The Bible Baptist Church began as a Bible study with the following people: Garner and Betty Burt, Harold and Laura Davis, Bob and Joan Record, and Ray and Virginia Rhinard. Pastor Wheye from Bloomsburg came occasionally. They originally met at the Record’s home on Main Street for several months. Then they moved services to the Sand’s Pharmacy building on Market Street.

Pastor Charles Longnecker from the American Mission for Opening Churches became the pastor in 1971 with the first recorded offering taken October 24, 1971. Pastor Longnecker’s monthly salary was $150 at that time. The total monthly offering for November 1971 was $218.10. By April 1972 the building fund totaled $3250. On June 5, 1972 a charter was granted and the Benton Bible Church became incorporated. During this time services moved from Sands Pharmacy to the Town Hall upstairs room and then to the Longnecker house on Main Street.

In October 1972 the building on Everett Street owned by Mahlon Strauch was rented for $30 a month. This was the same building that was a bakery and previous to that, a shoe repair shop. In September 1976 a tract of land at the top of the "dug" was purchased from Jim Dildine for $5,500. By the spring of 1978 the building fund contained $7,300. In the summer of 1978, the church took out two bank loans for $50,000 and ground was broken for the building. Construction was done by primarily volunteer labor, although the electrical and heating systems were contracted out. Jack Able, a pastor from Chicago, who was also an experienced mason, volunteered many weeks of his time that summer helping with the walls.

In May 1979 the church moved from its rental building on Everett Street to the church on the hill. In October 1981 the church paid off the bank loans when several families loaned the final $5,000 interest free to the church. In June 1983, Pastor Longnecker left the church to work in the mission field of India.

Pastor Brian Dumond was ordained and began his work July, 1983. All loans were paid off and a building fund for a new addition was started over the next several years.

Pastor Merlin Schultz took over the pastorate in February, 1988. Work was begun on the new addition in the summer of 1992. When completed it served as a temporary parsonage for the Schultz family. In December 1994, Pastor and Sarah Schultz left for a ministry in Appalachian, New York.

Pastor Ronald Walker began to serve next and also used the addition as a temporary parsonage. In 1998 a separate prefab parsonage was erected on the site and the pastor and his wife, Patt, lived there until he retired in November,1999. The addition was modified into additional classrooms for Sunday school classes.

Dave Crispell served as interim pastor from January to June 2000 as the pulpit committee searched for a new pastor.

Paul Moseley accepted the pastorate in June 2000 and moved into the parsonage with his wife Holly and two children. The Moseleys were expecting a third child when they arrived in Benton, and now have three lovely children.

The Cross as seen from the outside of the Church.

The view from the inside of the Church looking out through the Cross is beautiful. Plan to visit our Church at sunset to see the full beauty.