114 E. Swedesford Road, Exton, PA 19341 * 610/363-7814
Our History
Exton Community Baptist Church began as a mission
project of the East Brandywine Baptist Church to serve the people of Exton, where the only public building
was the elementary school. We started in 1953 as an afternoon Sunday School class of 15 meeting in a
private home.
On September 13, 1955, we -- by now a group
of 48 -- relocated to a local fire company hall. The rustic setting, with dirt floors, offered a kind of
primitive charm, and the children, especially, were fascinated by the dècor of our new home, replete with
fire bells, hoses and trucks. No one present will forget the first Sunday the fire whistle blew during, of
all times, the Communion service.
Rev. Richard Rusbuldt, our founding pastor,
canvassed the community, and a number of people responded to his invitation to join our family of faith.
In 1957, he officially became our full-time pastor. Our present property was bought soon after, and with
financial help from our American Baptist family, we built our church. We worshipped in the basement of our new
building for the first time on November 23, 1958. The sanctuary was completed a few weeks later, and the
church charter was signed on February 9, 1959, with 66 members.
By the early 1980s, we realized that our vision
for growth and expanded ministry would require a larger building. Rev. Elizabeth Congdon-Martin was called
as pastor in 1986, and with her leadership we soon were working with architects and township supervisors,
leading to the completion of a new sanctuary and narthex in 1988.
Today, ECBC continues to minister to a changing
Exton community. What was once a quiet hillside now bustles with commerce and apartment complexes. We look
forward to the challenge of sharing God's good news with this new Exton!
Copyright 2003-2007. Exton Community Baptist Church.
Original site design by SRP Productions, Ltd.
On September 13, 1955, we -- by now a group
of 48 -- relocated to a local fire company hall. The rustic setting, with dirt floors, offered a kind of
primitive charm, and the children, especially, were fascinated by the dècor of our new home, replete with
fire bells, hoses and trucks. No one present will forget the first Sunday the fire whistle blew during, of
all times, the Communion service.
Rev. Richard Rusbuldt, our founding pastor,
canvassed the community, and a number of people responded to his invitation to join our family of faith.
In 1957, he officially became our full-time pastor. Our present property was bought soon after, and with
financial help from our American Baptist family, we built our church. We worshipped in the basement of our new
building for the first time on November 23, 1958. The sanctuary was completed a few weeks later, and the
church charter was signed on February 9, 1959, with 66 members.
By the early 1980s, we realized that our vision
for growth and expanded ministry would require a larger building. Rev. Elizabeth Congdon-Martin was called
as pastor in 1986, and with her leadership we soon were working with architects and township supervisors,
leading to the completion of a new sanctuary and narthex in 1988.
Today, ECBC continues to minister to a changing
Exton community. What was once a quiet hillside now bustles with commerce and apartment complexes. We look
forward to the challenge of sharing God's good news with this new Exton!
