A Brief History of GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH of Marion, New York
On February 18, 1977, the church began with a godly group of Bible-believing Christians. They met in the Grange Hall of Williamson, NY. The services consisted of Sunday School, Morning Worship, and Sunday Evening services. Wednesday evening Prayer Meeting was also a part of the weekly worship. Pastor Robert DuCasse, who was God’s instrument in founding this church, was called to be their Pastor. Temporary officers were appointed to serve as deacons, treasurer, financial secretary, and so forth.
When the announcement came that the church would seek fellowship with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, several families left the fellowship. This put a great strain on the baby church. Due to the large fuel bills incurred in worshipping in the Grange in the winter of 1978, it was decided that it was necessary to find a new location to worship around the Word.
At this point, after much prayer, the DuCasses announced that they would be willing to convert their family room into a church and their kitchen, living room, and bedrooms into classrooms. The space was crowded yet the work of the Lord continued.
During the summer the evening service was preceded by a picnic lunch in the Pastor's back yard. The evening service followed at 6 p.m. During that summer, Pastor DuCasse announced that he and his wife, Nancy, had applied to the Fellowship of Baptists for Home Missions to become church planting missionaries. They were accepted and attended candidate school, after which they began their deputation work.
In the winter of 1979 it became evident that the DuCasses would be selling their home to move elsewhere, and the church would need to find another place to meet. Since there was a fundamental Bible-preaching church in Williamson and since the visitation prospects seemed more central to Marion, it was there that a place was sought to meet.
In addition to finding a new meeting place, there were other matters to attend to. The pastor and church board determined to have a recognition service for the church. A Constitution and Charter were drawn up. The charter membership had 17 names affixed to it.
On March 9, 1979, the Recognition Council met with our Pastor and deacons to review our beliefs. On that day, we were officially recognized as a duly organized Baptist church. A search began to find a pastor to replace Robert DuCasse, and to find a place to meet in Marion.
An old, unoccupied church building in Marion was found. It was necessary to do much cleaning in preparation for meeting there. It took about two months to accomplish this.
Mr. Timothy Bantle was asked to candidate and was called to pastor the new church. At that time, he was attending Baptist Bible School of Theology in Pennsylvania. He accepted the call and would begin his ministry in June, 1979.
On June 10, 1979, the church began services in the old Presbyterian Church on Main Street, with our new pastor beginning his ministry with us. New members were added throughout that summer and winter.
On March 19, 1980 the church was incorporated. The church building then in use was limited in its effectiveness. It was then that we began to seek property that we could buy and build on. The doors were providentially closed to all of our efforts. The Lord had something better for us. We had a pastor and people but no land, while down the road was a church with a building but no pastor.
On December 6, 1981, Grace Baptist Church of Marion moved into the Marion Bible Fellowship building to begin a new era of our existence. The Bible Fellowship dissolved and gave its assets to Grace Baptist. The two bodies of believers, in agreement in doctrine and purpose, united into a blessed and loving congregation known as Grace Baptist.
In 1984 it again became evident that with the growth of our church we needed a larger auditorium and more classrooms. The men of the church began to meet to determine just what could be done.
On June 30, 1985 a groundbreaking service was observed, and the following day excavation began. Throughout the summer and fall, with the help and guidance of two missionary church builders – Don Curtis and Verl Anderson – and the faithful church members, the new addition went up to the glory of God. Bit by bit, various parts of the interior were completed. We began to occupy the building in the middle of January, 1986.
On April 6, 2002, a new church steeple was added to our church. See the installing the new steeple
The Lord has indeed had His hand of blessing on this church throughout its history. May He continually be praised throughout its future existence