MONTROSE, Pa.—On Sunday, Oct. 26, Pastor Bob Kadlecik preached at Bridgewater Baptist Church . . . and so did Pastor Larry Potter, Pastor Ethan Morrison, and Pastor Barry Kilmer. No, it wasn’t a really long sermon. It is one church that meets in four locations. And Oct. 26 was a special day because Bridgewater Baptist opened its fourth campus in Conklin, N.Y.
In 2011 Bridgewater started a second campus in Hallstead, Pa., because of a lack of money for a new building. Pastor Brett Bixby summarizes the situation, “We knew God still wanted us to make more and better disciples, but we didn’t have space here and we didn’t have the money at the time to build a bigger box. So we sent 50 people 25 minutes north. It freed up space in Montrose and empowered those 50 to reach the community they were living in.” In 2013 Bridgewater started a third campus in South Vestal, N.Y., as a result of a church merger.
On April 6, 2014, Bridgewater voted to start a fourth campus in Conklin, N.Y. A little over a month later, on May 25, Bridgewater’s congregation at all of its campuses voted to borrow up to $350,000 to purchase and renovate the 8,200-square-foot True Value Hardware store at 1017 Conklin Rd. In addition, two families gave $110,000 to fund this new campus for the first year. Tens of thousands of dollars were saved on renovation costs through volunteer labor and numerous individuals donating equipment and materials. All that hard work paid off. Sunday attendance in Conklin averaged over 180 for its first four Sundays.
Barry Kilmer, Bridgewater Conklin’s campus pastor, is blown away by the response of the community. “I had a neighbor stop in while we were working on the building. I started to tell him about the church and he stopped me. He said, ‘You don’t have to tell me who you are. I know all about Bridgewater. I’ve done some research on you. Let me tell you right off—you won’t convert me [he is Catholic], but I am glad you are coming because this community needs this church.'”
“There has not been a grand plan on our part,” Pastor Bob Kadlecik says. “God used the Galloway and Landis families to lead us to Hallstead. Then he used the leaders at South Vestal Baptist Church to bring us there. Most recently, God has blessed us with Pastor Barry and Kim Kilmer. It is their burden and heart for Conklin that has moved us in that direction.”
Reed Mullen, a Conklin pioneer who attended Bridgewater Hallstead for almost three years, says, “I have been involved in churches all my life where we tried to make things happen. The incredible thing here is that God is making things happen, and we just have to run to keep up with Him.”
- Read more about Bridgewater Baptist Church in “A Multisite Church Rescue,” published in the July/August 2013 Baptist Bulletin.
