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Berean Baptist Church

12985 Tollgate Road
614-837-5204

Berean Baptist Church was started in 1973 by a group of people from the east side of Columbus, Reynoldsburg, and Pickerington.

The church met for a few weeks at the "Wigwam" on Rt. 204 where one of the charter members was the resident director. Arrangements were soon made to meet in the old Pickerington Elementary School on N. East Street.

The church's first pastor was Gerald Fields who was instrumental in getting the church into its own building on Tollgate Road. The church is located on 3 acres of land on the East side of Tollgate about 1/4 mile south of Rt. 204. The property was literally a junkyard when the church purchased the ground.

The original owner had been involved in mining equipment and railroad wreck salvaging. The property had an old steam crane and several railroad cars sitting around on the property amongst wrecked cars, several small buildings used for drop-off points for newspaper delivery, and an old house and shed.
The church members cleared the land and made over $10,000 by selling off the scrap iron that was "buried" on the property. Using the proceeds from the iron, the members began to build a parsonage on the property. In about a year the church was started and completed in 1976.


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