History of Lake Community Bible Church
In the summer of 1990 a small group of people started meeting in the basement of an unfurnished Habitat house - no windows, but plenty of flies. Within a year the original Pastor of the small nondenominational church, Martin Crosthwaite, purchased the "Nook in the Woods" shop and cabin, and services were held in the current nursery building.
In 1993/94, Rev. Dick Gordon and The Independent Bible Mission in Grand Rapids came to help the struggling church. Pastor Gordon led in the building of the first portion of the church and it was dedicated in 1998. IBM funded the original building, and at that time the church became a member of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America.
In August of 1998, the church extended a call to Rev. Bill Dobson. He and his wife, Juanita, accepted the call and the church grew under their leadership. A few years later, a large addition was put on the back of the church to hold the summer congregations - holiday weekends were in excess of 200 people. Many attendees stood under the porch or sat in the foyer prior to the construction of the addition. To the surprise of many, the church was completely debt free when the addition was built. Pastor Dobson retired in 2012.
In June of 2013, Rev. Robert Sponable became the Pastor. He and his wife Nancy served the Lord faithfully here for a number of years. Following Pastor Sponable's retirement in 2019 and a two year period of several faithful interim ministers, the church extended a call to Dr. Mark J. Congrove, who accepted and became the pastor in November of 2021. He has been married to Debbie for forty-three years and they have three grown children and ten grandchildren. They look forward to seeing the Lord do great things as we serve him together in the greater Baldwin area.
We continue to "find our way back" from the pandemic and anticipate the return of ministries that serve the community, benefit the community and glorify the Lord. Until the Lord comes we will faithfully deliver the Word of God in a bold, timely, and consistent manner, highlighting the great work by Christ to save us and His continuing work to develop us into a people who can advance the kingdom of God and glorify our Savior.
In the summer of 1990 a small group of people started meeting in the basement of an unfurnished Habitat house - no windows, but plenty of flies. Within a year the original Pastor of the small nondenominational church, Martin Crosthwaite, purchased the "Nook in the Woods" shop and cabin, and services were held in the current nursery building.
In 1993/94, Rev. Dick Gordon and The Independent Bible Mission in Grand Rapids came to help the struggling church. Pastor Gordon led in the building of the first portion of the church and it was dedicated in 1998. IBM funded the original building, and at that time the church became a member of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America.
In August of 1998, the church extended a call to Rev. Bill Dobson. He and his wife, Juanita, accepted the call and the church grew under their leadership. A few years later, a large addition was put on the back of the church to hold the summer congregations - holiday weekends were in excess of 200 people. Many attendees stood under the porch or sat in the foyer prior to the construction of the addition. To the surprise of many, the church was completely debt free when the addition was built. Pastor Dobson retired in 2012.
In June of 2013, Rev. Robert Sponable became the Pastor. He and his wife Nancy served the Lord faithfully here for a number of years. Following Pastor Sponable's retirement in 2019 and a two year period of several faithful interim ministers, the church extended a call to Dr. Mark J. Congrove, who accepted and became the pastor in November of 2021. He has been married to Debbie for forty-three years and they have three grown children and ten grandchildren. They look forward to seeing the Lord do great things as we serve him together in the greater Baldwin area.
We continue to "find our way back" from the pandemic and anticipate the return of ministries that serve the community, benefit the community and glorify the Lord. Until the Lord comes we will faithfully deliver the Word of God in a bold, timely, and consistent manner, highlighting the great work by Christ to save us and His continuing work to develop us into a people who can advance the kingdom of God and glorify our Savior.
Hillside Chapel
