Mandeville Bible Church has its roots in the Mandeville Union Protestant Society, which began in 1876 with the hope of being a source of strength, unity and inspiration to the people of Mandeville, Louisiana. The society was born out of necessity, because at that time there was no place for non-Catholics to worship.
On February 28, 1876, several leaders in the Mandeville community organized and obtained a 90-year charter for the Mandeville Protestant Church Society to provide a place of worship for people from any Protestant denomination. On May 6, 1876, the board authorized the purchase for one hundred dollars of the property on Carroll Street where the church building stands today. The community of Mandeville, including blacks and whites, and those of the Protestant, Jewish, and Catholic faiths, contributed money, materials, and labor to build the church building.
The belfry and bell, which are still in use today, were installed in 1886. Since church growth was hampered by a lack of space and facilities, an education building/fellowship hall was approved in May, 1953, and completed in April, 1954, at a cost of $25,000. Another addition to the church came in 1978, when the sanctuary building was extended by forty feet, and a choir loft and baptismal pool were built at a cost of $53,000. In 2013, in response to repeated flooding of the Fellowship Hall over the years due to tropical storms, the church members voted to raise the building. A lift was added in 2014 to assist those unable to navigate the stairs into the building.
In the early years, the church building was used by different denominations at various times. Weddings and baptisms often had to be delayed for weeks because people had to wait until the minister of their preferred denomination came to Mandeville.
In 1893, an initial attempt was made to organize a Sunday School, but it met with little success. In March, 1894, Dr. R.B. Paine, a medical doctor, came to Mandeville, and he was instrumental in establishing a successful Sunday School program and in soliciting contributions to pay the visiting ministers.
Mandeville Union Protestant Society continued to grow, and on November 6, 1951, the society reorganized under a new charter, and changed its name to Mandeville Union Protestant Church. A new constitution and by-laws were adopted, and the church began with 75 charter members.
Mandeville Union Protestant Church, though a small church with a small congregation, was a blessing to its members through the years. As the Mandeville area grew, the members of various denominations began to leave the church and build their own church buildings. Eventually, the church ceased to be a "union of Protestant churches" and became a group of non-denominational believers who were committed to the study of God's Word. On April 6, 1997, the congregation voted to change the church’s name to Mandeville Bible Church. As a memorial to the history of Mandeville Union Protestant Church, and to the church’s contributions to the Mandeville area, on October 19, 1997, the church building on 217 Carroll Street was formally dedicated as the “Mandeville Union Protestant Church Building.”
No fewer than 54 ministers from Covington and the surrounding towns, representing five denominations, faithfully served the church as part-time ministers until 1955, when the first full-time resident minister, Rev. Joseph K. Pinter, was called.
Following is a list of the full-time pastors from 1955 to the present:
Rev. Joseph K. Pinter (1955-1956)
Vincent Titterud (1956-1959)
Julian Burke (1960-1986)
Tim Carroll (1986-1996)
Dr. Nick Greco (1996-2015)
Eric McNeil (2015-2022) Chris Berg (2022- present)