Desert Ridge Baptist Church was constituted on March 31, 2013, as a collective effort to plant a church in Southwestern Utah that was committed to the faithful exposition of Scripture and the doctrines of grace. Pastor Michael Waldrop led this effort by relocating to St. George, Utah from Mississippi with his wife, Hope, and their three children, Whit, Jack, and Zoe. The entire Waldrop family played a pivotal role in serving the various needs of the fledgling church plant. Through the initial years of establishing the church, Pastor Michael remained committed to ministering according to the standard of Scripture alone and trusted in the sovereignty of God to build His Church. God did just that, raising up this fellowship of believers who are committed to these same tenants. The current location of DRBC was home to the very first Baptist church to be planted in St. George in 1965. DRBC acquired the property through an agreement with First Southern Baptist Church when they relocated to a new facility.
In 2023, Pastor Michael finished his tenure at DRBC and transitioned to another avenue of ministry, having witnessed God’s mighty hand at work in St. George.
The primary sponsoring church for DRBC’s establishment was First Baptist Church of Keller, Texas, through the convictions of Pastor Keith Sanders, who shared Michael’s desire to saturate this region with the gospel. Providence Village Baptist Church of Lake Butler, Florida, also partnered in the work, in conjunction with the Color Country Baptist Association and the Utah-Idaho Baptist Convention.