A Bible Church on Hayes Road
Shelby Bible Church stands on the north side of Hayes Road in Shelby Township, Michigan, a short drive north of Detroit in Macomb County. From a single address at 47905 Hayes Road, the church runs a full Sunday morning schedule, a Wednesday night ministry for the whole family, small groups in homes across the community, a roster of missionaries on six continents, and a Public Safety Prayer Partners program that links members of the church with local firefighters and police officers.
The mission is summarized in three short lines: "We exist to bring Him glory, equip disciples, and proclaim Jesus." The conviction that shapes everything underneath that mission is also stated plainly: "we believe that the word of God gives life to the people of God to do the work of God."
What follows in the life of the church is the practical outworking of those lines. Two Sunday morning services, a Wednesday night ministry for students and children, monthly women's gatherings, a senior fellowship called Primetimers, a men's ministry that takes the guys to a lakeside retreat each fall, small groups called Growth Groups that meet in homes around the area, a GriefShare group for those walking through loss, and a year-round missions program that has sent Shelby Bible members to Hong Kong, Honduras, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Cameroon, Portugal, Japan, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, and South Africa. The whole ministry is built around a Bible-saturated confession of faith in fourteen articles.
Worship on Sundays and Wednesdays
Worship services take place at 9:00 and 11:00 AM on Sunday mornings. Both services follow the same pattern, so families can pick the hour that works best for their week. Each service is livestreamed, and recordings remain on the Sermons page and on the church's YouTube channel afterward. Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM and Wednesdays at 6:30 PM are the regular broadcast times.
The music is led by the worship team, and the church publishes a Worship page with the song selections that will be used in upcoming services so that worshipers can listen and become familiar with the music ahead of time. A Spotify playlist of the same songs is also embedded on the page for the same purpose.
On Wednesdays at 6:30 PM the church runs its midweek ministry. Awana clubs meet for children from 6 weeks through 6th grade. SBC Students meets in the student wing for grades 7 through 12. Adult classes and small groups fill out the evening. The service is livestreamed for those at home. A meal at the church is a regular part of the night, including a Chick-fil-A dinner hosted by the Missions Ministry several times a year.
First-time guests find a Connect Card on the church's website. Filling it out puts a connection team member in touch to deliver a welcome gift at the Connection Hub in the hallway on the next visit.
What Shelby Bible Church Believes
The Confession of Faith lays out the doctrinal commitments of the church in fourteen short articles, each anchored to specific Bible passages.
The Bible is the first article. The church holds that the Holy Bible was "verbally inspired," that every word of the original writings was chosen by God, and that the Bible is "true without error" and the "complete written revelation of God." It is the "sole authority for all matters of faith and practice."
One God exists in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, "equal in divine perfection and executing distinct, but harmonious offices, in the great work of redemption." The Father is described as the creator and sustainer of all things, the judge and redeemer of mankind, working all things for his glory. Jesus Christ is "Deity from all eternity" who, by a miraculous birth, took to himself a perfect human nature and lived a sinless life. The Holy Spirit "dwells in every believer at salvation" and unites believers to Christ in one body, sealing them until the day of redemption.
Creation, the church believes, was completed in seven literal days, and "mankind came into being by direct creation," following the Genesis account. Through the voluntary transgression of Adam, all people are "conceived in sin and are sinners by choice," under just condemnation.
Salvation is "wholly of grace, through the finished work of Jesus Christ, who freely took upon Himself our nature, yet without sin, and by His death on the cross, burial and resurrection, made a full atonement for our sin." It is received by faith, not by works, by believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of God's only Son. "Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, believing in the work of Christ, will be saved."
The church is described in two senses. The universal church is "the body of Christ" made up of all genuine believers. The local church is "made up of united believers who meet regularly for the purpose of worship, observance of the ordinances, proclamation of the gospel, and to support each other in their spiritual growth."
Two ordinances are practiced: Christian baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is "the total immersion of the believer in water as an outward witness of faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ." Baptism is required for legal membership in the church. The Lord's Supper is "the commemoration of His death until He returns," open to believers, and to be preceded by self-examination and repentance.
On marriage and human sexuality, the confession affirms that God created mankind as male and female, that biological sex at birth is a divine gift, that marriage was designed by God as the lifelong union of one man and one woman with "unique and complementary roles of equal importance," and that any sexual act outside of the marriage covenant is a violation of God's order and is sinful.
The church believes in the literal, physical return of Christ, the physical resurrection of the saints, and the final judgment. Christ will reign supreme, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. The saved will spend eternity in joyful union with God, and the unrepentant will be condemned to eternal separation from God.
