John Bryan grew up in Faulkner and Van Buren Counties, and has called Conway his home since 2003. He attended Central Baptist College, University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton, and Bethel Baptist College in Jacksonville. He married Melissa in 2009 and they have been residents in the Saltillo community since 2014. Together they have 3 children.

John answered the call to ministry as a 16-year old youth, and has served the Lord in church ministries since that time, preaching in nursing homes, jails, street corners, and open-air markets in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He has assisted in bus ministries, homeless ministries, and taught Sunday School, and served as a deacon ever since that initial call to the ministry. When the Holy Spirit led him to become a pastor, the Spirit also led him to our church. He has been the pastor here since 2023.

Emmanuel Baptist Church was founded nearly 100 years ago with a vision by the local community to establish a God-honoring, Bible-preaching church in the area of east Conway. What began as a humble brush arbor has grown to a beautiful house of worship on the corner of Daugherty Hill Road and State Highway 286. 

In 1934, Daughtery Hill Missionary Baptist Church was founded in cooperation with Beryl Baptist (Vilonia). On the first Sunday in May, 1941 the membershop voted to incorporate two changes: changing the name to Emmanuel Baptist, and participating in the Southern Baptist Convention. In the intervening decades, many changes have come and gone, along with name changes. In December, 2024, our membership decided to return to our historical name and once again became Emmanuel Baptist Church. We maintain fellowship with the Faulkner Baptist Association, but we do not participate in the cooperative program with the SBC, choosing to give our charitable and missions contributions locally and individually. While there are merits in the cooperative program, we believe having control over our contributions is how we can best serve the Lord with the gifts He has given us. We currently support 3 individual missionaries and one organization. We are praying to be able to do more to spread the word and love of God to our community and the world.

We have a homecoming service on the first Sunday in May every year. 

Whether you help through monetary donations, volunteering your time, or spreading our mission through word-of-mouth, thank you. We couldn't accomplish our goals without the help of supporters like you.