Baptist church formed after members leave State Street Church

In the late 1940’s, tension was building among members of the United Baptist Church (now State Street Baptist) over the issue of denominational affiliation. On April 14, 1949, some members began meeting in homes.    They formed “not in a spirit of antagonism, but that we might channel our missionary giving as we wish and have fellowship together.”
The issue boiled over when United Baptist voted to withdraw from the Maine and American Baptist Convention. On October 11, 1951, thirty-six individuals voted to form Bethany Baptist Church. Mrs. Augusta K. Christie was regarded as the one who kept the group united in support of their preferred denomination.
Arrangements were made for worship services to be held in the building on the corner of Church and Second streets. This structure was originally built in 1890, as a meeting place for the First Baptist Church of Presque Isle.
In 1915, the members of First Baptist merged with Free Baptist Church, whose building was on the corner of State and Second streets. Eventually, Free Baptist Church changed its name to United Baptist (and later still to State Street Baptist). On December 9, 1951, the members of Bethany Baptist Church held their first worship service in their “new” home.
They met upstairs and a garage used the basement. In January 1952, they voted to purchase the church property and an adjacent lot from Ronald Wight.
In the spring of 1952, the garage moved out of the basement, and members began remodeling the entire building to suit their needs.
In 1956, the congregation added a wing to the original structure, using the adjacent lot purchased previously.  A second story was added to that wing in 1988, bringing the building to its current configuration.
Bethany has had seven pastors in its 58 year history: Rev. Ondon Stairs, 1951-1956; Rev. Dr. Paul Klose, 1957-1964; Rev. John MacNeill, 1965-1970; Rev. Herschel Rogers, 1971-1976; Rev. Dr. Kenneth Phelps, 1977-1986; Rev. Albert Coffey, 1987-1993; Rev. James Ackerson, 1996-present.
In addition to worship services and other ministries common to churches, Bethany has had a varied ministry to the community and beyond.
Some of these ministries no longer exist. For example, Dr. Klose initiated an early Sunday morning worship service at the drive-in theater south of Presque Isle (the current site of the Kingdom Hall).
He also started “dial-a-devotion,” a phone number to call for a brief recorded message of encouragement from the Bible. Other ministries continue today, for example, Bethany Baptist is one of the churches which own and operate Baptist Park in Mapleton. During Rev. Coffey’s tenure, Bethany Baptist was the first home of Martha & Mary’s Soup Kitchen.
In the years since their unfortunate split, wounds have healed. Today, State Street Baptist and Bethany Baptist fellowship together and work together in ministry. While they remain separate congregations physically, they share worship of and service for the risen and returning Lord Jesus Christ.
SOURCES: Twenty-fifth Anniversary History of Bethany Baptist Church, Presque Isle, Maine: 1951-1976. Dick Graves, untitled summary of structure’s history and use.