Open Door Baptist Church Bill Finnerty (Senior Pastor), Paul St. Dennis (Pastor of Adult Ministry) Jonathan "T Bear" Stansel, (Pastor of Children's Ministry), Jonathan Schallmo (Pastor of Worship Ministry). About Open Door Baptist Church is an independent Baptist Church located in Churchville, NY. As of January 2023, Open Door has over 1,000 members and regular attenders each week.
Open Door primarily uses the King James Version of the Bible, but is not strictly "KJV only", and occasionally uses the English Standard Version/ ESV. The leadership structure of the church is self-governing and independent, typical of most Baptist churches, and is comprised of deacons. The deacon election process is first done by a member nominating a candidate, after which the candidates are then considered by the existing board of deacons, which decides who to place on the ballot, for an election by the members.
History Open Door Baptist Church was founded by Sam Hannah and Tom Hauser in 1977, after they both graduated from Thomas Road Bible Institute (now Liberty University). They began a home bible study and ministered to the people of Rochester by leading worship and teaching from the Word of God. From this home bible study, Open Door Baptist Church was organized with 36 charter members.
The church continued to grow and on Easter 1998, services were held in a newly constructed building, where the church currently meets on Scottsville-Chili Road.