In 1964, thirteen families made a decision to establish a Bible-based church called Westminster Chapel. Pastor Wilbur Antisdale led the growing fellowship in a rented funeral home in downtown Bellevue. By 1969 a chapel and education building were completed as the 500-member church began holding 2 worship services. Faced with large crowds and steady growth, the highly motivated congregation rallied in 1977 to buy additional land and begin plans for a new worship center, office and classroom building.
The first service in the main sanctuary was held in 1980 and three years later Pastor “A” retired. Mark Neuenschwander was called as Westminster’s second senior pastor and the church continued to grow. Having established a very strong world missions department, more and more ministries were launched to serve the spiritual, physical and relational needs of the congregation and surrounding region. Seeking to support and nurture churches and other Christian organizations, Westminster Chapel became a key Christian focal point for the region.
In 1993, Gary Gulbranson accepted the call to serve as the third senior pastor in Westminster Chapel’s history. Since then, he and his wife, Jorie, have helped the Chapel become an increasingly welcoming place to its congregation and visitors from surrounding Eastside communities, across the country and around the globe. Their mutual passion is to communicate the love of Christ in such a way that developing a personal relationship with Him becomes irresistible.
Our passion is to engage the changing needs of this community with God’s unchanging Word. We believe the Lord is leading us to respond to these immense changes. Westminster Chapel now finds itself at the center of an ethnically and culturally diverse urban center, with needs and challenges dramatically different from the suburban community of Bellevue just 20 years ago. With God’s blessing the work and ministry, Westminster Chapel will continue to help change thousands of lives and eternities in the days to come.