Bridgewater Baptist renovates the church building that previously housed Dimock (Pa.) Baptist.
“The title of the Fall 2024 Baptist Bulletin really resonated with me: Birth, Life, Death, Rebirth,” says Bob Kadlecik, pastor of Bridgewater Church’s campus in Montrose, Pennsylvania.
He relates the following account of a church’s birth, life, death, and rebirth.
Birth: On June 3, 1834, the pastor of Bridgewater Baptist Church in Montrose, Pennsylvania, helped start Dimock Baptist Church (above) in Dimock, Pennsylvania, with 25 members. It was the eighth church he started in the area.
Life: Dimock Baptist grew and bought its first building in 1851. In the 1900s it became a GARBC church.
Death: In 2024 the remaining five members of Dimock Baptist voted to disband and close the church.
Rebirth: Dimock Baptist also voted to give its building to Bridgewater Church. Under the leadership of Pastor Brett Bixby, the Dimock church building will reopen as a Bridgewater Church campus on Easter 2025 with 50–100 people from Bridgewater Church.
“One of our 90-plus-year-old members, Wilma Palmer, was thrilled to see the congregation restarted,” Bob says. “In the early 1900s her alcoholic grandfather trusted Christ as his Savior at Dimock Baptist. The change in his life was dramatic. He helped lead all his children to Christ, including his son Ray (Wilma’s father), who later fought in World War I. All of Ray’s children, including Wilma, also gave their lives to Christ.
“What God does today lasts for eternity! I can’t wait until Heaven when we will hear all the ways God weaves His story throughout time!”
