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Archbold Baptist Chapel: IFB Church in Archbold, Ohio Seeks to Win the Lost in Overwhelmingly Christian Community

Bruce Gerencser 7 Comments
archbold baptist chapel

Ask anyone from rural Northwest Ohio which local community is the most religious and they will likely tell you Archbold. Home to Sauder Woodworking, a 2,000-employee manufacturing concern started by Mennonite Erie Sauder in the 1930s, Archbold has three large Mennonite churches. For those not interested in the Mennonite flavor of Christianity, there are a plethora of Evangelical and mainline churches to meet their spiritual needs. Several years ago, one of the mainline churches affiliated with the United Church of Christ left the UCC and became an independent Evangelical church. While local mainline churches are certainly more liberal than, say, one of the two Pentecostal churches in Archbold, their liberalness is a matter of degree. Compared to liberal west or east-coast mainline churches, these rural enclaves are quite conservative. Several years ago in nearby Bryan, Ohio, one of the Methodist churches had a pastor who graduated from Bob Jones University, and until recently, the Ney-Farmer United Methodist circuit was pastored by a man who trained at Ohio Christian University. Currently, I don’t know of any local mainline pastor who would publicly tout their liberal theology and social views. I know several pastors who are liberals, but for the sake of congregational unity and a continued paycheck, they keep their heresy to themselves. One small glimmer of hope came two years ago when St. John United Church of Christ in Defiance came out as a LGBTQ-affirming church. Outside of this blip on the liberal radar, the local scene continues to be dominated by Evangelical/Fundamentalist/conservative Christianity with its attendant right-wing Republican politics.

Knowing well the local demographics, I find it hilarious that Toledo-based Northwest Baptist Church has decided to start a church in Archbold. Archbold’s nickname is Jerusalem, a somewhat humorous label meant to reflect the community’s overwhelming religiosity. Simply put, Jesus is not hard to find in Archbold, Ohio. However, I am sure that, as zealots from Northwest Baptist “prayed” about starting a sin-hating, devil-chasing, King James-only Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB), church, they concluded that the Christians in Archbold were not real/true/right kind of Christians. Deemed spiritually suspect or lost, Archbold Christians will now be the targets of aggressive IFB evangelistic techniques. Northwest Baptist is pastored by “Dr.” Andrew Edwards, III, a 1985 graduate of Jack Hyles’ monument to ignorance, Hyles-Anderson College. Joe Ballard, Northwest Baptist’s assistant pastor, is the pastor of Archbold Baptist Chapel. Ballard is a graduate of Providence Baptist College,

Archbold Baptist does not have a website, but Northwest Baptist does, and from its website we can find out what type of church is being planted in Archbold. When IFB churches plant new churches, they typically establish clones of the mother churches. Ignoring demographics and need, IFB churches tend to replicate themselves in new communities. It matters not that Archbold is overwhelmingly Christian. What matters is that there is not an IFB church in town, a congregation that believes the King James Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible — even the italicized words — word of God. And if this is not enough a reason, God told Edwards, III to plant a church in Archbold, and when God speaks, well, end of story.

Based on what can be found on Northwest Baptist’s website, Archbold residents can expect to have their Christianity challenged and questioned by Archbold Baptist soulwinners. Northwest Baptist’s website states:

We believe it is the duty and responsibility of every child of God, regardless of age, race, or background, to be personally involved in spreading the Gospel, the good news of salvation. Every week we actively seek to witness to the lost through our Soul Winning Program. Here are the regularly scheduled visitation times: Teen Soul Winning – Wednesday @4:30, Church-wide Soul Winning – Thursday @ 6:00pm & Saturday @ 10:00am

Archbold residents, get ready. The Baptist version of Jehovah’s Witnesses has come to town.

As I mentioned above, Archbold is heavily influenced by Mennonite religious beliefs. While most local Mennonite churches are conservative theologically and politically, a handful are more centrist and focused on social issues. Sadly, many local Mennonites are pro-war, a contradiction if there ever was one. This reflects how deeply Republican politics have infected these congregations. Several years ago, we attended a nearby Quaker church, thinking that it would be anti-war. Imagine our surprise when we found out that the church was a flag-waving, Jesus-loving, gun-toting supporter of Bush’s immoral incursions in the Middle East. I asked this pastor, along with several Mennonite pastors how they squared their pro-war views with historic Quaker and Mennonite belief and practice. All of them told me their denominations take a neutral view on the matter, allowing each congregation to determine its beliefs.

