History
Early History
Today as we are surrounded by modern conveniences, we can barely appreciate the courageous spirit of our ancestors as they stepped out into unknown territory inhabited chiefly by Indians. Such were the pioneers who settled in what we now know as Saylorville.
Reverence for the Lord’s day prompted the organization of a Sunday school class. The year was 1847 when Reverend Burley, a missionary going through the new country, organized the first class in Saylor Township. Seven families comprised the first class, which included the family of John B. Saylor.
John B. Saylor was an active businessman and a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Saylor Township was formed in 1848. In 1850 John B. Saylor laid out and platted the town of Saylorville, and expanded it in 1855. He donated the ground for the original church and parsonage.
A log schoolhouse was built in 1850 in which services were first held on Sunday on a regular basis. John M. Cree was the first local preacher. In 1851 the congregation voted to become a Methodist Episcopal Church. Early pastors were part of the Methodist Episcopal circuit.
Interest continued to grow in the Sunday services, and in 1858 the Saylorville church was erected, built by the donation of time and labor from everyone in the whole community for miles around. Allen Hobson gave hued logs for interior pillars and sills. Tipton Wheeler helped haul lumber by oxen team. The women of the community also did their share by bringing dinners to the workmen at noon.
The church had no songbooks, but the walls resounded with the songs from memory. During the late 1890’s the Methodist conference ceased sending pastors to Saylorville with a salary, which prompted a number of retired or already positioned ministers to preach in its pulpit. However, the Methodist church soon lost interest in this small work, and the doors closed for a short time except for Sunday school classes and funerals.
A group of young people decided they wanted a Sunday school and held classes in the afternoon. They organized a choir, and with the help of the Highland Park Christian Church, became a demand at different functions in the community. The deaconesses from Des Moines churches came out, which enabled the church to hold evening meetings with crowds from quite a distance.
In 1920 Bible students from the Boone Bible College, which included Dick Dutton and Christie Swain, came and held services. Later, Rev. Morgan Jones came from Des Moines. His pay was the collections from the people. The ladies aid held suppers, ice cream socials, cooked for threshers and made many, many quilts to sell in order to care for the needs of the church. The church was then known as Saylorville Community Church.
Ralph M. Chandler accepted Saylorville as his first church and pastorate at the age of eighteen in the year 1939. Many improvements were needed on the one-room frame church building, and a committee was appointed to purchase the property from the Methodist conference. On July 22, 1946, the purchase was completed. The same year, as the new congregation began expanding the facilities to include a basement, the old church was found to be rotten underneath. With much sadness, the building was destroyed.
In 1947 a basement church was erected on the same spot which included a worship auditorium, five classrooms and a furnace room.
During its long history to this point, the traveling evangelists played an important part in bringing people of Saylorville and the surrounding areas to salvation. At this time, many were saved under an old-fashioned Baptist evangelist.
Rev. Chandler put the first Baptist constitution into place during his years at Saylorville, and when he stepped down, Harold Young would become its pastor only if the church joined with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC).
1948-1963
On June 14, 1948, under the leadership of Pastor Harold R. Young, the congregation voted to become a Baptist church in affiliation with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. The Articles of Incorporation of the church state: “The object of this church shall be to carry out the instructions of the New Testament; i.e., to promote the teaching and preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the local community, in the state and throughout the world, to provide places for worship and religious instruction, and in a general way to care for the spiritual needs of its constituency.” A later article states, “Membership shall consist of born again believers who have read the articles of faith, certifying that they are in full accord with them, both in word and spirit.”
The signers of this document, legalized on July 3, 1948, were Harold R. Young, Russell H. Hill, Harold Ober, Harvey W. Kempton, Mrs. Beulah Kempton, John H. Tollenaar, Raymond Quick and Herbert Quick.
Rev. Clark Mann became pastor in October 1949. The church welcomed 15 new members in 1951, bringing the total active membership to 61. Missions played an important part in the church. One of the first missionaries mentioned in 1952 was Ward Harris, who is still currently supported. The ladies missionary fellowship supported its own missionaries through the 1970’s. At one time two ladies missionary fellowships met monthly.
