Heritage Bible Church stands on Heritage Avenue in Terrytown, Louisiana, and is known for a grace-oriented, Bible-centered fellowship that works together to reach the Westbank for Christ. Its motto, Love God, Love People, Share Jesus, Make Disciples, frames a ministry built around worship, sustained Bible study, prayer for one another, and service that carries the gospel into the community.
A Grace-Oriented Fellowship for the Westbank
Heritage describes itself as a place where believers come to study God's word, pray for one another, and proclaim their love for their Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible is not treated as an appendix to church life but as its center. The church's purpose is to spread the love and word of the Gospel through faith-based works, service to the community, and fellowship with one another, with God directing the congregation as it serves Him to the fullest.
The phrase God's grace is sufficient for you expresses the church's identity, and grace is woven through both its worship and teaching. Heritage does not treat grace as an abstract doctrine. It connects God's grace with the freedom to worship, the call to study Scripture, the responsibility to pray for one another, and the willingness to serve. The aim is a fellowship in which belief becomes fellowship and faith reaches beyond the church through community outreach.
That outward reach has a specific name in the church's own description: the Westbank. Heritage's people work together to reach the Westbank for Christ. Community outreach events are part of that calling, expressed through action as well as proclamation. The church also emphasizes service directed by faith rather than service detached from faith. Visitors seeking God are welcome to attend and to learn whether Heritage is a place where they belong.
The invitation to take part in a Bible-centered fellowship asks people to participate rather than only observe. Heritage's welcome is broad: anyone who seeks God and has a heart to know and love Him may come. A newcomer looking for answers or a place to worship can join the same study, fellowship, and praise that shape the congregation's Sundays and Wednesdays.
Sunday at Heritage: Study, Coffee, and Worship
Sunday has a clear rhythm of study, fellowship, and worship. The three parts fit together without overlap:
- Sunday School: 10:00-10:45 AM
- Fellowship Break with coffee and donuts: 10:45-11:00 AM
- Sunday worship service: 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
The 10:00 Sunday School is also where Heritage places its Bible study emphasis on Sunday mornings. The church describes these groups as a time to dive deep into God's word. That makes the first part of Sunday a period of instruction and conversation before the congregation gathers for worship.
At 10:45, the service pauses for a Fellowship Break with coffee and donuts. The 15-minute interval gives attendees time to move from class into the service, talk with one another, and share a simple refreshment. Heritage's welcome to anyone who seeks God is practical as well as spiritual: there is an unhurried moment for conversation before worship begins.
At 11:00 AM, the congregation gathers for a one-hour Sunday service. The church describes this as a time to lift voices in praise and celebrate the Father and His glory. Its worship approach places the emphasis of both music and proclamation on the grace of God as revealed in Scripture, and calls for worship in spirit and truth. Heritage's approach is therefore rooted in Scripture, praise, and the message of grace rather than a worship format defined by entertainment or felt needs.
For a first-time visitor, the order makes the morning easy to understand. Someone who arrives at 10:00 can begin with Sunday School; someone who arrives at 11:00 can join worship. In either case, the purpose is not simply to attend an event but to study, sing, pray, and hear the Savior proclaimed.
Wednesday Prayer, Bible Study, and AWANA
Wednesday evening has two rhythms running at once. AWANA begins at 6:30 PM and continues through 8:00 PM, while Prayer and Bible Study begins at 7:00 PM and also ends at 8:00 PM. The schedule places the children's program alongside the church's adult gathering rather than asking families to choose between them.
The overlap makes midweek a shared family rhythm: children have a defined place in AWANA while adults gather for an hour of prayer and serious Bible study. The children's program begins with the adults and all three groups remain together until the evening concludes at 8:00 PM.
AWANA is the clearest expression of Heritage's children's ministry. The church also describes that ministry as growing and says its aim is to care for and foster children so they can know God. A five-week Child's Catechism course reinforces that emphasis with weekday lessons for children, including a careful treatment of the child's relationship to Jesus and salvation.
Adults gather for prayer and Bible study together. The two are not separated in the church's schedule: prayer is part of the same gathering as close attention to the word. The combination gives the midweek meeting a practical shape, with shared prayer and Bible study forming the center of the evening.
Learning the Word Together
Heritage offers several ways to work through the Bible, including a structured overview that can be completed in about two months. Its 60-reading schedule has no fixed dates, which means it can begin at any point. The passages are designed not as a detailed verse-by-verse study but as a broad view of God's plan for humanity, with facts from the King James Version, including numbers of chapters and words. The result is a manageable way to see the shape of Scripture as a whole.
A second schedule is designed for people who want to read through the Bible in a year but have struggled to stay on a fixed calendar. That flexible plan was provided by Nick Kalivoda and Radio Bible Courses. Heritage also offers a salvation-verses bookmark that moves from Old and New Testament verses about sin and salvation to verses intended to strengthen assurance and fellowship for a new Christian.
The church's Bible teaching is also available as an organized audio library. The Gospel of John, Romans, Revelation, and a complete 66-book Bible Overview are divided into short passages, making it possible to follow one book or move through the Bible in sequence. The selections range from the opening of John to its final chapter, Romans through Romans 16, and Revelation from its introduction through chapter 22.
