In 2004 Dave and Joni Burchett, Nelson and Suzie Tull, and Don and Cindy Moore attended a church planting conference at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. All six attendees left the conference excited about the leadership structure presented that week.
The idea was to create a place where the focus was on being a team with more than one voice sharing God’s Word from the pulpit and leading the direction of the church. The couples met together to plan, dream, and mostly pray throughout the summer. The original concept was to establish a Bible study with a few people to investigate the possibility of starting a new church.
First Public Bible Study…
The Burchetts agreed to open their home to host the initial Bible study. News of the meeting went viral. We knew that God had something special in mind when, on a miserably hot August Sunday night, 95 people crammed into Dave and Joni’s home overwhelming the A/C. A van transported people from a local elementary school parking lot to the meeting. Furniture was moved out of the living room to get more folks seated. People lined the stairs and stood along the balcony rail upstairs as the vision of a new church structure was presented. The new church outgrew the first location on day one!
Getting Started...
One of the families intrigued by this dream were part of the ownership group of Sunbelt Pools in Dallas. Jon Collins told us we could use the vacant second floor of his facility to meet. We spread the word and the attendance for our first official service was over 150 people! It was both exciting and terrifying to go from a possible church plant to instant church. Don Moore became the first full-time pastoral staff and Cindy was the part-time administrator. The wonderful folks at Sunbelt Pools tore down walls to make room for more people. We had to come up with a name for this new church and Cindy Moore suggested Waterbrook Bible Fellowship based on Psalm 42:1.
As the deer pants for the waterbrooks,
So my soul pants for You, God. (NASB)
We loved the idea of creating a place where the body of believers thirsted to know God better and studying His Word was vital to that desire. Adding fellowship to the name proclaimed our prayer to function in unity as a team. A month after the first service Stephen and Sharon Bramer joined the leadership team with the Burchetts, Tulls, and Moores. Stephen quickly established our team pulpit ministry as a part-time Teaching Pastor. The church moved to two services and the people were challenged to attend one service and serve in the other hour. Early in our history we took a charter bus to visit and learn from another Fellowship Church in Nashville, Tennessee. The trip was amazing and confirmed our vision to adapt the team ministry model at Waterbrook. Our friends in Little Rock and Nashville helped us format church documents. Don Moore suggested 10% of all giving should go to missions. We believe that commitment to missions has glorified God as we continue to be blessed financially.
The church was growing but we recognized that one thing had to happen. We could not meet forever at a pool company in Dallas. We began to pray about where to go next.
Move to Wylie…
Dave Burchett had done a lot of research on potential growth areas that could welcome a Bible church in their community. Wylie, Texas was projected to explode in growth, so the leadership team decided to pursue moving to that area. Finding a place to set up a portable church was the next challenge. The Wylie School District had put a pause on renting out school facilities. After much prayer the leaders pursued that goal and God opened the doors to begin meeting in Wylie at Dodd Elementary School in May of 2005. We purchased a trailer and a committed crew set up for worship and tore down those items every single week.
Waterbrook was a growing family of faith, passionately committed to the same mission and values that originally drew us together. A year later a Council of Elders were appointed and confirmed. The structure again emphasized the team concept. The Elders did not lead the church like a board of directors but received input from the staff and approved and provided resources to grow the church. Don Moore created a worship DNA at Waterbrook that is and will continue to be a huge part of who we are. Stephen Bramer developed our Expository Preaching that dives deep into God’s Word and how it applies to our daily lives. But one piece was missing for Waterbrook to make the next step. We needed a Lead Pastor to provide visionary leadership and be a part of our teaching team.
Pastoral Leadership Team Develops & Grows
In November 2008 Jeff Denton accepted the invitation to become Lead Pastor. Jeff and Deana Denton (along with Amelia and JJ) moved from Elgin, Illinois after serving 20 years in a pastoral role there. Jeff became our Lead Pastor, an elder, and was responsible for Waterbrook’s leadership and vision. Jeff’s ability to build on the strengths that were in place while building a foundation of community and grace helped Waterbrook grow in unity and outreach. Jeff created an amazing connection to the Wylie community and other churches. In 2015, Waterbrook would hire its first full-time Student Pastor, John Robbins. Jeff would mentor Pastor John to oversee an incredibly powerful and effective student ministry. Don Moore continued to build the worship culture and developed a powerful missions team outreach. Jeff teamed with Stephen Bramer to solidify our team ministry teaching model. Pastor Yun Li joined the team as our Children’s Ministry Pastor from 2018 to 2023. She helped develop an excellent curriculum for our kids and Pastor Yun and her team helped keep our children engaged during the pandemic with creative lessons sent home. Also, during the Covid shutdown Pastor Jeff Denton and John Robbins created a fun and inspirational streaming Pregame Show before the Sunday service. Waterbrook was innovative and dedicated to providing our weekly service to our body. That leadership helped the church and our congregation survive a difficult pandemic season.
Building to the Future
In the Fall of 2009, the leadership team purchased approximately 4 acres of land on Thomas Street in Wylie. The land already had a 3,000 square foot house that is now referred to as the 507 building. That structure was renovated into our first ministry building containing offices and meeting rooms. In 2010 we began construction on the100 building and held our first worship services there in January 2011. We planned and built the 200 Building with classroom space in 2016. The long-term plans are in place for additional structures that will complete our campus masterplan.
God’s Presence through a dark valley
Waterbrook went through a challenging season when Pastor Jeff Denton was diagnosed with terminal cancer in June of 2022. His leadership through that difficult journey inspired and prepared our church for the future. Pastor John Robbins and Pastor Don Moore stepped into Executive Pastor roles to help keep our church functioning through Jeff’s treatment. The original prognosis was that Jeff might only live five months. Prayer and God’s perfect timing gave him a year and a half to prepare us for the difficult transition of his passing. That amount of time gave Pastor Jeff time to mentor John Robbins as his successor. The pastoral search committee, elder council, and congregation all gave unanimous affirmation to John as our new lead pastor. In January 2024, Pastor Jeff Denton went home to Jesus with peace in his heart that the future of Waterbrook was in good hands.
Looking to the Future
We believe the Lord has led us thus far and are praying for His blessing on us for the future. There are many to be reached, discipled, equipped, and encouraged in our communities and around the world. Waterbrook continues to exist that we might “glorify God by making and growing disciples in Wylie and beyond.” And our prayer is that God will continue to show us how to make Waterbrook a place to belong.