Knowing Christ Better and Making Him Known
Bear Creek Bible Church sits on the southern edge of Keller, just north of North Richland Hills, at 1555 N Tarrant Parkway. The congregation's purpose is captured in the motto that runs across everything the church does: to know Christ better and to make Him known. Members describe BCBC as a local, non-denominational, caring community of Christians who worship and follow the Lord Jesus Christ, holding that instruction from God's Word, evangelism, world missions, personal discipleship, fellowship, and service are essential to the church's purpose.
That purpose shapes both the preaching and the calendar. Each week, the church opens its doors for two distinct Sunday services, a midweek Focus Ministries hour, and a wide network of small groups, classes, and mission efforts that reach from the church parking lot to India, Mexico, East Africa, and beyond.
Two Sunday Services, One Sermon
Sunday mornings at BCBC revolve around a rhythm that puts the Bible at the center and gives families room to learn together. The first service begins at 8:30 a.m. and is set as a traditional worship service. The music leans toward hymns and beloved older songs, while still welcoming the congregation to sing new songs. At 9:50 a.m., classes begin for every age, including adults, students, and graded children's Sunday school. After class, families gather for a fellowship time in the Fellowship Area at 10:40 a.m., where coffee and juice are provided. The 11:00 a.m. service continues with a more contemporary musical style, using newer worship songs along with treasured hymns, but the biblical teaching is the same in both services.
Calibrate is the name BCBC gives its adult Sunday school hour. It is a variety of classes designed to equip adults, and a Newcomers' Class is offered for those new to the church. For families with younger children, Sunday School is offered at 9:50 a.m. with classes from age two-and-a-half through sixth grade, using the Brite curriculum. Children and Worship, the nursery, Preschool Children's Church, and Elementary Children's Church all run alongside the services, with secure check-in through KidCheck.
During the 11:00 service, elementary-aged children through third grade are dismissed after the musical portion of worship to a children's church program. The youth program, called Daybreak, also meets during the 9:50 a.m. Sunday school hour in the youth area and is taught by Youth Pastor Kyle Davison, with the goal of helping students see how Christianity effects everyday life.
Wednesday Nights at Focus Ministries
Wednesday evenings bring a second pulse of ministry called Focus Ministries, which runs from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. during the school year. Childcare is provided for babies and toddlers, allowing parents to attend their own studies while their youngest children are cared for. The children's offering is Awana, a Bible club for ages three through sixth grade that emphasizes Scripture memory, evangelism, discipleship, and games. Adults can choose between a Women's Bible Study and a Men's Bible Study, with classes meeting in different rooms around the campus.
For students in seventh through twelfth grade, Thursday nights are reserved for Lifegroups, which run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. during much of the school year. These small groups are rooted in 1 Thessalonians 2:8 and center on applying Scripture, sharing life, and supporting one another. The Thursday schedule is set so that students can serve in Awana on Wednesdays and still gather with peers on a separate night for deeper conversation and Bible study.
BCBC Kids: Awana, VBS, and Sunday Programs
Children's ministry at BCBC is overseen by Adam Scott, the Children's and Missions Pastor, with Children's Education Coordinator Sharon Campbell directing the education program and Nursery Coordinator Melisa Wolf overseeing the nursery. The team uses the Brite curriculum across graded Sunday school classes and adds age-specific components, including a class on Biblical Womanhood for fifth- and sixth-grade girls and a class on Four Principles of Manhood for fifth- and sixth-grade boys.
Preschool Children's Church, held during the 11:00 service, uses The Rhyme Bible and Joyful Life materials, and the elementary children's church uses Better Bible Teachers. Nursery is available during the 8:30 service, the 9:50 Sunday school hour, and the 11:00 service for children from birth through thirty months. All adult volunteers in BCBC Kids complete a background check, and check-in and check-out happen through the KidCheck system. Children who show signs of recent fever, undiagnosed rash, eye infections, or other illness are not admitted, so that the nursery and classrooms stay healthy for everyone.
The Awana club meets Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. and runs by club year. The 2026-2027 calendar begins in early September and includes three divisions: Cubbies for preschool three- and four-year-olds, Sparks for kindergarten through second grade, and Truth and Training for third through sixth grade. Daniel and Melissa Tomlin serve as Awana Commanders, and a dedicated email is staffed for questions about the program.