Several subjects become five-week teaching series with a Monday-through-Friday lesson for each week. These include Tongues, The Prodigal Son, Eternal Security, and Salvation and Sin. The Child's Catechism follows the same five-week weekday format. In each series, the church asks a focused doctrinal question and then walks through the biblical material. Eternal Security directly addresses concern about losing salvation, while Salvation and Sin considers whether sin remains an issue after Christ has died for the world.
The range of collections gives participants a way to trace a theme across the Bible. Someone can begin with the 66-book overview, hear Romans passage by passage, return to John, and use a fact sheet to examine a disputed doctrine. The tools differ, but the common thread is concentrated attention on the word of God.
For individual Bible reading, Heritage points people to e-Sword, YouVersion, Bible.com, and Blue Letter Bible. These tools offer different ways to read and search the text, complementing the church's own schedules, passage collections, and recorded lessons.
Pastor Greg Durel and the Airwaves
Radio teaching gives Heritage's emphasis on Scripture a place beyond the weekly gatherings. The church broadcasts on WSHO 800 AM at 8:30-8:45 AM and 11:00-11:15 AM, and the broadcasts can be heard through WSHO or SoundCloud.
The congregation remembers Pastor Greg Durel, and his teaching is closely associated with this radio ministry. A short Gospel presentation credited to Greg Durel explains the gospel message as salvation from sin and the wrath of God. The presentation begins with a conversation about what the gospel means, then describes God as good and just, Adam's disobedience and the penalty for sin, and the salvation God provides through Christ. It is followed by brief apologetic messages titled Tell It Like It Is, The Gospel in Less Than 10 Minutes, and The Gospel of Salvation.
The sermon archive reaches back to 2017 and records a broad, Bible-centered curriculum. Topics include the grace of God, faith and works, the Holy Spirit, the body of Christ, prayer, the resurrection, Romans, John, Revelation, spiritual gifts, and end-times teaching. Several ministers and guest teachers contribute messages, showing the breadth of study pursued by the congregation.
Many recordings are extended studies rather than single messages. Titles identify a study of John, Hebrews, Romans, or Revelation, while others continue a doctrinal question across multiple teachings. The collection also includes studies of dispensations, the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, the resurrection, eternal security, the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, and other subjects central to the church's teaching.
Grace at the Center of the Gospel
Heritage's beliefs begin with the Bible: the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are described as inerrant and verbally inspired by God and as the supreme and final authority in faith and life. The church affirms one eternal God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in nature, attributes, power, and glory. Jesus Christ is affirmed as conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and both true God and true man.
The message at the center is salvation by grace through faith. Human beings are described as created in God's image but as having willfully transgressed God's law, becoming dead in sin, corrupt in nature, and unable to please God. Christ died for sins as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice and rose again for justification. Heritage says those who believe are justified on the grounds of Christ's shed blood and saved by grace through faith, wholly apart from human merit and works.
Those who receive Christ by faith are described as being born again by the Holy Spirit through the word of God, becoming God's children and securely possessing everlasting life. Christ's resurrection, ascension, present session as High Priest and Advocate, and role as the sole mediator are central. The indwelling Holy Spirit regenerates, seals, illuminates, and fills the believer, and the church holds to one Spirit baptism at conversion.
Heritage reads the New Testament as teaching that speaking in tongues and other sign gifts ceased before or with the completion of New Testament writings. Its hope includes the bodily resurrection of the dead, the saved receiving eternal glory in heaven, and the unsaved facing conscious judgment. The church also affirms the personal and visible premillennial return of Christ, his reign from the throne of David as King of Kings, and the imminent pretribulational rapture of church-age saints.
The sequence ties Scripture to both worship and daily Christian life. The Bible is authoritative not only for what people are to believe but for how they are to live. Heritage's teaching places God's grace at the center of salvation while also calling believers to pursue holiness, love one another, pray, serve, and contend for the faith.
Apologetics, Catechism, and Bible History
Heritage places substantial weight on apologetic teaching, with Scripture as the authority for the answers it gives. Its teaching collection includes Reasons to Believe in the Resurrection of Christ, a church-history overview, a study of Daniel's 70 weeks, facts about the Koran, a series on Catholicism, material on the Lord's Supper, and a detailed treatment of spiritual gifts called Speaking in an Unknown Tongue Violates Scripture.
The resurrection lessons collect specific arguments rather than offering only a bare affirmation. They include Jesus' promise to rise again, the empty tomb, the moved stone, the report that the Roman guards saw or heard nothing, concern about the guards' fate if they lied, post-resurrection appearances to many people, a reported appearance to more than 500 people at one time, and the absence of an immediate challenge to the resurrection. The lessons also consider nonbiblical testimony and note that the Christian calendar acknowledges the resurrection each year.
