tug of the Lord to move to other fields of ministry and in the next year, he was approached by Dr. Rubin, S. Conner, Founder and President of Urban Evangelical Mission (U.E.M.), formerly known as Black Evangelistic Enterprise (B.E.E.). Dr. Conner asked Pastor Burrell to prayerfully consider planting a new church in Orlando, Florida. Along with his family, Pastor Burrell joined the U.E.M. team and relocated to Orlando in late December 1994, where they started Orlando Bible Fellowship.

The first Bible study was held in the Burrell’s home, in March of 1995. Shortly thereafter we began meeting at the Holiday Inn on 17-92, then later moved to a small store front in the South Chase area, where the church reached evangelistically to new families, consistently preaching and teaching the Word of God. After several months the Lord moved us to a downtown location on Colonial and Magnolia, where God blessed the church to see more souls come to saving faith in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Three years later, the church began meeting in various
areas and from house to house. In time, the Lord graciously opened a door for us to meet in the conference rooms here at Regal Mariner, a Christian owned business where Pastor Burrell serves as a Chaplain, with Marketplace Ministries (MPM).

With each move throughout the city, the Lord has blessed our personal evangelistic efforts and we have experienced appreciably more growth. Families have joined, served and in some cases moved on to other locations abroad but one thing that has remained constant is our commitment to the vision of Sharing the Joy of God’s Love through the Dynamic of His W.O.R.D. (WORSHIP, OUTREACH, RELATIONSHIPS and DISCIPLESHIP). Inspired by God’s love, we are dedicated to sharing the gospel of Christ with this lost world and we’ve seen souls won and lives changed as we continue the path God has led us on.

Ultimately our commitment is that all will grow in the knowledge of our Jesus Christ through a consistent study of His Word, and that serving together we will make a difference in bringing those in our community, city, state, and ultimately the world to a saving knowledge of Christ which will bring glory to God.