Liberty Baptist Church was founded on June 4, 1982 by Rev. Kieth Stoller as a home mission of Trinity Baptist Church of Findlay, OH, and supported by Bible Baptist Church of Ft. Wayne, IN. Financial support was provided through churches within the Ohio Baptist Bible Fellowship for 2 ½ years.

While the first church service was held in a tent at the Horace Mann School in Van Wert, OH, the first charter service was held in the Horace Mann School gym. 50 people were in attendance and signed the church’s charter.

In April of 1983, a local medical doctor, Dr. Scheid, donated a storefront to the church located at 135 E. Central Ave. in Van Wert. While the donation was a welcome one, the storefront location had many ups and downs. The cramped space and financial troubles caused issues for the church, and Pastor Stoller announced his resignation in December of 1984. Approximately 40 people attended the church at this time.

 

 

Liberty Baptist Church called their second pastor, Gordon Parsley, in February of 1985. While Pastor Parsley worked hard to fix some of the looming financial problems of the church, ultimately he announced his resignation in September 1985. The church considered disbanding at this time, but fortunately, church trustees, deacons, and pastors of supporting churches helped to reorganize the church and keep it afloat.

Liberty Baptist called their third pastor, Mike Donald, in January of 1985. The church was still meeting at the storefront location, and while they were struggling financially, they were thankfully debt free. Pastor Donald worked a full time construction job with no salary from the church for over a year, and managed to grow attendance from 16 to 70 people between 1986 and 1989.

In May of 1989, a vacant church building came up for sale at Harrison and East Main Street in Van Wert. Liberty Baptist Church voted to purchase the building, and held their dedication on June 1, 1989 with 200 people in attendance. After being called to accept a pastoral position elsewhere, Pastor Donald announced his resignation on May 14, 1995. Through Pastor Donald’s capable leadership, the church averaged 165 in attendance.

 

 

Liberty Baptist Church called their fourth pastor, Jim C. Burns, in October of 1995. During Pastor Burns’ tenure, he has added a multitude of new ministries to the church including: a Basic Biblical Discipleship program, a Faith Promise Missions Giving program, a daily local radio outreach ministry, Faith Bible Institute, an addiction outreach, and many others.

In June of 2003, the church trustees voted to purchase 8.5 acres on John Brown Road in Van Wert for a future church building project and began a building fund campaign.

Later that year, plans to build a 23,000 square foot metal church building on the newly purchased property were formulated. At the time, the church had $30,000 in their building fund, and bids for the building were between 2 and 3 million dollars. Liberty Baptist chose to wait on the God’s timing, and prayed for what to do next.

 

 

Thankfully, God answered Liberty Baptist’s prayers, and in May 2007, the Horace Mann Elementary School closed its doors, allowing for a huge opportunity for the church. Citizen’s National Bank of Van Wert was the only bank in town that was willing to take a risk to loan the church the needed funds to purchase and remodel the school building. By November of that year, the congregation voted unanimously to bid on the Horace Mann School property. Liberty Baptist managed to win the bid, and began remodeling the building.

While the church began meeting in the new building in 2008, it took nearly 3 years to complete the remodel project due to the recession and mostly volunteer labor. On September 10, 2010, the Van Wert County Chamber of Commerce came to the dedication service to participate in a ribbon cutting. Liberty Baptist hosted Dr. Bob Jones III, the President of Bob Jones University at the time, to speak at the service, and approximately 200 people were in attendance.

On September 18, 2022, Liberty Baptist Church made their last payment on the property and became debt free! God has blessed Liberty Baptist with so much, and we look forward to what He has for us in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons, all equal in divine personality and nature; set forth in Scripture as: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that within these three personages is found the expression of the triune God of the universe, who is infinite, and inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, worship, confidence and love by his creatures.

Genesis 1:2, John 3:35, John 5:26-27, John 10:30, I Timothy 2:5

 

 

We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s only begotten Son; that he was conceived in the womb of Mary, a virgin, by direct supernatural action of God; making Him true God and true man.
Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18

 

 

 

Genesis 3:6, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10, Romans 5:12

 

 

We believe that a Baptist Church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word. We believe that its officers of ordination are pastors or elders and deacons whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. We hold that the true mission of the Church is found in the Great Commission: First, to win the lost; Second, to baptize the convert; Third, to teach and instruct them as he commanded. We do not believe in the reversal of this order; we believe that the local church has the absolute right of self government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that the one and only Head of the Church is Christ Jesus.
Matthew 16:13-20, I Timothy 3:16

 

 

We believe that Christ rose bodily “the third day according to the Scriptures;” “that this same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven” — bodily, personally and visible. We hold to the pre-millennium, pre-tribulation, return of Christ; when the dead in Christ shall rise first, and the living saints shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; that the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of his Father David; and that Christ shall reign a thousand years in righteousness.
I Corinthians 15:1-7, I Corinthians 15:50-58 

 

 

 

 

We believe that baptism is for all who will be saved. We believe there to be no limits placed on age in the Bible but rather exclusively for those that have believed on the name of Jesus. We believe in full immersion in “much water.” We reject infant baptism, baptismal regeneration and any notion that would apply eternal life to baptism. Baptism is an outward expression of what happens in the heart of a sinner.

John 3:23, I Peter 3:21, Acts 2:38

 

 

 

 

 

John 3:16, Revelation 22:17, Ephesians 2:8-9, I Peter 1:18-25, Galatians 3:1-6, Genesis 15:6