The Catholicism material asks about the papacy, the Mass, the role of Mary, the spiritual authority claimed for priests, and doctrines compared with the Bible. Individual lessons are titled The Veil Menders, The Primacy of Peter, Signs of a Cult, Hail Mary, Catholicism and Lordship Salvation, Bless Me Father, and The Mass: Miracle or Mendacity? One extended treatment examines the claim that Roman Catholicism is polytheistic by discussing the veneration of Mary and saints. These lessons approach their subjects apologetically, asking what the Bible teaches and comparing that teaching with religious practice.
A separate set of lessons on the Koran describes its 114 chapters and presents biblical teaching alongside teachings in the Koran about Jesus, Noah, Abraham, Mary, salvation, and other subjects. Fact sheets cover the seals of Revelation, eschatological rewards, the Lord's Supper, the resurrection, Daniel's 70 weeks, church history, spiritual gifts, and the Council of Trent.
Two recorded testimonies add personal voices to this teaching. Dr. Charles Alan Berry is identified as a former Roman Catholic monk, priest, and theologian who came to faith in Christ. Bob Bush is identified as a former Roman Catholic Jesuit priest and theologian who accepted the biblical doctrine of faith alone in Christ alone. The church also emphasizes a children's catechism, keeping doctrinal formation available in a form tailored to children.
The Lord's Supper, Spiritual Gifts, and Church Practice
The Lord's Supper as Commemoration
Heritage teaches that Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper at the last Passover and that it commemorates his complete sacrifice on the cross. The supper is not another sacrifice; it testifies to the one sacrifice already completed. Believers are commanded to observe it, while the frequency is left to the local church in light of the phrase as often as you do this. Heritage emphasizes that the church gathers to eat the supper, not to eat Christ's body, and says the symbolic nature of the observance makes its commemorative character clear.
The church does not involve an altar or priests in the observance and teaches that Jesus does not appear physically or spiritually during it. Heritage interprets the words surrounding the bread and wine as pointing to the Passover and the Messiah who would save. It says Jesus did not declare that the bread had become his body, and notes that after he gave thanks the wine remained the fruit of the vine rather than becoming his blood.
A Deliberate Teaching on Unknown Tongues
Heritage's teaching on unknown tongues is detailed and restrictive. It identifies speaking in an unknown tongue as violating Scripture when more than three people speak, when a woman speaks, when a speaker interprets for himself, when no interpreter is present, when confusion results, when self-control is lost, when new revelation is claimed, when everyone is urged to seek the gift, or when the speech does not edify the church. The church reads the gift as limited in value and availability in New Testament times and says the Holy Spirit's work within a believer should produce Christlike character.
The church also teaches that gifts are sovereignly given rather than demanded and that no gift is intended for everyone. Its emphasis falls on the Spirit's internal work of producing character that resembles Christ rather than on outward manifestations as proof of spiritual activity.
Deliberate Boundaries for Church Life
Those convictions shape how Heritage understands church life. It does not endorse the modern ecumenical movement because it does not join with churches that trade doctrinal truth for unity or provide a platform for their ministry. The church says Scripture warns of false teachers, apostasy, and spiritual laxity, and calls the congregation to preach the word and earnestly contend for the faith.
Heritage also rejects the church-growth model that prioritizes felt needs and entertainment, holding instead that the gospel itself has power to save and that believers should remain distinct from the world. It does not integrate psychology into Scripture. The church regards Scripture as sufficient for salvation and preparation for every good work, treats counseling as part of discipleship, and says learning to observe God's commandments is the answer to a person's trials. The sufficiency of Christ and his word is central to this teaching.
Heritage likewise does not embrace the modern Charismatic movement, particularly its emphasis on tongues-speaking as necessary evidence of the Spirit's work. Political action is another area of deliberate restraint. The church says Christians may seek office or speak against evil, but political and moral agendas should not take priority over the gospel or replace the spiritual focus of the church. Its view is that government restrains evil while Christ and the proclamation of the gospel save souls and change hearts.
Love God, Love People, Share Jesus, Make Disciples
Heritage's motto gives a concise description of how its different ministries fit together. Love God is expressed through worship that celebrates the Father, Bible study that searches the word, and prayer that places Scripture before God. Love people is reflected in fellowship, the coffee-and-donuts break, the growing children's ministry, AWANA, and a willingness to serve others. Share Jesus connects all of it to the Gospel, the clear presentation of salvation through Christ, and the desire to reach the Westbank.
Making disciples is the continuing shape of that mission. Sunday School, Bible Study Groups, the Wednesday prayer and study gathering, the Child's Catechism, the passage-by-passage recordings, and the reading schedules all give people ways to learn and continue learning. Community outreach then carries the same faith into action, expressed through faith-based works and service to the community.
Heritage's doors are open to all who seek God and want to know and love him, whether they are looking for answers or a place to worship. Community engagement and church involvement are connected through the church's stated purpose: service shaped by faith, fellowship among believers, and a willingness to let God direct the way. Giving is available through PayPal.
That is Heritage Bible Church on Heritage Avenue in Terrytown: a grace-oriented, Bible-centered fellowship reaching the Westbank through love for God, love for people, the shared witness to Jesus, and the making of disciples.