NEW GROUNDBREAKING FOR OLDEST CHURCH

On Labor Day, September 7, 2009, in the early morning hours, lightning struck a transformer outside North Dayton Baptist Church (NDBC), traveling to the electrical system of the church and causing a fire to break out.  The fire created extensive damage to the church, so much so that it has been necessary to have services at nearby Kiser K-8 school since that date.

On Sunday, April 11, 2010, ground was broken to begin the tearing down and rebuilding of the oldest part of the church.  The fact the church people have found most interesting is that ground for this particular building was broken 55 years ago on April 17, 1955 – within a few days of being 55 years exactly.

North Dayton Baptist Church, the oldest affiliated Southern Baptist Church north of the Cincinnati-Hamilton area, became a church on January 9, 1944 under the leadership of Pastor William M. Beasley.  During the past 66 years NDBC has been instrumental in starting missions that have lead to several other churches being formed, including Huber Heights, Avondale, Immanuel Baptist in Wilmington, First Baptist Church, Vandalia.  NDBC also played an important role in the forming of the Ohio Baptist Convention.

These past few months have been a bittersweet time in the life of NDBC. There is so much history in the old building. So many people have memories of this building that will never be forgotten: great worship services, baptisms, marriages and Sunday School attendance. There has been a great deal of hard worlk over the last 54 years and a countless number of lives have been touched through the ministry of this great church.

There are new opportunities awaiting us. We are going to have a building that is ADA accessible with two ground level entrances, a gymnasium and a building that will be economical to heat and cool.

NDBC’s pastor, Jim Williford, has done a wonderful job leading and keeping the spirits of the congregation high.  He says, “This is an exciting time for our church. We are just now beginning to realize the possibilities this new building will afford us. Though we will have a new building, the vision and purpose that began with Pastor Beasley has not changed. We reconfirm the original commitment to share the love of Christ with those that need Jesus!”