While Archbold Baptist Chapel will attempt to paint itself as unique or different — the purveyors of the true gospel of Jesus Christ — what they really are is just another bland, generic Evangelical church who thinks Jerusalem needs yet another church. It will be interesting to watch as Archbold Baptist Chapel attempts to establish a beachhead. Will they find sinners to save in Archbold, or will they, as is often the case, be a magnet for disgruntled Baptists and church hoppers who jump from church to church looking for the latest, greatest thing. I do know this: that within fifteen or so miles there are at least ten IFB/GARBC/Southern Baptist churches, all in an area that has a static, aging population. (Please read How to Start an Independent Baptist Church and Evangelical Cannibalism: How New Evangelical Churches Grow.)

Currently, Archbold Baptist Chapel is meeting on Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings at Archbold High School. Last week, I attended a girls’ high school basketball tournament at Archbold High. As I was leaving, I noticed advertisements for Archbold Baptist Chapel sitting on a table. Earlier in the day, as my wife and I were tooling around Archbold taking photographs of church signs, I mentioned to Polly that the only flavor of church Archbold didn’t have is Baptist. Little did I know that Baptists had indeed come to town, ready and willing to evangelize Archbold’s lost sinners — all two of them, anyway.

I gathered up the advertisements and took them with me, knowing that while churches are free to rent public school facilities, they may not evangelize on school property or leave sectarian materials lying around for students to “find.” (Please read UPDATED: Village of Archbold Removes Christian References From Their Website and Logo.) I am a big proponent of religious freedom, so I support Archbold Baptist Chapel’s right to hold services at Archbold High and to preach the IFB gospel anywhere not prohibited by law. That doesn’t mean, however, that I support their beliefs. I don’t. In fact, I stand opposed to everything they hold dear. IFB beliefs and practices are often cultic and psychologically harmful. It would irresponsible for me to not warn Archbold residents about the new church in town, especially if they attempt to evangelize local children.

Churches come and go. Evidently, God has a hard time making up his mind. One day God tells someone to start a new church, and a year or two later God changes his mind and tells church planters to go somewhere else. It will be interesting to see if Archbold Baptist Chapel can attract a crowd, and if they don’t, how long they will stay before “hearing” God telling them to move on. As is ofttimes the case, God’s “voice” matches the whims, wants, needs, and desires of those who purport to hear his voice. This is particularly the case with IFB churches where great value is placed on certainty, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and doing the perfect will of God. For now, God has clearly led Northwest Baptist to plant a clone of itself in Archbold. It remains to be seen if Archbold Baptist can be a growing church for a coming Lord. My money is on “no.”

Archbold needs fewer churches, not more, and the same came be said for every other nearby community. I told Polly a few days ago that churches should band together and buy the local mall when it closes, turning into a church buffet, of sorts. Think of all the money, time, and effort that would be saved. On Sundays, shoppers, uh, I mean worshipers of Jesus, could choose from any of number of churches to attend. Of course, this would mean local churches would have to admit that, despite all their crowing, Christian churches are all pretty much the same. Setting liturgy, ecclesiology, and worship style aside, the only thing different are the names over the doors. Granted, IFB churches would never support such a Satanic ecumenical affair.  Ecclesiastically separated until the bitter end, IFB churches think that they are the holders of the faith once delivered to the saints. If Archbold Baptist Chapel congregants didn’t believe this, there would be no reason for them to have a church in Archbold. But they do, so Archbold residents can expect to have their faith and beliefs questioned. In time, IFB evangelizers will be stopping by, asking them, If you died today, would you go to heaven? Zeus help the people who say, I am a Mennonite. Yes, but are you a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N? the response will be. Every effort will be made to take every local through God’s plan of salvation. What is that plan?

archbold baptist chapel

And certainly, a handful of Archbold residents will get saved, but I suspect most residents will just want to be “saved” from the zealots standing at their doors.

