The History of College Baptist Church in Hillsdale

THE FOUNDING OF CBC

When Hillsdale College moved to Hillsdale in the fall of 1855, its leaders were interested in forming a Free Will Baptist Church.  On November 24, four college associates and four Hillsdale residents signed the first Articles of Association of the church.  The church met in the chapel of Hillsdale College for its first ten years.  On March 7, 1865, the church sought incorporation to meet the state requirements for holding property and entering into legal contracts.  The church was legally known as the First Free Will Baptist Church of Hillsdale (its informal title of College Baptist Church became legalized in April of 1926).  On March 29, 1865, the trustees of the church voted to raise funds to build a meeting house.  W. H. Reynolds offered to sell the church his lot at the corner of Manning and Fayette.  In 1865, Professor Ransom Dunn traveled throughout Europe and the Holy Land and studied the cathedrals of the old world.  Dr. Dunn’s 22-year-old son Wayland, who accompanied him on this trip, made sketches of the cathedrals they visited.  Upon their return to America, Dr. Dunn took these sketches to a Chicago architect, who used them to design the church.  Construction began on March 10, 1867.  The Hillsdale Standard wrote on October 29 that the church would be “when finished the largest church in the west.”  The newly completed building was dedicated on January 5, 1868. The building was constructed so that as many people as possible could come hear the preaching.  The platform at the front of the sanctuary was much smaller than it is today, and the rooms that serve as offices for the pastor and secretary today were about half their current size, so pews extended on either side of the platform.  The ceiling rose 25 feet above its current location, and amphitheater seating extended into the area which is now the Upper Vestry.  There were approximately 1600 seats when the church was originally built: 800 each in the sanctuary and balcony.  In 1952, the Riker Room was completed, which provided a place for small gatherings and Sunday School classes.  In the 1960s, Rev. Reynolds established the church library.In the early 20th century, College Baptist became affiliated with the American Baptist churches. On August 4, 2004, the congregation voted to realign with the Baptist General Conference (which shortly thereafter changed its name to Converge). In October of that year a Recognition Council of the Michigan BGC examined and approved our membership in the regional body, an affiliation affirmed by vote at the annual meeting of the MBGC in April of 2005. The MBGC in turn recommended CBC to the annual meeting of the national churches, whose affirmative vote in June, 2005, completed the affiliation process.College Baptist is currently planning to build an addition, "The 4:12 Center" (Eph 4:12 -- for equipping the saints and for building up the body of Christ).  The plans include a large fellowship hall with seating for nearly three hundred people, a large kitchen with a pass-through counter, two classrooms, a conference room, a larger nursery, larger handicap-accessible bathrooms, and larger offices for the pastor and office manager.  We hope that this new construction will match the building's historical integrity as well as enhance all the work that CBC seeks to accomplish.

CHURCH GOVERNMENT 

We are a Baptist Church because we believe God’s Word, inspired by His Spirit, has set primary responsibility upon the individual to accept Christ’s offer of reconciliation by faith, and then publicly to acknowledge that trust in baptism; and because we believe that God’s Word sets primary responsibility upon the local congregation to interpret and decide matters of corporate faith and practice.  Under the authority of the church, CBC members elect individuals, committees, and boards in order to exercise certain administrative responsibilities and duties.  The Trustees take care of business matters, the Elders oversee  spiritual well-being, the Christian Education Board oversees biblical education for all ages, the Deacons care for those in need, and the Mission Board supports and promotes evangelism in Hillsdale and around the world. College Baptist is part of the denomination called Converge Worldwide, formerly known as the Baptist General Conference.  CBC has changed its denominational affiliations over the years from Free Will Baptist to American Baptist to Converge Worldwide to ensure that it is part of a Bible-believing community rather than one which is pulled to and fro by cultural or societal trends.  Converge Worldwide is devoted to being one movement that is spiritually dynamic, missionally driven, relationally devoted, and culturally diverse.  

PASTORS

Pastors of CBC: Henry Whipple (1855-1857), Ransom Dunn (1857-1859, 1863-1870, 1879-1883), Edmund Fairfield (1859-1863), James Calder (1870-1871), Richard Woodworth (1871-1873), A.A. Smith (1874-1878), Interim C.B. Mills (1878), D.C. Durgin (1878-1879), C.D. Dudley (1883-1884), A.T. Salley (1883-1899), Philip Graif (1899-1902), O.D. Patch (1902-1907), D.B. Martin (1907-1915), A.W. Jefferson (1915-1919), Henry M. Ford (1919-1922), W.H. Roberts (1923-1925), Earl F. Adams (1925-1929), James E. Bell (1929-1935), J. Burt Bouwman (1936-1939), Edward Greenfield (1939-1943), Philip Whittaker (1943-1950), Interim Leo J. Phillips (1950-1951), J.P. Hendershot (1951-1962), Ralph Reynolds (1963-1966), Jack Bailey (1967-1973), Interim Glenn Schaffer (1973-1974), Thomas Burke (1974-1980), James Wilbar (1981-1982), Interim William Harrington (1983-1985), Charles & Madelyn Johnson (1986-1996), Interim Dick Schulthies (1997-1999), Steven Read (1999-2003), Interims Donald Westblade and Leonard White (2004-2006, 2016-2017), Jason Mekelburg (2006-2016), Ben Cuthbert (2017-).