From Crab Hollow to a New Sanctuary
Bethany Baptist Church was organized in 1897. Early worship gatherings took place in a small building in western Wilkinsburg called Crab Hollow. The congregation soon bought a small frame building at 7734 Tioga Street for $5,000; it had previously been a German Lutheran church. A new building at that address began construction in 1924 at a cost of $40,000. Bethany has served Homewood since 1901, and its commitment to the community has remained even as the neighborhood has changed.
The church's history also includes a major rebuilding of its ministry center. The Bethany Center, a multipurpose building across the street from the sanctuary, was completed in 2001. Structural deficiencies led to demolition of the former church building in 2008, and the Bethany Center became Bethany's place of worship. Before the new sanctuary was completed, worship occupied a center originally designed for recreation, youth and community activities.
A stewardship campaign then funded a sanctuary connected with the Bethany Center. Bethany moved into it in April 2023, restoring the center to its original purpose of providing human services to Homewood. The connected complex now gives the church a dedicated worship space while keeping its community-facing center close at hand.
Sunday at 10:30: A Service Open to Every Generation
The Sunday worship service begins promptly at 10:30 a.m. at 7745 Tioga Street and is scheduled through noon. Bethany's ministry principles include expository preaching, quality education and distinctive worship. The service is ASL interpreted and can be watched on Facebook and through the church's YouTube livestream. Sunday classes for men and women begin before worship, while children's programs run during the service.
Bethany describes its atmosphere as come as you are. Suits and dresses appear alongside slacks and jeans, and the congregation's dress code is casual but Godly. An off-duty county sheriff department officer provides security during services and special events. The church office is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and can be reached at (412) 242-3255.
Messages from Pastor Glaze and other ministers are available to watch or hear in the church's sermon collection. Featured speakers include Next Gen Pastor William Baker IV, Pastor Thomas Kilcrease and Rev. Emiel Glaze. Expository teaching remains a defining commitment of the church's ministry.
Children and interpretation
Children are included in the rhythm of the service. The Parent-Baby Room serves infants up to 24 months and has a television monitor so parents can follow the service. A staffed Toddler Room cares for children ages 2 to 4, giving parents an opportunity to worship. KidsWorship provides meaningful worship and age-appropriate lessons for children ages 5 to 10 during the sermon.
For Deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors, the service is ASL interpreted every Sunday. An usher can direct guests to the interpretation section. Bethany's Deaf Ministry also interprets concept classes, discipleship classes and other ministry activities as needed, along with special services, concerts and plays around Christmas and Easter.
Parking and directions
Parking is in one lot directly across from the church, with ample space available. From Interstate 376, Parkway East, drivers take Exit 8 for Wilkinsburg, follow Route 8 West to Pitt Street, turn right on Pitt Street and then left on Tioga Street. From Route 380 East, the route continues to Bennett Street, Brushton Road and Tioga Street before turning left to 7745 Tioga.
The rhythms of study and prayer
Alongside Sunday worship, the church keeps regular rhythms for study and prayer. Tuesday noon prayer runs from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. by telephone. Wednesday noon Bible study begins online at noon, with an in-person Bible study at Bethany Center at 1:15 p.m. and an end time of 2:30 p.m. Friday's Masters Kitchen gathering runs from noon to 2:00 p.m.
A Christ-Centered Mission Under Pastor Glaze
Bethany identifies itself as a Christ-centered, Bible-based, people-caring evangelical church actively involved in missions. Its purpose is to teach the Word of God, worship Jesus Christ and reach all people with the gospel, with particular emphasis on youth and families. The church carries out that purpose through evangelism, education, worship, fellowship and equipping for service. Its vision is bringing people to spiritual maturity and service in the kingdom of God.