SBC Kids: From Nursery Through Sixth Grade
SBC Kids is the children's ministry of the church, serving children from six weeks old through sixth grade. The ministry is led by Rebecca Stull, the Children's Director, with Allie Nicaj and Rachel Alderton serving as Nursery Co-Directors and Beth Fecteau directing the Wednesday night children's program. The stated mission of the ministry is to "create a safe and fun environment for your child to learn how to connect, grow, and serve."
On Sunday mornings, Jr. Church runs during both the 9:00 and 11:00 services. The format is interactive time in God's Word "with a focus on how all of Scripture points to Christ," followed by a teacher-led lesson, an activity, and review time. The nursery is available during both services for children from six weeks to three years.
On Wednesday nights during the school year, Awana clubs meet from 6:30 to 7:45 PM. Awana is a national club program that emphasizes Bible teaching, Scripture memory, and game time, and Shelby Bible runs Awana for every age level, from Cubbies through sixth grade. The annual fee is ten dollars per child, and the Grand Prix is a popular event each winter, when clubbers race small wooden cars that they have crafted with the help of a parent or other adult. The event draws hundreds of spectators and racers each year.
During the summer, SBC Kids Midweek moves to a Bible lesson, games, and activities for kids from pre-K through sixth grade on Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 7:45 PM. The nursery continues for the youngest. No registration or fees are required.
Vacation Bible School takes one week every year. Recent themes include "Illumination Station" (2026), "Magnified" (2025), and "Breaker Rock Beach" (2024). Each night runs from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, with music, lessons, games, crafts, snacks, and a closing time of worship. Registration opens weeks in advance, and parents can register their children or sign up to volunteer.
Child safety is handled through KidCheck, a system that allows only parents and approved guardians to check children in and out of programs. New families can create their account ahead of time to save time on their first visit.
Each year, SBC Kids takes children to Lake Ann Camp in Lake Ann, Michigan, for a week of summer camp. Campers entering fourth grade through sixth grade are welcome to attend, and Shelby Bible families receive a reduced camp rate.
SBC Students: Middle and High School
SBC Students is the student ministry for grades 7 through 12. The ministry is led by Youth Pastor Dillon Denk. Wednesday night meetings begin at 6:30 PM.
The stated mission of the student ministry is "to help students learn to glorify God and make disciples through intentional relationships and sacrificial service." Students follow Pastor Dillon on Instagram at @sbc_students.
Throughout the year, students gather for a number of special events. A Teen Worship Night held at the church gives the older students a chance to lead their own worship, with singing, light snacks, and drinks. A board-game-themed all-nighter, "Nothing But A 'Board' Night," is held in the fall, complete with tournaments, food, and competitions. Each spring the ministry runs a Road Rally scavenger hunt that takes teams out of the church parking lot and into downtown Rochester to race for the title. Other recent trips have included Knockerball on the church property and outings to Zap Zone and an Escape Room.
Each summer, SBC Students joins SBC Kids for a week of camp at Lake Ann Camp in northern Michigan. The cost is reduced for students from SBC, and registration opens in the spring. Recent summer trips have included a four-day journey to the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum in Kentucky, with a stop at Kings Island on the way home.
Girls from SBC Students can also take part in the Grow the Game Basketball Camp, a four-day basketball and faith camp held at the Shelby Bible Church gymnasium. Coach Anna runs the camp for girls in grades 5 through 12, with two sessions each day, one for middle school and one for high school. The camp includes conditioning, drills, devotions, scrimmages, and prayer.
Women's Ministry
The Women's Ministry at Shelby Bible Church is led by Susie Montgomery. The ministry meets for a monthly Women's Bible Study on the first Tuesday of every month from 7:00 to 8:00 PM in the SBC Commons. A separate Mom's Bible Study meets the second Thursday of every month at 10:00 AM in Room 113, with nursery care provided for the youngest children.
Special events through the year build on the regular meetings. A Praise and Worship Night is held in the fall, themed "The Ruthless Pursuit," inspired by the resilience of Ruth. The night includes scripture-led worship, intentional prayer, a devotional from the book of Ruth, and an altar call. The Women's Retreat is an annual weekend away, often held in Frankenmuth, Michigan, at Zehnder's Hotel and Waterpark, with two nights of lodging, meals, refreshments, six speakers, worship, journaling, creative reflection, and free time in downtown Frankenmuth.
Other events include a Fall Fellowship gathering at Yates Cider Mill in nearby Rochester Hills, with cider, donuts, and a walk along the river trail. The Axes and O's Valentine's event is a date-night alternative at Total Axe House in Clinton Township, where both men and women can enjoy an evening of axe throwing and food. Let's Glow Girls is a girls' night out for ages sixteen and up, with dinner, trivia, prizes, and bright clothes encouraged. A mother's group called Moms on Mission (M.O.M.) gathers for an annual fall kick-off.