I am sure those associated with Northwest Baptist and Archbold Baptist will wonder why I am “attacking” them. You are an atheist, so why do you care if we start a new church? I care, because IFB beliefs and practices are inherently harmful. As I put the finishing touches on this post, I am listening to a sermon (link no longer active) by Northwest Baptist’s pastor Andrew Edwards, III. In the sermon, Edwards is advocating beating children as God’s ordained way of disciplining children. This is enough for me to say that Northwest Baptist is NOT a church safe for children. You can check out other sermons here. (link no longer active)

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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UPDATED: Village of Archbold Removes Christian References From Their Website and Logo

Bruce Gerencser 9 Comments

archbold-ohio-seal
Before and After

After the publishing of my recent letter to the editor, I found out that the correspondence from the Freedom From Religion Foundation about the village of Archbold’s logo and website went to former mayor Jim Wyse, not Jeff Fryman. I apologize for making this factual error.

Bruce

Please see my correspondence with Mayor Fryman at the end of this post.

Letter submitted on November 23, 2016 to the editor of the Defiance Crescent-News.

Dear Editor,

I write in response to the recent Crescent-News article about the Village of Archbold removing Christian references from their website and logo. Contrary to what Mayor Fryman has stated publicly, Archbold did not remove the offending references until they were contacted by the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF). I am a member of the FFRF and I know for a fact that Mayor Fryman was sent several letters about this issue. He chose to ignore the letters until it became likely that FFRF would initiate legal action against the village if they failed to remove the Christian references from their logo and website. Does anyone really believe that Mayor Fryman would make these changes without being forced to do so? I know I don’t.

Mayor Fryman wisely acted, knowing that a failure to do so would result in legal action that would most certainly be decided in the favor of FFRF.  In losing, the village of Archbold could be required to pay damages and attorney fees. Perhaps the village’s legal advisors told him that the law is clear: government entities are not permitted to endorse or support sectarian religions. By using Christian imagery in its logo and saying Archbold is a Christian community, Archbold officials are specifically endorsing Christianity. Such endorsements are against the law.

It matters not that most of the residents of Archbold are Christians. The idea that because a community has a religious majority, its government should have the right to endorse and support that particular religion is not only unconstitutional, it’s dangerous. Imagine, for a moment, that the majority of Archbold residents are Muslim. Would an Evangelical/Mennonite minority be okay with the mayor and village council endorsing and supporting Islam? Of course not! Imagine the outrage if the village’s website said Archbold is a Muslim community.

Even more absurd is the notion that communities should govern according to majority rule and that controversial decisions should be decided by putting the issues on the ballot. Let the people, decide! zealots say. Majority rule is mob governance. We elect leaders who we hope will act fairly, justly, and in accordance with the law. And the law is clear on government support and endorsement of religion — it is illegal. If Christians don’t like this, they are free to amend the Constitutions and change the law.

Bruce Gerencser
Ney, Ohio

Note:

Here’s one of the responses I allude to in this letter:

Dear Editor,

It was with great distress that I read in the Nov. 17 edition that the Village of Archbold has capitulated to the Freedom from Religion group to remove from the community seal the picture of the church, and Christian community from all signs, letterheads and the village’s seal.

I use the word capitulate because as I read the Bill of Rights and Constitution, nowhere in these documents does it say our nation is to be free from religious expression. Archbold, as a community of American citizens, has the constitutional reaffirmation to call themselves a Christian community, and or place a picture of a house of worship on their seal. And I challenge anyone, up to and including the justices of The Supreme Court of the United States, to show me where in the foundational documents and Constitution they have a right to demand this nation’s citizens, whether singular or a community, give up it’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Amendment 1: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceable to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Nowhere in this document does it sate, “separation of church and state.” This discussion came along much later and was taken from a private conversation and was bastardized by those like the Freedom from Religion group! No court anywhere in the United States has the right to alter the meaning of the First Amendment. No court, not even Congress which has the power to make laws.