The Saylorville teens, called The Crusaders for Christ under the leadership of Rev. and Mrs. Mann, were proud that three young men were enrolled in Bible College to study for the ministry. They were Wendell Kempton, Marion Leanari and Gene Swim. Miss Naomi Quick planned to enter Bible school the following year.
A building program extended the completion of the main structure of the church above ground, and a new parsonage was built, and still stands, across the street from the present church. The structure was dedicated on February 1, 1951.
Rev. Oscar Smith followed Clark Mann as pastor from 1954 to 1957. During his ministry, in October of 1955, the church voted to add a 20 x 70-foot addition to the small building. The work was completed in September 1956.
William Koltovich began his ministry in 1957. Under his leadership, the church became more active in missions, both in helping to establish sister churches and also in giving. During his ministry adjoining properties were purchased for parking needs and future expansion.
1963-1977
William Koltovich left the pulpit on January 30, 1963, and Rev. Everett Wolfe was voted to become the new pastor on April 3. The average attendance at that time was morning worship 229, Sunday evening 164, and Wednesday 87. In May of 1965 the church voted to build a new sanctuary 44 x 96 feet to the east of the main structure with a seating capacity of 400. The old building was then remodeled for overflow seating of 140 and a new nursery, ladies restroom and downstairs classrooms added. The structure was dedicated on September 25, 1966.
Several men became youth pastors under Pastor Wolfe’s leadership. Robert Quick, Jr., from Baptist Bible College, served as a summer youth pastor for two years. Ralph Chandler returned for one summer. Tim Crown, from Omaha Baptist Bible College traveled to Iowa to lead the youth and music from the fall of 1966 through the summer of 1967. In 1967 Dick Houg, a Faith Baptist Bible College student, was hired to be the director of music and youth.
Pastor Wolfe resigned as pastor in December of 1968. Dick Houg became the first “interim” pastor and was licensed to preach in order to lead the congregation in communion. His tenure was short, however, as Gordon Perry accepted the call to become pastor in February 1969.
During Pastor Perry’s two and one-half year ministry, Robert Kay was assistant to the pastor in youth work and Christian education while attending FBBC. When Robert graduated, David Pestal became the assistant pastor. Upon Pastor Perry’s dismissal in September 1971, Rev. Frank Chittock of Princeton, Indiana was pursued persistently by the Saylorville congregation. After much prayer, Frank Chittock accepted the pastorate on December 5, 1971.
The attendance at Saylorville was between 130 to 150 when Pastor Chittock arrived, and that number grew to the upper 300’s in less than two years. The AWANA program began, and one year earned a 10th place rating in the nation. When Dave Pestal left to become a senior pastor, Keith Stille and Greg Pfister assisted Pastor Chittock until their graduations from FBBC.
Additional property around the church was purchased at this time. Pastor Chittock tendered his resignation in June of 1976. Discussion was held on the possibility of an interim pastor, and Mr. Bob Domokos, professor at FBBC, was asked to fill that position.
1977-1993
Rev. Joe Hayes, pastor in East Chicago, Indiana, accepted the call to become the senior pastor in February of 1977. The call was extended in September to Jim Wolfe to become the part-time minister of music. Terry Townsend was called to become the assistant pastor in evangelism and youth in February of 1978.
With the growing church family, a proposed building program was introduced to the congregation in January 1978. In 1979 a feasibility study to build passed by 75%, and the “Together We Build” program began. On October 16, 1979, the first shovel full of dirt was thrown where the former parsonage stood. A mild winter enabled continued construction, but the building costs exceeded the original estimate of $450,000 by $120,000. On October 19, 1980, the first service was held in the new building.
Remodeling the old facilities took precedence in the next few years, with the emphasis on the kitchen, which was moved upstairs and blocked the old entrance into the original building and the stairs to the upstairs nursery. Volleyball became a weekly activity for the congregation in the old auditorium, now fellowship hall, during the winter months for a good number of years.
