Who We Are

• All Scripture is verbally inspired as originally written and therefore infallible and inerrant (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21).

• There is one living and true God who exists in three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 1:14).

• All men inherit a corrupt nature and are lost sinners in need of salvation (Romans 3:9-19; Ephesians 2:1-3).
• God has provided salvation through offering His Son on the cross of Calvary, whose death serves as an atonement for our sins (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:22).

• Christ rose bodily from the dead and ascended unto God the Father (Matthew 28:6; 1 Corinthians 15).

• We are saved and justified when we recognize ourselves as sinners and put our trust in Christ as the Son of God and His finished work on the cross of Calvary (Romans 3:23-26). Salvation is by grace through faith apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• Those who are truly saved can never be lost but rather are kept by the power of God through faith (John 10:27-29; Romans 8:28-30, 38-39).
• All believers, and only believers, should be baptized by immersion (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41, 19:4-5).
• We should regularly and consistently remember the Lord’s death for us in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-32).
• As believers we should seek to be conformed to Christlikeness through the power of the Spirit throughout our earthly life as we live a life of separation from the world and “unto God” (Romans 8:29; 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 6:14-18; Galatians 5:16; 1 John 2:15-17).
• Christ will return for His saints, with the “dead in Christ” being raised bodily joining those who are alive at His coming (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

• After a period of tribulation, Christ will return again in His second coming to establish His kingdom and rule for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-6).

• The Bible teaches the eternal blessedness of the saved (John 4:14, 5:24; Ephesians 2:7) and the eternal punishment of the lost in the Lake of Fire (John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:10, 15).

In 1957 Pastor and Betty Heller felt led of God to begin a church on the north side of Indianapolis.  Their first service in October 1957 was held in the side room of an old vacant church building.  Eleven people attended that morning.  By November there were ten adult members, which was the number needed to legally organize a church; and in March 1958, sixteen people signed the original charter.  Three months later construction started on a new building. The little white church was torn down and a tent raised in which to hold services during construction. By November, the basement and upper shell were completed, and the grateful congregation moved into the basement sanctuary.  Enclosed only by some makeshift curtains, the furnace popped and sputtered noisily through every service; but the congregation, who spent their final Sunday in the tent in weather two degrees below zero, did not care.  They were happy to be out of the musty, cold tent and into warm shelter for the winter.

On Easter Sunday of 1959 the congregation met in the completed sanctuary for the first time.  The new auditorium, which covered almost the entire main floor, was greatly appreciated; but as God provided a steady flow of new members, it was not long until even more room was needed.

On the snowy, cold day of December 16, 1962, the cornerstone of the new addition was laid, and a special service of dedication was held.  When the congregation moved in on October 20, 1963, the average attendance in both Sunday school and church had grown to 200.

Again God blessed with growth and continued vision.  In 1976 a Christian school ministry was begun in the church building and over thirty acres of land across the street was purchased.  In May of 1977 construction was begun on the much needed educational building, which would also house Colonial Christian School.  One year after construction was begun, the student body moved in.

It soon became evident that this ministry of the church was greatly blessed of God and in need of expansion.  In 1981 the decision was made to add yet another unit, which would contain nine classrooms.  As school commenced in September of that year, so also did construction on the new unit.  In 1985, the present sanctuary and Fine Arts Center were built.

In 1988 Pastor Heller informed the deacons that he felt his present ministry as senior pastor would end in the near future so that he could begin an itinerant ministry to other churches and to mission fields.  This ministry would be more consistent with his energy level at this stage of his life.  The church along with the pastor looked for the appropriate person to pastor the church and lead it forward.  In late 1988 Dr. Bob Taylor was called as co-pastor for one year, at the end of which he would become senior pastor and Pastor Heller would become Pastor Emeritus.  Since that time Dr. and Mrs. Heller  have been involved in Bible conferences, evangelistic crusades, financial seminars, stewardship meetings, couples and men’s retreats, and missionary conferences and have spent considerable time on various mission fields under the auspices of Colonial Hills Baptist Church.

Pastor Taylor served for over 20 years and then retired in 2013. Colonial then called Chuck Phelps to be the lead pastor. Under the Leadership of Pastor Phelps, Colonial has seen substantial growth in both numbers and ministries.