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Founded in 1854
LBC was founded in 1854 under the auspices of the American Baptist Church. In the beginning, the church met in the little red brick church building on East Main Street, built in 1876. In 1954, the church’s numbers were down so low that the American Baptist Conference decided to no longer support the church. The recommendation to those in the church was to disband and attend other existing local churches in the area and close the doors of Lima Baptist Church forever, but there were a handful of people that did not want to close the doors. Meeting as an independent Baptist congregation, they used a small back room of the church for Sunday services instead of the sanctuary as they were unable to keep up with utility payments.
New Leadership
In the mid 1950s, Lima Baptist began looking for new leadership, the Lord led Rev. E. A. Frink, a faculty member and the Dean of Men at Elim, to preach on weekends until 1960 when he was called to another area of ministry. There were interim pastors and short-term pastoral leadership until 1962 when the church called Rev. Noah Stoltzfus to be Pastor.
Purchased Land
Under Pastor Stoltzfus’ ministry, the church continued to grow and soon it was evident that the church was outgrowing the quaint but small red brick East Main Street facility. Through sacrificial giving and believing God for a miracle, this 11-acre parcel of land on Rochester Street (Rte. 15A) was purchased in 1966. In 1968 the congregation moved into a new sanctuary and educational wing.
Ongoing Growth
As the church continued to grow, more ministries began to come from its headship. In 1971 the Wee Care Nursery School-Day Care Center was started under the leadership of Rev. Bernard Evans and continued to serve the community until 2012. In 1974 Lima Christian School was started with 19 students and two teachers. In the ensuing years the K–12 school has grown, requiring five building expansion programs, with a sixth expansion planned as the Lord provides the necessary funds. An additional 8 acres of land to the adjacent north was purchased in 1995 to accommodate some of these building expansions and for ball fields. In 2015, the church purchased a twelve-acre plot annexed to the south of the property.
After 24 years of leadership, Pastor Stoltzfus was called to minister in Virginia. In 1986, Pastor Michael Maloney, the assistant pastor for nine years, was appointed as Senior Pastor. Pastor Mike served in that role until resigning in 2014. Robert Wheeler, who had served as Assistant Pastor for 14 years, was appointed Senior Pastor in 2015. In 2016, Tony LaBarca was added to the staff as Associate Pastor. Robert Wheeler resigned honorably in September of 2019, opening the need for a new Senior/Lead Pastor. On June 7, 2020, Tony LaBarca was voted in as Lead Pastor. On June 28, he was joined by Josh Sonoga as Life Pastor. In 2021, the church board and membership voted to change our name to “Crossroads Church.”
In 2022, the Lord continued to guide Crossroads in growth and discipleship as Fernando moved to the area to attend Elim Bible College and soon became connected to the church while teaching Bible at Lima Christian School. He became a member in 2024 and now serves as Pastor and Youth Leader, faithfully shepherding students and investing in the next generation through biblical teaching and intentional discipleship.