Jim Wolfe resigned in 1982, and Terry Townsend left to pastor a church in Perry, Iowa, in 1983. In October 1984, Terry Anderson began his ministry with youth and music. Pastor Hayes resigned his ministry in October 1986, having had the longest preaching ministry of any Saylorville pastor.
Dr. Bob Domokos consented to return to the pulpit as interim pastor, where he ministered for a year before Pastor Gary Butler of Horseheads, New York, accepted the call to pastor.
Pastor Butler arrived to give leadership to debt reduction and encouraged the sacrificial giving by the congregation. The mortgage was systematically decreased while missionary giving increased.
Pastor Butler established a different theme of preaching for several months each year. Family month in March 1990 canceled all extra activities, including the ladies missionary meeting. The night they would have been meeting in the church, God sent tornado-like winds to destroy the east end of the old auditorium. Prior to this time, the church had voted to build a balcony on that end of the auditorium for a Sunday school area for the youth. Progress was delayed and had begun only the previous evening. Pastor Butler had questioned deacons about the feasibility of placing a large picture window in the east brick wall. The deacons said it was impossible; God proved it was not. Destruction of any other wall in the church would have been a tragedy. Today a large picture window is evidence of God’s concern for “impossible” dreams.
Jon Payne joined the pastoral staff as part-time youth minister, while Terry Anderson’s title became Christian education and music. In March of 1993 Pastor Butler tendered his resignation and moved to Wausau, Wisconsin in June. Jon Payne left in August to minister with him.
1993-1997
The congregation voted for Dr. Ralph Turk, professor of Bible at FBBC to become the interim pastor beginning May 30, 1993. In December he candidated to be the senior pastor and began his ministry on January 1, 1994. He was the first former deacon and current member to become pastor.
On April 21, 1994, Saylorville became debt free, and the shift from indebtedness to expanded ministry began. June 5 was the official mortgage burning. Additional property was purchased for the construction of additional parking places, and those debts were also paid off quickly.
Phil Betz joined the pastoral staff in the position of youth and discipleship in May of 1994. He served faithfully until the Fall of 2000 when he agreed to become the Director at Clear Lake Baptist Camp.
In February of 1997 Pastor Terry Anderson resigned. He had the longest tenure of any minister at Saylorville. Dr. Ralph Turk resigned two weeks later in March. Pastor Bruce Feuerbach, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Grinnell, Iowa, offered his leadership as an interim pastor for the summer of 1997. The congregation voted to have Dr. Bob Domokos return as interim pastor for an unprecedented third time in his ministry beginning December 1997.
1998 to 2004
Pastor Nemmers (1998 – Present)
On July 12, 1998, Pastor Pat Nemmers was installed as the Senior Pastor at Saylorville Baptist Church. He came to Saylorville from Holmes Baptist Church near Clarion, Iowa, where he had been for the previous 12 years.
Pastor Pat has led Saylorville Baptist Church to adopt a Mission Statement that reads, “Our purpose is to evangelize the lost by bringing them to Christ, exhort the saints by calling them to a Christ-like life, edify them by Biblical teaching, encourage them by meeting their needs and exalt the Lord through fervent worship”.
Since 1998 we have seen many adults and children come to know Jesus Christ as personal Savior. Many more have made public decisions to get “right with God” and adopt a lifestyle after the pattern of Christ’s example. Some have given their lives to full-time missions! One positive outgrowth from these many personal decisions is the increase in church attendance! With this growth has brought the need to expand and upgrade the current facilities. We are currently in the process of reviewing possibilities for the most God-honoring way to expand.
In May of 2000, Lucas Bair was added to the staff as pastor of Campus Ministries and Dave Heisterkamp as Pastor of Administration. Pastor Dave Heisterkamp left to become the senior pastor of Algona Regular Baptist church in the fall of 2001. That same year, Abe Miller was brought on staff as the Youth Pastor and Kevin Thomas as a part-time pastor of Family Ministries. Trent Smith was called as a part-time Pastor of Music Ministries in 2002. Pastor Thomas moved to full-time status in November 2002 and Pastor Smith in May 2003. Gerold Quick was added on part time as the Senior’s Pastor in 2004.
