Former Ridgecrest pastor to run for Christian County commissioner

The former longtime leader of Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield yesterday announced his intended candidacy for the Christian County Western commissioner’s office being vacated by Bill Barnett, who is retiring.

Hosea Bilyeu, who also served twice as a Nixa city councilman, led the church located on Republic Road as senior pastor for 30 years before retiring in 2014.

In a phone interview this morning, Bilyeu, who intends to run as a Republican, said he’s seeking election because he feels he could help bring divergent views together for the county’s common good.

“I feel that our society is becoming increasingly fractured. The distance between opposing groups has grown wider, and I want to be a bridge builder,” Bilyeu said.

Alicia Monsanto, elections deputy clerk for Christian County, said the filing period for the Eastern and Western Christian County commissioners’ seats is Feb. 23-March 29. Sue Ann Childers is the Eastern district commissioner, and both positions have terms of four years each.

Bilyeu, who holds a bachelor’s in education in mathematics from Missouri State University, taught high school math for seven years, first for the Spokane school district and then for Nixa Public Schools.

He went on to earn a master’s in divinity from Midwestern Seminary in Kansas City and work at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church near Clever for over five years before assuming leadership at Ridgecrest, according to a news release. Weekly attendance at Ridgecrest was roughly 20 attendees per week when he started and was around 1,850 per week when he left, according to Bilyeu.

In 2004, the church acquired Remington’s nightclub – one of the largest nightclubs in the state – for $3.3 million, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

In 2005, the facility housed displaced residents from Hurricane Katrina, and over the years hosted community events partnering with groups including the Friends of the Library, the KTTS Christmas Crusade and Division of Youth Services, among others.

In November, church leaders announced they would close Remington’s as a community event center.