Bethany is an unaffiliated local congregation rather than an extension of a larger denominational organization. It operates as a nonprofit, tax-exempt body funded primarily by tithes and offerings. The congregation governs the church, which is administered under the pastor, with its doctrine, membership rules and operations established through church policies, a constitution and bylaws. This structure allows Bethany to honor its Baptist distinctives while pursuing its own call to teach, worship and serve.
Its principles also call for intergenerational fellowship, opportunities for youth to discover spiritual gifts and develop leadership, and effective ministry in a multicultural society. Bethany emphasizes the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the training of believers for ministry, integrity in all things and good stewardship of the resources entrusted to the church.
Dr. William R. Glaze has served as pastor since July 1990, when the congregation called him as its fourteenth pastor. He also hosts the daily Anchored in Jesus radio broadcast and founded the Pittsburgh Laymen's Bible Institute, where he serves as dean and offers certification in biblical counseling and other Bible-based certificates. His education includes Fort Lewis College, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Sacred Theology from Bethany Theological Seminary. His ministry has included preaching, teaching, revivals, seminars, retreats and conferences in the United States and Africa.
Glaze describes Bethany as an oasis of refreshment for people who are spiritually, physically or emotionally thirsty, especially those who are lost or hurting. His pastoral emphasis includes helping families and youth find ways to honor and serve God, then encouraging those refreshed to use their gifts in service to others.
Learning That Grows Across the Generations
Children's ministries begin early. Bethany Nursery is designed as a safe, secure place for children to experience God's love while parents attend worship. The Parent-Baby Room serves infants up to 24 months, and the staffed Toddler Room serves children ages 2 to 4. KidsWorship, for ages 5 to 10, meets during the sermon with lessons designed for their age group.
Teen ministry is built around family. Young Christian Conquerors, or YCC, serves ages 13 through high school graduation and works to resource parents in the spiritual, emotional and mental development of their teenagers. Vacation Bible Adventure is a one-week family-focused summer Bible program for church participants and families in the surrounding community. StudentCARE connects high school students, college students and people in trade schools with CARE Groups for support and encouragement. The church also lists a Men's Fellowship and G.E.M.S., Girls Excitedly Meeting the Savior, among its fellowship ministries.
Adult learning takes several forms. LifeQuest classes meet Sunday mornings and emphasize learning God's will in his Word for every area of life; Special Topics, Women's Class and Men's Class meet online. The Women's Sunday School Class meets at 9:00 a.m., while Men's Bible Study begins at 8:00 a.m. and Special Topics Bible Study at 9:00 a.m. The New Members Class meets as needed and introduces salvation, baptism, Baptist denomination, missions, duties of members, church policies and procedures, doctrinal beliefs and spiritual gifts. The Discipleship Ministry seeks to make disciples, help believers mature and prepare them to nurture others.
Bethany CARE Family Ministry divides members into small groups, each with a deacon and deaconess overseer. A significant part of this ministry is monthly small-group Bible study in a member's home or at the church. CARE stands for Comfort, Accountability, Rejoice and Equip. The groups also provide support when sickness, death or other problems touch a family, and they mark graduations, weddings and other celebrations. The stated aim is closer fellowship, prayer and transformed relationships within the body of Christ.
Young adults gather through A.C.T.S., Adults Craving Transformation Spiritually, a fellowship for people roughly ages 18 to 30. Its activities combine Bible study, service opportunities, social events, relationships, accountability and prayer. The Marriage and Couples Ministry strengthens marriages, helps engaged couples prepare for marriage and offers direction to singles, while remaining open to people outside Bethany.
Stronghold Prayer Ministry prays for the pastor, church members, leaders and ministries, and offers biblical counseling alongside its intercession and encouragement ministry. People need not consider themselves intercessors to participate; they can receive prayer requests and offer encouragement. Those who take a more active role receive training and a Stronghold Prayer Manual.