Vacation Bible School at BCBC is held the last full week of June, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and is open to children entering kindergarten through sixth grade. VBS 2027 is set for June 21 through 25.
Trail Life and American Heritage Girls
BCBC also charters two Christ-centered scouting programs that meet on Tuesday evenings. Trail Life USA Troop 22 is a scouting program for boys and young men, focused on adventure, character, and leadership with the aim of raising courageous young men who honor God, lead with integrity, serve others, and value outdoor adventure. The troop is led locally by Justin Ware.
For girls, the church charters American Heritage Girls Troop TX6122, a Christ-centered character and leadership development program. Families interested in joining the troop are directed to AHG's Find a Troop tool to register.
Students in 7th Through 12th Grade
The student ministry is for any current seventh through twelfth grader and is built around a simple phrase: love God, love others, live loved. The phrase comes from the Great Commandment in Matthew 22, with the addition of a third idea drawn from the truth that God's love for those who trust Christ is unchanging, unconditional, and unbreakable. The goal of the ministry is to help students understand what it looks like to be a Christ-follower in their context and to prepare them for the next stage of life.
Sunday morning is Daybreak in the youth area at 9:50 a.m., with teaching rooted in the Bible and shaped by the student ministry's eight core traits, along with occasional guest speakers. Thursday night is Lifegroups, where students gather in smaller settings to study, share, and pray for one another. The student ministry also runs summer camps, mission trips to Reynosa, game nights, fundraisers, and parties throughout the year. Communication with families happens through a weekly email and announcements on Sunday mornings, and the ministry maintains an Instagram presence and a YouTube stream for sermons and updates.
Women of the Word
Women's ministry at BCBC is led by Coordinator Jean Wood, supported by a Women's Ministry Committee that includes representatives in Bible study, finances, communications, mentorship, working women, fellowship, and retreat logistics. The ministry's stated goals are to grow spiritually through personal and group Bible study and prayer, to develop friendships through regular church attendance and activities, to serve the church body, to celebrate a relationship with Jesus Christ, and to declare His glory to all people.
These goals are pursued through Bible studies, retreats, a spring luncheon, a fall potluck, a Christmas tea, Baskets of Blessing, and other fellowship events. Wednesday morning and evening Bible studies are offered at 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. with childcare available by reservation, and some Saturday class options are scheduled during the year. Carolyn Salvesen oversees Bible study, and a monthly devotional titled To Encourage You is published by Tricia Milligan for women in the church.
A women's email list keeps members and attendees informed of prayer requests, news, and announcements. The list is internal and is not sold or rented.
Brothers in Christ
The men's ministry at BCBC is called Brothers in Christ, or B.I.G., and aims to help men become disciples who are called to walk with Christ, equipped to live like Christ, and sent to work for Christ. The philosophy of ministry is rooted in 2 Timothy 3:15-17.
Several Bible study options are available throughout the week. A Wednesday Night Bible Study runs during Focus Ministries, with childcare provided through Awana. A Tuesday night accountability and support group meets from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in Room 14, and a Young Guy's Discipleship Group meets at Rudy's near Western Center on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. In addition, the ministry hosts an annual men's BBQ with guest speakers and supports sports fellowship and evangelism through Keller Tennis Friends.
The Ministry of Men Team includes Heath Allsup, Pramod Abraham, Michael Garcia, Naveen Skaria, Charlie Brooks, Charley Howard, and Pastor John Salvesen.
Flocks and Marriage Boot Camp
Small groups at BCBC are called Flocks. They are geographic-based groups designed to facilitate fellowship, personal growth, and mutual support through in-depth relationships and accountability. Anyone, at any time, can join a Flock, and a current list of available groups is published for those interested.
Marriage Boot Camp is another recurring ministry, designed to help couples strengthen their relationship through biblical teaching, honest conversation, and shared study.
Reaching Out Locally and Around the World
BCBC's outreach is organized under a framework called Sweet Aroma, drawn from 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, which lays out ten overarching areas of ministry. The GLOCAL group, which coordinates both foreign missions and local outreach, brings together Adam Scott as the foreign missions lead, John Salvesen as the local outreach lead, and a team including Caryn Landers, Kevin Robicheaux, Kyle Davison, Kyle Gibson, Neil Dickens, and Zach Warner. Subcommittees focus on a Mexico house project and a Mexico summer trip.
