Bibletown, which held its first conference 75 years ago, at its peak attracted hundreds of thousands of Christians to Boca Raton each year. Photo provided
By Janis Fontaine
Before it was Boca Raton Community Church, it was called Bibletown.
The real name was the Boca Raton Bible Grounds Conference Center, but evangelist Billy Graham nicknamed it Bibletown, and the name stuck.
Founded in 1950 by Dr. Ira Lee “Doc” Eshleman, a Detroit pastor who hosted a radio program in Miami, it was built on what had been a World War II radar base. Eshleman converted the former Army Air Corps installation into a seasonal mecca for the faithful who came from all over to sing and pray. The first conference took place in July 1951, but most events happened from January to March. It looked more like a resort than a church campus with visitors staying in motel rooms and swimming in the sparkling blue pool.
Thousands of people came to see nationally known speakers and performers. According to a story in the Boca Raton Tribune, “Bibletown became one of the largest Christian conference centers in the world, drawing approximately 200,000 annual visitors. At its peak, the campus included 110 motel rooms, multiple dining halls, and a 2,500-seat sanctuary built in 1969.”
Eshleman also catalyzed the development of Boca Raton, especially areas surrounding his Bible Center, but his wider reach came from founding Sports World Ministries to help professional athletes share their faith. He became a chaplain for the National Football League and was the first to hold pregame chapel services.
In 1976, a fire destroyed the original radar building, the cafeteria and the conference center. But within a few years, the campus had been rebuilt and in 1981 Billy Graham returned to Bibletown to formally dedicate the new buildings.
As the end of the 20th century approached, attendance began to fall off. The church’s sprawling campus on both sides of Northwest Fourth Avenue south of Glades Road was in disrepair. “Staffing was minimal, and buildings deteriorated. Electrical and sound systems had not been updated since the 1950s,” the Sun Sentinel wrote in 2006. The church sold most of its land, keeping about 20 acres.
In 2003, the Rev. Jonathan Burnham came on board and the church reorganized with a new worship style, new leadership and a new philosophy. Burnham spent the next three years revamping the renamed Boca Raton Community Church into “a year-round operation that emphasizes nondenominational, contemporary worship for local residents,” according to the Sun Sentinel.
Around the same time, Bill Mitchell came on board as an assistant pastor, but he’d been a member of the church for years. Mitchell is one of those rare Floridians who can trace his lineage back three generations on both sides, and the family had roots in the church.
“Boca Raton Community Church is the church where I grew up,” he said in an interview with Good News Florida in 2018. “When my wife moved here from Jamaica, she started attending this church as well. We were seniors in high school when we met and later were married in this church. I was an elder and Sunday School teacher.”
After 25 years in real estate development, Mitchell became a full-time pastor, leading BRCC with the skill he used in the business world. In 2014, he started CityLead Boca to use his expertise in a new way.
Mitchell discovered that most leadership principles are found in Jesus’ teachings. He invited local business leaders to lunch and spoke about ethical leadership, Christian character and civic unity. The ministry grew, drawing as many as 350 people each month. Familiar themes include “Leading with Justice, Mercy, Humility and Authenticity.”
It didn’t happen overnight, but CityLead, Mitchell and BRCC raised the ethical bar. CityLead chapters opened in Fort Lauderdale and Miami and 20 other cities around the nation, and WorldLead, an international spin-off, became active in 40 countries.
“If I helped people pursue God, build community and engage the world, I would have done what I think God has called me to do,” Mitchell said.
Senior pastor Matthew McDaniel, who replaced Mitchell when he left to join the board of directors at the nonprofit Food for the Poor in 2024, agrees that the community is the heart of the church.
“It’s hard, maybe even be impossible, to be a Christian on your own,” he said. “You need to be a part of a community.
“In the Book of Galatians, Paul talks about the fruit of the spirit, and we’ve got this list of characteristics that are supposed to be evidence that God lives within you, as a Christian. We ask, which one of these fruits — there are nine of them: it’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control — can be completed successfully in isolation?
“We were designed to be in relationships,” McDaniel said. “From the very beginning, we’ve been connected with other people.”
McDaniel doesn’t want to discourage people who like to stream the weekly service, but in-person church works better, he says. It’s the energy.
“On a given Sunday, we have somewhere around 600 adults and another 150 kids or so, plus tons of volunteers serving all over the place. I think there’s something special when people are together physically that you just can’t get otherwise.”
Imagine a Zoom meeting, he said. “If you were sitting across from me, it would be a different experience. There is a different feeling, I think especially when you’re talking about a faith community.”
God wants us to be part of our community, McDaniel said. “Examples of God’s people being called to live in a community with one another fill the Old and New Testament. Loving your neighbors, being hospitable to strangers, caring for the sick, welcoming the aliens. There’s a whole list of things that we can talk about, but definitely community is important from many perspectives.”
There’s another reason we need a community, he said. It’s where we find our inspiration — the people we want to emulate. McDaniel believes that by imitating Christ and the most Christ-like people in our lives, we can mold ourselves into better people. “I’ve had lots of people who have helped me in my journey,” he said. “Too many to name.”
They fall into three categories: those who walk in front of us, beside us and behind us. Our mentors walk in front — like Mitchell, who was senior pastor at the church when McDaniel came. They have a moral foundation and ethics we admire and help guide us forward. For those who walk behind us, we are the guides, and we are called to be better people as role models for them.
But those who walk beside us, our peers, our friends, our helpers, our mates, may do the most to mold us into the people we are meant to be, and the best place to find them may be next to you in the pew.
Boca Raton Community Church is at 470 NW Fourth Ave., Boca Raton. Services take place at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. 561-395-2400; bocacommunity.org.
Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at fontaine423@outlook.com.
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