History of the Clear Lake Bible Church

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On July 2, 1864 at Clear Lake, Indiana, eight men and nine women formed the First Free Regular Baptist Church of Clear Lake. It was later to be known as the Clear Lake Baptist Church and now as of January 1st, 2011, The Clear Lake Bible Church.

Land was purchased December of 1871 for the purpose of erecting a church building. Shortly thereafter, the first sanctuary of the church was completed at the cost of $280.

Since that time several additions have been added. In 1959 Mr. George Merrill of Toledo, Ohio donated funds to construct an addition consisting of a fellowship hall, a kitchen, two Sunday school rooms, a pastor’s study, a “board room” and two restrooms.

In 1992 work began on a new sanctuary and a walk-out lower level banquet room. A special feature of the new addition is the many stained glass windows salvaged from several municipal churches and donated by the First National Bank of Fremont. The new sanctuary was dedicated in July of 1994. Recently the old “Michigan basement” underneath the 1872 sanctuary was “remodeled” to be a “root cellar” –a dedicated meeting area for the youth.

The Clear Lake Bible Church has been a landmark of the area for many years. The dedicated members of the present thank those of the past, and we of today pledge our faith and lives to continue what 17 believers began over 150 years ago.

For more information you may enjoy reading The history of our church by Warner Reed - Celebrating 125 Years - July 2, 1864 to July 2, 1989