Greenville Baptist Church, 4689 Children’s Home-Bradford Road, Greenville, will be holding a special celebration Oct. 10 to 12 marking the church’s 50th anniversary.
Shown is the first pastor of Greenville Baptist Church, Calvin Gartman, with his wife and children in the early 1970s.
Greenville Baptist’s current pastor is Rev. Tim Pol. He is shown with his wife and children.
Staff report
GREENVILLE — Greenville Baptist Church, 4689 Children’s Home-Bradford Road, Greenville, will be holding a celebration marking the church’s 50th anniversary, Oct 10 to 12.
“We are excited about our 50th anniversary and wanted to let everyone know about this special event,” said Pastor Tim Pol. “Everyone is welcome to attend these meetings and be a part of this event as we celebrate 50 years of being in Greenville, Ohio.”
Pol said the church was started on Nov. 4, 1971 with Pastor Calvin Gartman. The church originally met at an old store on Warren Street. After Pastor Gartman, the church was led by Pastors Jerry Zell, Douglas Marco, Tom Faulk, Mark Ridgeway, Daniel Berdine, and then Pol.
“This anniversary is special to me because it reminded me of how good God is, in blessing this place with sweet people and allowing it to continue for 50 years. Our goal at the Greenville Baptist Church is to simply serve the Lord Jesus and to serve those in our community,” said Pol.
The festivities kick off Sunday, Oct. 10, with Sunday service at 11 a.m., followed by lunch afterwards. Sunday evening service is at 6 p.m., and there will be a Monday and Tuesday services at 7 p.m. with refreshments following.
The church will be hosting a guest speaker, Pastor Tim Ruhl, a native of Darke County, from Chico, Calif.
Pol has traveled an interesting path to his pastorship at Greenville Baptist.
He was born in Cambodia and moved to the U.S. in 1994, first living in Rochester, Minn.
“In 2001, our family proudly became U.S. citizens!” he said. “After finishing high school, I stayed home for a year to help out, but eventually did what I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to give back to a country that had given us the liberty, freedom and opportunities to thrive and succeed in life. I gave back by joining the Marine Corps in 2006, and becoming an Infantry Rifleman. I have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and deployed there several times.
“In 2015, I felt God’s call to go to Bible College to prepare for the Lord’s work. I had no idea what that entailed, but we moved by faith from Oceanside, Calif. to Knoxville, Tenn. to attend Seminary School. After finishing my Master’s, God had put it on my heart to move here to Greenville, Ohio, in 2019 and be under Pastor Daniel Berdine. My wife, Katie (formerly Hamilton), is from Greenville, and we both were excited to move here and serve at the church while being close to family,” he added.
“While we were serving, God was also working on the Pastor Daniel Berdine and his wife, Mrs. Janet, to leave the church and become missionaries to Nicaragua. In April 2020, the Berdines stepped out by faith and became missionaries, traveling the country and raising support. In May 2020, I officially took over as the new pastor. My wife and I, along with our three boys are so thankful to be here and we love the folks here,” he said.
