Bethel Baptist Church

                     Senior Pastor - Lloyd V. Donica


 Pastor Donica was born in New Castle, Indiana, on March 12, 1951.  He came to know Christ at an early age.  After his second year of Bible College, he was called to preach.  Upon graduating from College in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Pastoral Studies, he served in France as a summer missionary.  God then led him to Florence, South Carolina, to serve as an assistant pastor. While serving there, part of his responsibilities included teaching in the church’s Christian School.  During that time, God placed upon his heart a burden for Christian education.  After three years in Florence, he then moved to Greenville, South Carolina, to begin his Master's Degree in Christian School Administration at Bob Jones University.  Upon graduation in 1978, Pastor Donica moved to Darlington, South Carolina, to begin his first ministry as a senior pastor.  He also continued teaching part time in a Christian School.

In 1980, he moved to Hampton, Virginia, where he became the associate pastor of Bethel Baptist Church and the principal of Bethel Christian School.  While principal, he led the school from a small elementary school to a developed school program, with classes for preschool, elementary, and college preparatory high school students.  He was instrumental in leading the school to join the Old Dominion Association of Church Schools and the American Association of Christian Schools.  He currently serves on the boards of the Virginia Assembly of Independent Baptists, the Old Dominion Association of Church Schools, and Camp Betel, a Christian Camp in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Pastor Donica and his wife, Debbie, a native of Florence, South Carolina, were married in 1977.  Debbie graduated from Francis Marion University, in South Carolina, with a degree in teaching.  She has been involved in Christian education for over thirty-five years.  Over thirty of those years have been at Bethel Christian School.  They have two grown children, Rebekah and Joey.  Both of their children graduated from Bob Jones University with undergraduate and graduate degrees.  Rebekah is now married to Wayne Root, and they live in Massachusetts where she teaches in a Christian school.  Joey is currently pursuing a PhD degree in English at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.  Pastor Donica and Debbie have two grandchildren, Collin and Lila Root, who live in Massachusetts.

Pastor Donica assumed the role as Co-Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in September 2002 and then as Senior Pastor on June 6, 2005.

 E-Mail: Lloyd Donica