Remembering Our Roots

     In June of 1964, Mogadore Baptist Church was chartered by the State of Ohio as a duly recognized Baptist Church.  Pastor William J. Absalom led in the organization of the newly formed church.  However, the fellowship had its roots in what was known as the Guiding Light Baptist Church which met in the Daughters of the American Revolution Hall on Pearl Avenue in Mogadore.  That church began meeting in 1959 under the guidance of Pastor Lowell Boatright.  In 1963, Pastor Bob Roberts began his ministry which led to a split in November of that year.  Pastor Absalom began his preaching in the fall of 1963 before the chartering of the church.

      In 1964, Mogadore Baptist Church joined the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC) where they have remained as active members of the fellowship for over 60 years.  We also became active members of the state fellowship, the Ohio Association of Regular Baptist Churches, in 1964.

      Property was bought in 1964 to build a building for the church to gather.  That property was on Martin Road in Suffield.  Later that year the property on Martin Road was sold and property on Carper Avenue in Springfield Township was purchased.  In the spring of 1965, ground was broken for a 100 seat building.  The building was a 30′ x 50′ structure with two restrooms, seven classrooms and a nursery.  It was completed over the winter and our first services were held there on March 6, 1966.  That building is the present southwest portion of our building.

      On May 8, 1966, the church held a dedication service and Pastor Absalom  continued as pastor until June of 1967. Believing that God was calling him to another ministry, Pastor Absalom resigned but stayed on until  Pastor Hoyt Douglas was called to serve as the next pastor of the church.

      Pastor Douglas began his ministry with his wife Pat emphasizing investment in discipling young people and overseas missions.  Pastor Douglas never wavered on these two commitments.  Under his ministry, no less than seven men went to Bible College or Seminary and four remain in ministry to this day. He was always enthusiastic and a gifted musician and athlete.  His sense of humor and wit made him a favorite in small groups, behind the pulpit, at a camp fire or in a personal discussion.  He truly loved the Lord and the people he served.  During his ministry, the auditorium on the Carper Road side of the building was built.

      While Pastor Douglas ministered to the members of Mogadore Baptist Church, one young man was called into ministry who had grown up in there in the church, Rob Seymour.  In January of 1982, Rob was called as an intern under Pastor Douglas.  In the year 1982, he assisted Pastor Douglas and grew to love his home church.  Pastor Douglas gave him a variety of duties to gain valuable experience.  In 1983, Pastor Douglas called an ordination council and Rob was ordained to the gospel ministry.  It was Pastor Douglas’ joy to see this young man go from his youth group to Cedarville College to Grace Seminary and back to MBC.  While at Cedarville College, Rob met the former Nancy Taylor of Topeka, Kansas and they were married in June of 1974 by Pastor Douglas.

      In May of 1984, Mogadore Baptist Church called Rob to be the third pastor of the church with an unanimous vote.  On June 1, 1984, Pastor Douglas and Pastor Rob Seymour were attending a Moody Pastor’s Conference in Chicago.  As they drove to the conference, Pastor Douglas was still the senior pastor of the church.  On their way home, Pastor Rob became pastor of the church.  Pastor Douglas remained a member of MBC and continued to be an encouragement to Pastor Rob and the members of the church until his death in 2016.

      Pastor Rob Seymour began his ministry in June of 1984 and faithfully served as the senior pastor through March of 2020.  During his 38 years of ministry, 36 as the senior pastor,  he lead the church through rewriting the constitution, instituting new budgetary procedures, launched the AWANA program, led in a building program, and helped start Mogadore Christian Acadamy (MCA).  He also served the Ohio Fellowship as a Trustee on the Board of Camp Patmos and for three years on the OARBC council of 12. During his ministry, God allowed the church to grow to a congregation of over 300 in membership. 

      In February of 2020, Pastor Rob informed the church that he would be stepped down as the pastor of Mogadore Baptist Church and led the church to extend the call to Forest Greetham as the new pastor.  Also a graduate of Cedarville, Pastor Forest formerly served at First Baptist, LaGrange as an associate pastor from 2004-2014 and then as the Lead Pastor of First Baptist, Brunswick from 2014-2020. Pastor Forest accepted the invitation as God's leading and became the pastor in April.

      The Covid Pandemic of 2020 was challenging time for so many churches. Mogadore had been slowly declining for the past 10 years and was averaging around 60 each Sunday. Covid served as a catalyst to bring the gears of program-centric ministry to a grinding halt. It was clear that something had to change. The church began to pray.

      In 2023, as a culminating result of multiple family meetings and leadership prayer sessions, Pastor Forest and the deacons recommended to the church family that we prayerfully consider a revitalization process. Feeling that significant change was necessary but that God would direct and supply the wisdom and strength for this complete relaunch. We formulated a year long plan where we would pray, plan, and prepare the fields.

     On September 15, 2024 - New Life Baptist Church was launched with the mission and vision of making disciples of Jesus Christ who are Rooted in Christ and His Word and Growing in Christ and His Body and therefore  Fruitful in Christ and His Mission.