So why do the officials in Archbold capitulate to a subversive group such as the Freedom from Religion group, even over the objections of the people of Archbold? At the very least this should have been discussed and then voted on by the people of Archbold. Then the officials of Archbold have the audacity to replace the statement, “A Christian Community” with “A Community with Integrity!”

Sorry, I don’t think so.

Rev. Alvia McEwen Martis (pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Ridgeville Corners, Ohio)
Ridgeville Corners

Here’s the press release from the Freedom From Religion Foundation

An Ohio village has removed a religious seal and declaration after objections from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national state/church watchdog organization.

The seal of the village of Archbold contained a church at its center, nestled within images of education, farming, forestry and industry. The seal was featured in a number of places, including government buildings, street signs, village forms and documents, such as utility bills, and on the official website. The website also contained on its history page a declaration that Archbold a “Christian community.”

Such a seal and statement were unconstitutional, FFRF informed the village.

“The inclusion of a church on the official village seal and declaration that the village ‘is a Christian community’ violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment,” FFRF Legal Fellow Madeline Ziegler wrote to Archbold Mayor Jim Wyse last year. “Federal courts have ruled that similar seals violate the Establishment Clause.”

FFRF suggested to the village that changing the seal would make sense in other ways, as well. Nearly 30 percent of Americans are non-Christian, including 43 percent of Millennials, practicing a minority religion or no religion at all. To have a religious seal and declaration alienates and ostracizes this huge portion of the population.

It took a lot of time and three follow-up letters, but FFRF has been able to persuade the village of Archbold. The seal has been changed to remove the cross. (The Christian declaration was removed from the website immediately after FFRF’s first letter.)

FFRF is gratified at its ability to change minds.

“We’re happy that we were finally able to persuade the village,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The church symbol and the declaration of Christian heritage were blatant endorsements of a particular religion.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 23,000 nonreligious members across the country, including 600-plus in Ohio.

Here’s a link to the original letter sent to the village of Archbold.

Update

Archold mayor Jeff Fryman contacted me about my letter to the editor. This is what he had to say and my response.

Mr. Gerencser, you don’t know me, but referred to me in a recent letter to the editor. I have been Mayor for only 11 months in Archbold. You made a statement that you know for a “fact” I have received several letters from the FFRF. That statement was totally untrue. I received one that was handed to me by the former mayor and was addressed to him. I never received any correspondence from the FFRF or any member. Furthermore, I was unaware that any other correspondence had ever been received by the Mayor at the time he gave me that letter. It is true that as a group we decided not to respond.

Looking at your background, it’s unfortunate that you would make statements like this regarding my credibility and character when you haven’t done your research. But this is what I have come to know about groups like the FFRF. Little on facts. Big on fear. I think you are better than this.

Respectfully, Jeff Fryman

Jeff,

I based my statement on the reports in the Archbold Buckeye. I was not aware until after I wrote my letter that a different mayor received the FFRF contacts.

The fact remains that you bear the burden of the previous mayor’s actions. I apologize for erring in getting the name of the mayor right. I don’t apologize for challenging your assertion that the logo and website changes were in the works prior to contact with The FFRF. If you can provide evidence to the contrary, I’d love to see it. If these changes were discussed prior to the FFRF contact, surely there are minutes or committee reports that reflect this. If not, I will assume that my statements are correct.

The fact also remains the logo and website violated the law. This matter has been litigated thousands of times over the years. In almost every instance, the courts have sided with those demanding a strict separation between church and state.

As the mayor of Archbold, you represent all its citizens, not just Christians. You are duty bound to maintain the secular nature of government regardless of the religious beliefs of your constituents .

I will attach our discussion here to my blog post on the matter, correcting the mistake I made concerning who received the FFRF correspondence. I will also let the Crescent-News know of the correction.

Instead of taking cheap shots at FFRF, I hope you will consider how breaching the wall of separation of church and state harms our democracy. Having spent my entire life intimately connected to Evangelical Christianity, I know for a fact that if you give theists an inch they will take a mile. FFRF demands may seem petty to you, but better to kill the theocratic baby in the cradle than watch it grow into a monster that demands fealty to the Christian God.

I wish you well. If you feel I have not adequately addressed your objections, please email at brucexxx@gmail.com

Bruce Gerencser