The Bloomsburg Baptist Church held its first service on Wednesday, July 4, l973. The service was held in the living room of Pastor and Mrs. Laidacker’s apartment in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.  Pastor Laidacker brought a message from Genesis 22:1-14, the account of Abraham and Isaac.  The first Sunday worship service was attended by 10 people.

In the summer of 1973, missionary Bill Amberg heard of our church and came by to arrange a preaching date.  He preached the morning of September 9, 1973, and he and his wife Kay, missionaries to Australia, became the church’s first foreign missionaries.   On November 25, 1973, Paul Hylton, missionary to Taiwan, came by to preach.  In order to have enough room to show slides, the congregation held that Sunday evening service in the wallpaper room of Appelman’s Wallpaper and Paint Store, which adjoined the Laidacker’s apartment.  Brother Hylton and his wife Betty became the church’s second missionaries.

Eventually, through prayer, door to door visitation, and church folks inviting their friends to attend, the church began to outgrow its surroundings.  Meanwhile, the pastor was canvassing the area in search of a building suitable to house the small congregation.  God miraculously opened a door, and the church was able to rent a union hall at 366 West Fifth Street in Bloomsburg for $60 a month, including utilities.  The evidence of God’s blessing was clearly seen in the procurement of the union hall.  The very day that the union workers had finished redecorating the interior of the hall, the Lord led Pastor Laidacker to stop and inquire about renting the building.  The union officials said that they had never thought about renting their hall to a church, but that they would have a meeting to consider the possibility.  God persuaded them, so the first week of April 1974, the church moved into the building which would be its home for the next 15 years.  Thirty-three people attended the first service in the union hall on Palm Sunday, April 7, 1974.

On August 4, 1974, Nick Bickish preached during the Sunday evening service and showed slides of the Arctic region.  He and his wife Joan became our missionaries to the Yukon Territory.  On November 23, 1974 the church was scripturally organized under the authority of the New Testament Baptist Church of Harrisburg, James Joyner, pastor.  At the organizational service 31 people came forward to present themselves as charter members in the new church.  Pastor Laidacker was ordained on December 17, 1974.   Pastors who took part in the ordination were Dale Barrick of Great Hope Baptist Church in Carlisle, Pa., and James Joyner, pastor of the New Testament Baptist Church in Harrisburg, Pa.  In 1977 Evangelist Bud Hunter preached the church’s first prophecy conference.

In January 1989 the church purchased its present building at 2405 Old Berwick Road, Bloomsburg.  The building, which had been erected in 1891, was greatly in need of repair, but a small army of dedicated members and friends joined together to do the work.  Services began in the new building on May 21, 1989.

In December of 2020 founding pastor, Craig Laidacker, retired and became Pastor Emeritus. The church called Thomas Anger to become the new pastor and he and his young family moved into the role in January of 2021.

For 50 years, God has used His church to bless many families. To Him be all the glory and praise. His leadership, provision and protecting hand have kept the Bloomsburg Baptist Church.  The Lord has taught us many lessons over the years; we have matured in the faith; and we have made many dear friends. We are excited about that which God has in store for us.