South Hill Bible Church began as the result of a meeting in the home of Rev. Dr. Henry A. Van Winkle on October 21, 1946. The church was officially organized as South Hill Christian Church, denominationally affiliated with the Disciples of Christ, on January 16, 1947.
Dr. Van Winkle pastored South Hill Christian Church in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Elmer Fosberg, until his untimely death on January 25, 1948 of a heart attack. Rev. Rex R. Dallas was called as pastor in September 1948.
Plans were announced in October 1948 to build the present sanctuary in memory of the late Dr. Van Winkle. Ground-breaking ceremonies took place on April 1, 1951 and the cornerstone was set on June 25th. The completed church was dedicated on April 27, 1952 and the educational wing was added in 1953.
Just as plans were getting underway for the building project Rev. Dallas passed away of a heart attack on January 26, 1951. The church called Rev. Ernest Obert in June 1951.
Other Disciples of Christ pastors, Rev. Ray Hartling and Rev. Frank Van Doren, served the South Hill Christian Church. But under the leadership of Rev. Clay Cooper from 1965-1975, the church began to take on a non-denominational flavor and a strong emphasis on world missions. Rev. Cooper’s successor, Rev. Thomas (Tom) W. Roop, arrived in Spokane at South Hill Christian Church in 1975 and helped the church make the transition into a non-denominational church over his 6 years of ministry until he retired as pastor in 1981.
Pastor Rich Lee served South Hill Christian Church for 6 years from 1981-1987, during which our name was changed to South Hill Bible Church. Rev. Thomas W. Roop returned as Interim pastor from 1987-1989 after Pastor Rich Lee until Pastor Sonny Westbrook arrived in the fall of 1989. Pastor Sonny served until 2007. Pastor Ron Lowery served from the summer of 2007 to spring of 2011. In August of 2011, South Hill Bible Church welcomed Pastor John Underhill as Pastor.
South Hill Bible Church, which now supports more than 20 missionaries and outreach organizations, both foreign and domestic, is an Elder-led church. The current Elder Board seeks to continue to lead the church in its original vision to be outreach and missions-minded.