Our History

Early settlers from Groton, Connecticut, settled in Moxley Corners in the early 1800s.  They organized prayer meetings, meeting in barns and the schoolhouse.  Our church began on February 22, 1827, when six men and six women were examined as to their faith in the Lord and were officially recognized as a New Testament Church.  By August of 1827, membership had increased to 37.  During the next 24 years, the church worshiped faithfully in private homes and in the Moxley schoolhouse.  In 1850, Francis Moxley donated land and, with the help of members and neighbors, the church building was erected with all debts paid in full by the end of that year.  The Church was opened and duly dedicated on January 15, 1851.

In 1853, the area had a great revival.  Membership rose to 131, and 71 believers were baptized.  However, during the early 1900s, church membership declined considerably and the church had to close occasionally due to poor attendance and a shortage of preachers.

Over the next years, God would bring many blessings to our church, but in the 1920s and 1930s, the doors of our church had to close to regular services.

In the early 1940s, God restored the vision of a local church to several people in this area.  After a week of revival meetings, South New Milford Baptist Church opened its doors again on a regular basis.  Pastor Maurice Jennings accepted an offer to minister to the congregation.  Soon after, a Sunday School was organized.

Since that time, the Lord has continued to bless South New Milford Baptist Church.  In September, 1976, AWANA was started.  The response to this since then has been overwhelming, and many children have accepted Christ as their Savior through the dedicated leaders in AWANA.  

A parsonage was constructed in May, 1979.  Pastor and Mrs. Carl Silver were its first occupants.  (Pastor and Mrs. Larry Thomas were its second and last occupants following their retirement from 28 years at SNMBC and 47 years of full-time pastoral ministry in October 2012.)

Since the 1970s, with the Lord's help and the willing members of the congregation, a church building has been raised, a basement added, and a new sanctuary constructed.  In 1997, a garage was added to house the 2 church vans and provide an upstairs storage area.  

After many years of growth, with prayer, planning, and the sacrificial giving of God's people, we held a service on the future site of a new church building on September 29, 2002.  The property was part of the late Dwight and Georgia Jennings farm, just a few miles from Moxley Corners, on the same road as the 155 year old (as of 2012) Harford Fair.  We broke ground at the new property, beginning work on the first stage of our building project including what would be our nursery, Sunday school rooms, library, Pastors offices, kitchen and gymnasium and held our first service in the completed gymnasium on Sunday, September 4, 2005.  It was difficult to leave our old facility behind, the physical reminder of our history, but carrying our fond memories, in the spirit of unity, we move forward, remembering that the church is a body of believers; not a physical earthly structure.  We continued to worship in the gymnasium as work was begun on the sanctuary.  We held our first service in our current facility on October 22, 2006 and a building dedication service on December 31, 2006.  A canopy was added to the main entrance of the building in November 2012.

Our Pastors

We have had a number of dedicated, God-fearing pastors including Pastor Maurice Jennings, Pastor Clifford Jones and Pastor Carl Silver. 

In October 1984, Pastor Larry Thomas accepted a call to become senior pastor of SNMBC.  He and his wife Evelyn, along with their family, have been a wonderful blessing to the congregation, and through their ministry, many have come to know the Lord.  Pastor Thomas grew up in Moscow, Pennsylvania before attending Practical Bible Training School.  In 2011, they celebrated 25 years of ministry at SNMBC.  Pastor & Mrs. Thomas retired from full-time pastoral ministry October 14, 2012, but will remain with our church family "in the pew rather than in the pulpit".  Larry and Evelyn have five children and, as of June 2014, fifteen grandchildren. 

Our first associate pastor was James Major.  Pastor Major grew up in Gibson, Pennsylvania.  He pursued ministry after many years in the secular workforce.  Our church called him to be our assistant pastor in 1989, after he graduated from Practical Bible Training School.  Pastor Major left our church in 1994 to pastor another church in northeastern Pennsylvania.  James and Jan Major have two grown children.

Prior to 1989, many faithful volunteers served our youth ministry.  Since then we have also had several interim youth pastors between the ministries of our full-time youth/associate pastors. 

In 1995, our church called Michael Engfer to serve as associate pastor.  Pastor Michael grew up near Tacoma, Washington.  He and his wife Kassandra both graduated from Word of Life Bible Institute and Baptist Bible College.  They and their three daughters left our church in 2003 to pursue other ministries.  

In May 2003, our church called Bruce Rosa to serve as associate pastor.  Pastor Bruce and his wife Shoshanna both graduated from Baptist Bible College.  They left our church in 2008 to pursue youth ministry in Ohio.  Bruce and Shoshanna have three daughters.

In October 2008, our church called James Camacho to serve as associate pastor.  He and his wife Penny served as tribal missionaries with New Tribes Mission in Paraguay for 15 years before returning to the US and serving with NTM in Florida.  They then resigned from NTM to pursue ministry at SNMBC.  James and Penny have four children and five grandchildren. 

In 2009, John Barbee volunteered to serve as our associate pastor of visitation.  Pastor Barbee was ordained to the gospel ministry in May 1972 and has served twenty years as a chaplain in the United States Army and as pastor of churches in Louisiana and North Carolina.  He and his wife Julie began worshiping with us in 2007 and have been a blessing to our congregation.  In January 2014, they left our church when a house became available in their hometown in Georgia.  John and Julie have five children and five grandchildren.

In May 2012, Pastor James Camacho accepted the call to become our next senior pastor upon Pastor Thomas's retirement on October 14, 2012.

After a few short months of serving as senior pastor, Pastor Camacho was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.  On June 26, 2013, Pastor Camacho, at age 45, went home to be with the Lord. A memorial service was held at the church on Sunday, June 30, 2013. As was certainly the case with Pastor Camacho's life, the Lord Jesus was glorified through his memorial service. 

Pastor Larry Thomas served as interim pastor from July 2013 to January 12, 2014.  Our church is very grateful to Pastor Larry and Evelyn, as well as Pastor John and Julie, for providing stability through a difficult time, and for their love, care, and sacrifices for us.

In June/July 2013, our church called Jared Gordon to serve as youth pastor.  Jared and his wife Alyssa have one daughter.

In January 2014, our church called Ray Mitchell to serve as senior pastor.  Pastor Ray and Lisa have always considered SNMBC their home church. They previously served at Camp of the Nations (now Rock Mountain Bible Camp) and Pastor Ray had been in full-time pastoral ministry for 17 years, in Pennsylvania and New York, until most recently serving as the director of Youth for Christ in Susquehanna County in 2013.  Ray and Lisa have 3 children and two grandchildren.

To be continued!

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