Men's Ministry
The Men's Ministry is led by Senior Pastor Mike Montgomery. The biggest event of the year is the Bambi Lake Weekend Retreat each October, when the men of the church spend a weekend at a lodge in northern Michigan with sessions in God's Word, fishing, canoeing, and a shooting range. Meals are provided, and the men bunk together in shared rooms, with options for a private bunk or sharing a bunk with a buddy. Church vans take the men up on Friday afternoon and bring them back Sunday morning.
Primetimers: The Senior Community
Primetimers is the senior adult ministry of the church, led by Gala Adams. The group is open to any senior adult who wants to be part of it, and the church vans carry Primetimers to a long list of day trips throughout the year. Recent outings include a Tigers baseball game at Comerica Park in Detroit, a fall foliage trip to Frankenmuth and Birch Run with lunch at Zehnders, a Trolley Tour of Port Huron with lunch at Freighters, a day at the Toledo Zoo, a tour of the Michigan Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth with lunch at Cracker Barrel, a trip to the LegaSea Aquarium and Reptarium with lunch at DaFrancesco's, a visit to the Michigan Flight Museum at Willow Run in Ypsilanti, an afternoon of putt-putt golf and ice cream at World's Famous Custard in New Baltimore, and a trip to Blake's Orchard & Cider Mill.
The Primetimers also gather for an annual Pastors Appreciation Luncheon at a venue such as Buddie's Pizza in Shelby Township, where the seniors take a meal together and express thanks for the pastoral staff of the church.
Growth Groups and the Start Here Class
Growth Groups are the church's small group ministry. Each group meets weekly in a home, at a time set by the group, for fellowship, prayer, Bible study, and service together. The groups are kept to a target size of ten to twelve people, and members are asked to commit for at least a semester before switching. Children are welcome at any Growth Group.
Anyone interested in joining a group can fill out a Growth Groups form on the church's Growth Groups page or turn in a Connect Card at the office. The leaders help match newcomers to a group that fits their schedule and stage of life.
For those who want to learn more about the church or to become a member, the Start Here Class meets three Sundays in a row several times a year, typically during the 9:00 AM service. The class covers "the Biblical role of the church, Shelby Bible Church's beliefs, and church membership." Classes are held in either the Commons Area Conference Room or the Choir Room, depending on the season, and are offered at various times throughout the year. Baptism by immersion is required before one can become a legal member of the church.
Public Safety Prayer Partners
The Public Safety Prayer Partners program is one of the most distinctive ministries of Shelby Bible Church. The program pairs members of the church with local firefighters and police officers for the purpose of daily prayer. Church members who sign up as prayer partners are assigned to a first responder when a match becomes available and are asked to commit to praying daily for that individual.
The purpose statement is anchored to 1 Timothy 2:1-2, "that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all the people, for kings and all those who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." First responders face an elevated risk for post-traumatic stress, suicide, and substance abuse, and the ministry exists to lift up the men and women who serve the community.
First responders can request a prayer partner of their own, or contact a chaplain through the church's website for prayer or questions. Chaplains are available to walk with first responders in any area of life. The Public Safety Partners Resources page links to outside ministries for first responders, including Cops for Christ, Fellowship of Christian Firefighters, Stronger Together, Frontline Strong, the IAFF Center of Excellence, and Shatterproof.
The ministry is dedicated to the memory of Firefighter Mike Ondra, a member of Shelby Bible Church for twenty-seven years. Ondra served a twenty-eight-year career with the Shelby Township Fire Department after graduating from the Detroit Fire Academy in 1971. He was one of the first paramedics in Michigan and helped introduce fire-based advanced life support to the state. After his retirement in 1998 he remained active in worship and prayer ministry at Shelby Bible, singing in the choir and playing horn and trumpet in the brass ensemble.
Executive Pastor Carl Seitz, who served a thirty-two-year career as a firefighter paramedic before his call to ministry, has written a personal testimony addressed to first responders, recounting how the toll of the work drove him to find hope in Jesus Christ and inviting readers to do the same.
Going to the Nations
The Missions Ministry of Shelby Bible Church is supported by giving above and beyond the regular contribution of the church, with the goal of sending men and women with the gospel to places the church could not go otherwise. The church supports a roster of church-planting missionaries on six continents, plus a number of other missionary projects in the United States and abroad.
