The ministry began in 1833 when Mr. Dunbar secured the services of the pastor from White Deer Valley Baptist Church to hold a meeting in Elimsport once a month. In 1849 White Deer Valley built a church building in Elimsport and it remained an outstation until 1865 at which time 43 members of White Deer Valley Baptist decided to withdraw their letters of membership and start an independent church in Elimsport. In 1911 the original church building was destroyed in a fire but by February 23, 1913 the congregation had finished the replacement and began holding services in it. The church continued for 11 years but closed in 1924 for five years. On August 18, 1929, it reopened with a Sunday School only.
In 1931 Pastor McCrosen accepted the call as pastor and regular church services were begun once again. In 1935 the church celebrated it’s 70th anniversary with guest speakers, Pastor E.R. Williams and Pastor Archie Bowes. Eight years later Emerson Schimel was called to serve as Pastor and served until 1944.
In June of 1945 Pastor Raymond Colas accepted the call as pastor and served for the next 30 years. During his tenure the church saw significant growth. By 1956 they were able to make him the full-time pastor. As the church grew Pastor Colas led the church to begin the important habit of supporting missionaries to spread the Gospel of Jesus around the world.
Pastor Colas had a real burden for the children and started AWANA clubs for them every Friday night. He loved to have them all congregate on the platform to sing for the people of the church.
Around 1957 a building fund was established to build a new church building. Mr. & Mrs. Malcolm Pauling donated a plot of land and by 1963 there was a ground-breaking ceremony for the new church. The new church building was dedicated on August 2, 1964 with Dr. Carl Elgena and Ralph Colas as speakers. Pastor Colas’s ministry continued until his retirement in 1974.
