Our History

An Open Bible

On Sunday, June 8, 1947, the first service of the Church of the Open Bible was held. The name of the church was surely no accident, and it grew out of the beliefs we have held dear since those early days. Shortly after the church was founded, a booklet was put out containing this record of why the church was organized:

There were many of us who, having come to a glorious knowledge of God’s truth, as revealed in His Word, the Holy Bible, and desiring to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, both in deed as well as word, found ourselves drawn together in fellowship and worship, and the study of Scripture.

In common with believers over the world today, we found ourselves unable to enjoy such within the large established denominations, which ecclesiastically generally speaking are in the deadly grip of “Modernism”, “Liberalism” and “Neo-orthodoxy”, with its blighting and paralyzing influences, and since prevailing conditions have caused many to withdraw therefrom, and seek elsewhere the faith and fellowship which satisfied their spiritual needs, we likewise have felt the need to assemble ourselves as the Lord does direct us.

In the Old Schoolhouse

Our founding Pastor, Roger Seacord, had in his possession the Old District School No. 1 in the Town of Cambridge. Pastor Seacord donated this building, and it served as the original home of the Church of the Open Bible. It was located a mile north of New York 372 on Cambridge-Battenkill Road.

The Church Building

Erected in 1844 as the First Baptist Church, ours is the oldest standing church building in the Village of Cambridge New York.

Church of the Open Bible

The church property was purchased by the Church of the Open Bible in early 1970, and we have been holding services here since June of that year.

Pastor Seacord

Pastor Roger and his wife Minnie faithfully served the church until the end of 1986. Our founder shared his gratefulness for all who helped in the work during his thirty-nine and a half years as pastor:

I wish to personally express my fondest expression of gratitude to all who helped start and carried on this assembly of believers to the Glory of God and the preaching of the matchless gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pastor Witham

Pastor Cal and his wife Bonnie began serving in January of 1987. Pastor Cal was at OBBC until the early 2000’s.

Open Bible Baptist Church

Due to our alignment with Baptist beliefs, the name of the church was changed to Open Bible Baptist Church.

Pastor Fraunhofer

Following Pastor Cal, the church had an interim Pastor, Joe Zorn, for about a year. Then, Pastor Nick Fraunhofer and his wife served OBBC until November of 2016.

Pastor Ballard

Pastor Mark and his wife Cindy served the church on an interim basis from November of 2016 until May of 2024. The Ballard’s have one son, Ben. Pastor Mark is also the Founder and President of Northeastern Baptist College in nearby Bennington, Vermont.

Pastor Hall

On Sunday, July 7, 2024, the church extended the call to Bill Hall to be the new Pastor of OBBC. Pastor Bill lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee and immediately began moving his family to Cambridge. Sunday, September 15, 2024, was Pastor Bill’s first ‘regular’ Sunday as Pastor. Though our other Pastors had children, Pastor Bill and MaryBeth are the first that have several young children. William, Peter, Bethany, and Felicity join them in the ministry here at Open Bible. They live close to the church in the Village of Cambridge.