The current church-planting missionaries include Ben and Ashli Baucum, who moved to Hong Kong to pastor a small church in 2024; Nathan and Tara Beil, who serve in Honduras with CORE Missions to train, equip, and assist national pastors; Hani and Denise Dekho, who pastor a church in Lebanon among more than two million refugees from Iraq and Syria; Tom and Tiffany DePew, who moved to Cape Town, South Africa, to plant churches; Patrick and Leslie Henry, who serve in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where less than six percent of the population has professed faith in Jesus; Jason and Lori Holt, who founded the Chile Training Center as a Bible college in Santiago and planted Liberty Baptist Church, which has now sent out three young men to plant three more churches; Bryan and Heather MacPhail-Fausey, who work with a team in Cameroon with a goal of planting twenty Baptist churches in twenty years; Billy and Mary Ann Marks, who moved to Portugal in November 2024 to join an established pastor and church in ministry; Marco and Gwendolyn Nunez, who have served in southern Mexico since 1995 with EMU International and have helped train graduates who have started small mission churches throughout the region; Joe and Sierah Pliska, who are preparing to serve in Tokyo, Japan, focusing on church planting and mercy ministries including family counseling and homeless outreach; Kevin and Anna Ruwersma, who pastor a growing church in Barry, South Wales, and assist other churches in need of pastoral leadership; Joshua and Denise Steward, who planted a church in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, in 2019; and Josh and Sara Whitman, who have been involved in missions in Italy since 2007 and serve in Imola with multiple outreach ministries.
Other missionaries supported by Shelby Bible include Dominic and Elaine Gonino, who have served with Biblical Ministries Worldwide since 1982, planting churches in Idaho and Utah among Mormon populations and now serving as U.S. Area Director; Bob and Gayle McQueary, who serve with Worldview Ministries as Director of Church Planting, an organization committed to church planting, discipleship, and training Bible translators; and a number of additional projects including Maria Binney in the Philippines, Bonnie Blount in the United States, Encounter Revival Ministries, Ken and Linda Fielder, Charles and Mary Keen, Gary and Linda Keffer, Mark and Joanne Landon in Scotland, Randy and Tricia Merrill, Barb Perrine, and Doug and Ronda Wyler.
Each year, the Missions Ministry hosts visiting missionaries at the church for several events. A Chick-fil-A dinner is held on a Wednesday evening before midweek services. A Luncheon and Fellowship is held at midday with lunch in the SBC Gymnasium. A Prayer and Potluck brings the church family together for a meal followed by a Q&A with the missionaries and a time of prayer for their ministries. Childcare is provided during the Q&A portion of the evening.
An annual bake sale raises additional support for missions. Members of the church bake items at home and drop them off in the Fellowship Hall by mid-morning on the day of the event.
GriefShare and Caring for One Another
GriefShare is a thirteen-week support group for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. The group meets on Mondays from 12:30 to 2:00 PM in the SBC Commons, with a twenty-five dollar fee for materials paid upon arrival. The format is a video curriculum followed by small-group discussion, and the group is open to anyone in the community regardless of church membership.
A one-day GriefShare program, "Loss of a Spouse," is offered several times a year on a Saturday morning for those who have lost a husband or wife. The session runs from 10:00 to 11:30 AM, with a ten dollar fee for materials.
The church also hosts periodic Red Cross blood drives in its gym, drawing donors from across the Shelby Township community. Shelby Bible is a sponsor of the drive, and donors register under the ShelbyBible sponsor code to schedule a time slot.
Sermons, Right Now Media, and the Book Nook
Sermons are published each week on the Sermons page. Each week's sermon is also posted to the Sermons page and to the Shelby Bible Church podcast on Apple Podcasts, where listeners can subscribe to the church's regular podcast feed. An interactive Bible study tool from Interactive Bible Studio lets readers go deeper into the same passage and explore themes in more detail.
Right Now Media is available to every member of the church. The streaming library is free to church attenders and includes thousands of Bible studies, video curricula for children and students, and conference talks from Christian teachers and pastors. Members can sign up at the Right Now Media website using a custom link tied to the church.
The Book Nook is a list of pastoral staff book recommendations for the encouragement and edification of the church body. Recent selections include "Mercy in the Storm," a four-week study on the book of Jonah; "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard J. Foster; "Jesus and the Lion's Den" by Alison Mitchell; "50 People Every Christian Should Know" by Warren W. Wiersbe; "Not a Fan" by Kyle Idleman; "Ordinary" by Tony Merida; "A Gospel Primer" by Milton Vincent; "A Hunger for More" by Amy DiMarcangelo; and "Growing Together" by Melissa B. Kruger.
For visitors, the church's doors open wide on the busiest Sundays of the year. Easter brings a Good Friday service at 7:00 PM, three Sunday morning services at 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30 AM, nursery care for children from birth through age four, and an Easter Junior Church program for ages five through twelve during the 10:00 and 11:30 services. Volunteers wearing lanyards are stationed around the building to help newcomers find the auditorium, nursery, and Kid Check station. The congregation dresses in everything from jeans and a t-shirt to business casual to professional attire, so visitors are encouraged to come in whatever makes them comfortable.
Giving to Shelby Bible Church is available online through Pushpay. Members and visitors can give a one-time gift or set up recurring giving from the Give page on the church's website. A church directory is available through the Shelby Bible Church app on Church Center, where members can also sign up for events, submit building use and graphics requests, and access the sermon podcast.