From Anthems to Signed Song
Music gives shape to many of Bethany's ministries. Sounds of Worship proclaims and uplifts the name of Jesus Christ through song, with a repertoire that moves from anthems and spirituals to contemporary praise. Its rehearsal is Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Male Chorus and Band rehearse on the third and fourth Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. The church also lists a Praise Team and Silent Praise. Son Shiners is a choir for children ages 7 to 12 that uses music to introduce biblical truth and nurture children in the Word. Its rehearsal cycle runs from late September or early October through mid-June, and the choir ministered in the congregation five or six times each year.
The Deaf Ministry has its own musical witness. It began with the first fully interpreted worship service on the fourth Sunday of September 1993, followed by a second interpreted service in 1994. Bethany now interprets worship every Sunday and interprets classes and other ministry functions as needed. A 1995 gospel music concert in sign language drew deaf participants from across Pittsburgh and neighboring communities and became the ministry's annual spring concert. Special Christmas and Easter services and plays are also interpreted.
Three generations serve in signed song. Sign Alive is for children ages 4 to 12, ALPHA is a teen deaf ministry for ages 13 to 18, and Heavenly Hands is an adult deaf praise and worship group with members age 19 and up. ALPHA members come from Sign Alive and work with the adults to improve their signing, while Heavenly Hands ministers every fifth Sunday and at special services and events. Together, the groups minister through worship, outreach and mission events in the church and community.
Practical Service and Worldwide Mission
Bethany's service to Homewood takes practical forms. Its nonprofit Bethany Community Ministries operates The Storehouse food pantry. Masters Kitchen is another regular outreach gathering. The church's annual Community Day brings outdoor fun, food and music to Homewood-Brushton residents of all ages, with drawings, school supplies and the Word of God freely shared. The service-ministry roster also includes Church On Wheels.
Missions work has both local and international reach. Members annually commit to short-term mission trips in the Pittsburgh area, around the United States and internationally. Local partners include Bethany Community Ministries, Christian Literacy Associates, Family Guidance, Impact Ministries, Light of Life Mission and Yokefellows Prison Ministry. International partners include Aundrae and Sheila Cassell in Kenya, Carver Mission and Killingworth Ministries in Liberia, Have Christ Will Travel Ministries in Haiti, Ripe for the Harvest World Outreach in Senegal, and United World Missions in Asia and Africa. The church also supports a Bethany Baptist Church tract ministry.
The annual Spiritual Renewal Missions Conference brings visiting missionaries to speak about their Gospel work and includes speakers, international exhibits, workshops and an international dinner. Bethany's missionary commitments include education, communication, prayer, giving and sending, making missions part of the church's life rather than a separate activity.
Stewardship remains central to that work. Bethany is funded primarily by tithes and offerings, and contributions can be made through secure online giving. The church describes itself as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization committed to good stewardship of the resources entrusted to it for ministry.
What Bethany Believes
Bethany's beliefs center on the authority of the Bible, the Trinity and salvation in Jesus Christ. It teaches that the original manuscripts of Scripture are fully and equally inspired, that every word is divinely inspired, and that the Bible is free from error, with God protecting translations faithful to the originals. There is one God in three coequal, coeternal Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is affirmed as eternal, fully God and fully man, miraculously conceived and bodily raised from the dead. The Holy Spirit indwells those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior and gifts believers for service. The church teaches that all people are born sinners and that salvation is God's sovereign act of grace, accomplished through the sinless life and substitutionary atonement of Jesus and received through faith alone. Its essential doctrines summarize these commitments as sola gratia, sola Christus and sola fide.
Bethany also affirms that Satan is active in the present age, Jesus Christ will return to rule and reign, the righteous will enter eternal peace and joy in God's presence, and the wicked will face eternal punishment. These doctrines frame the church's teaching, worship, service and mission.
At its Tioga Street home, Bethany Baptist Church brings these strands together: a Baptist identity committed to expository teaching and distinctive worship, intergenerational learning, music in song and sign, strong care for families and neighbors, and an active mission to make, mature and multiply followers of Jesus Christ from all peoples and generations.