The church supports a wide network of missionaries and partner organizations. These include CRU Church Movements, SETECA, Christar International, One Collective (formerly iTeams), AIM and its Borderless program, TLAfrica, Kontaktmission USA, Bonn Bible Seminary, Strategic Alliance Ministries, Word of Life Bible Institute, Child Evangelism Fellowship, GraceLife Ministries, and Free Grace Alliance. On the local side, BCBC partners with the Community Enrichment Center (CEC), Christ's Haven, Mercy House, Human Coalition, and Health for Her. Short-term mission trip applications, medical release forms, and liability forms are available for those interested in serving on a trip.
Locally, the Back 4 Project is one of the ways BCBC serves its surrounding community. Building usage is also made available to the community through a request form.
What BCBC Believes
The church's statement of faith begins with belief in one God eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Scripture, the Old and New Testaments, is held to be verbally inspired of God, inerrant in the original writings, and of supreme and final authority in all matters of life and faith. The statement affirms that God the Son became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, who was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and is both God and man.
BCBC teaches that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sin nature, and became alienated from God, and is therefore totally depraved and unable to remedy his fallen condition. Jesus died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified by grace through faith, apart from works. The statement affirms the resurrection of the crucified body of Jesus Christ, His ascension into Heaven, His present life there as High Priest, Intercessor, and Advocate, and the eternal security of all who have been justified.
The statement also affirms that Satan is a fallen angel and the declared enemy of God and man, that Christ ordained water baptism and the observance of the Lord's Supper until He returns, that every believer is obligated to witness and to support the work of the Lord, and that the prophecy of the rapture of the Church will be fulfilled, followed by Jesus Christ's return to establish an earthly kingdom for one thousand years. BCBC believes that God's plan for human sexuality is to be expressed only within the context of marriage, that God instituted monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family, and that marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female.
The Pastoral Team
Pastor John Salvesen is the Senior Pastor of BCBC. He and his wife, Carolyn, have been married for forty years and have lived in Keller for thirty-three. John is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary with a Master of Theology degree in Pastoral Ministries and a Doctor of Ministry, and he has taught at pastors' conferences in Mexico, Ukraine, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Myanmar, and Burundi. He serves on the board of directors for GraceLife Ministries and KATCH.
Travis Ham is the Worship Pastor and oversees BCBC's Young Families ministry. A graduate of the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a minor in Religion Studies, he also went through Pastor Tommy Nelson's discipleship program at Denton Bible Church and has served BCBC's music ministry since 2006.
Kyle Davison is the Youth Pastor. He and his wife, Emily, live in north Fort Worth with their daughter, Avery, and son, Liam. Kyle is a graduate of Texas Tech University and Dallas Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master's in Christian Education with a focus on Youth Ministry.
Adam Scott is the Children's and Missions Pastor. He and his wife, Lillie, live in Saginaw with their eight children. Adam is a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas and Tommy Nelson's discipleship program at Denton Bible Church, and previously served on staff at Denton Bible and as a missionary in India.
Sharon Campbell is the Children's Education Coordinator. A graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, she holds a Master's Degree in Christian Education with a concentration in Ministry Based Evangelism. Melisa Wolf is the Nursery Coordinator. Wes Ebanks serves as an intern.
BCBC is governed by a plurality of elders: Cody Montandon, James Murray, John Salvesen, and Roy Samuel, with deacons Clarke Woodall, Finny Abraham, and Chris Cooper serving alongside them. Heather Houpt serves as Church Administrator, Rachel Christman as Office Administrator, Blessy Skari as Operations Administrator, and Dalena Castrejon as Business Administrator and Assistant Nursery Coordinator.
Visiting Bear Creek Bible Church
BCBC is located at 1555 N Tarrant Parkway, Keller, Texas 76248, on the southern edge of Keller just north of North Richland Hills. The church is easy to find and welcomes visitors at any of its services. Sunday offers two services at 8:30 and 11:00 a.m., with classes for all ages at 9:50 a.m. and a fellowship break in between. Wednesday evenings during the school year feature Focus Ministries for adults and Awana for children. Those unable to attend in person can stream services and find the full sermon archive on the church's YouTube channel. The church's app is also available for iOS and Android, and an online directory connects members with one another.
For more information about any of the ministries described above, or to connect with the pastoral team, the church office can be reached at 817-479-0217 during regular hours.