New England is rich in history from both a secular and a religious standpoint. It was in our wonderful New England states that the seeds of freedom began to blossom until a revolution took place that helped declare America to be an independent nation. At the same time, it was in Connecticut that the spiritual battle for religious freedom was fought by the Danbury Baptists. Historically speaking, we think of cities like Boston, Lexington, and Concord as places where American freedom was fought for and won. We can point to events like the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre that would eventually lead to the independence of our great country. While the “southern New England states” (as I like to call them) house much of our nations historical places, landmarks, and events, Maine holds a few historic places of its own.
One of those historic places is Colby College in Waterville. Colby College was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution. The hope of the founders of this institution was to train Baptist preachers to reach New England and abroad with the Gospel of Christ. While they offered other courses and degrees from the beginning, the original focus of the college was to produce preachers.
Sadly, as the college began to grow and become a valued place of higher learning, the driving force behind the college shifted. The Maine Literary and Theological Institution became the Waterville College in 1821. Eventually, the college was renamed after Gardner Colby of Bowdoinham, Maine. During the Civil War, the college was under immense hardship until Mr. Colby gave the first of several large monetary donations to the school. In 1967, the name officially changed to reflect the support of their benefactor.
In recent years, Colby College has become one of the premier liberal arts colleges in New England. Many students from wealthy families attend this school and the entire focus has shifted from the spiritual to the intellectual. Their motto, “Lux Mentis Scientia,” means “Knowledge is the light of the mind.” It is heartbreaking that, though they were once a light of the Gospel, they have left that in pursuit of the mind.
Today, students from Colby College will often do things to help clean up and improve the overall look of Waterville, but there is no heart for the souls of people that they are giving aid to. The Colby College of 2025 is primarily focused on giving the old man a new suit than putting a new man in the suit.
While the college is thriving and building several new, state-of-the-art areas for their students to enjoy, the city of Waterville is, overall, sinking deeper and deeper into financial poverty. Even worse is that there is a spiritual drought in this town of 16,000! How discouraging!
In the past year and a half, I have knocked thousands of doors, spoken to hundreds of people, built countless relationships, and worked consistently to reach people with the Gospel of Christ. I praise the Lord that His goodness is always true and there are many who are hungering and thirsting for spiritual things, but it breaks my heart that many have lived and even died here without the knowledge of salvation. Certainly, there are many “churches” in our area, but none of them follow the Biblical commands of going and reaching others with the Gospel.
This past Saturday I went door-knocking with a couple men in our church. An older gentleman came to one of the doors and asked what we were doing at his door. I told him that I believe that the Lord Jesus mandated that Christians go and tell others about the Saviour. He then proceeded to ask where we had been for the past 27 years. That man had not had his door knocked on for a very long time. Sadly, that is the case throughout the city. There are plenty of “churches,” but few that really care about souls.
There is a dear family that I have had the opportunity to counsel, teach, and disciple. Upon my first visit to their house, they told me the highlighted version of their story and then made a statement that I thought was a bit self-deprecating. They said, “If our story is too messy and you can’t help, we’ll understand.” I smiled kindly at them and said, “There is no mess that Jesus can’t clean up. I’m here to help in any way I can.” That same mentality has been perpetuated throughout our little town. Where it originates from I can not say, but I know that there is no mess that Jesus can’t clean up. The goal of Heritage Baptist Church is to help those that are in need of the clean-up crew. It does not matter the lifestyle, mental disorder, or political affiliation, the focus of our church is to show our city that Jesus is the only way to salvation and that He can clean any life!
The Lord laid on my heart about a month ago to start a teen ministry in our church. Unlike most cities, there are not many positive activities in Waterville for our teenagers. One thing that starting a teen ministry would do is to give the young adults a place to meet that is constructive and beneficial to their souls. Since there is not much for the teenagers to do, providing a service for them will give our church ample opportunity to witness to them and, prayerfully, see many of them saved. Not long after that burden from the Lord, He led me across a family with three teens that were incredibly interested in a teen ministry! They told me that they would love to invite their friends from school to church.
Another burden in this area is our desperate need for a solid, King James only Christian school. There is only one Christian school within an hour of Waterville, and that one Christian school uses the wrong Bible.
Ultimately, I would love to start a Christian school in Waterville and found a Baptist college once again focused on reaching the lost. These are, naturally, things that will come from decades of service to the Lord in our region, but I believe this is something that is important to the Gospel penetrating our area. For now our goal is simply to reach as many as we possibly can by knocking as many doors as we can. I’m so grateful for the men of Heritage Baptist that have developed a burden for our little area of the country. The truth is, however, that we need more help to reach our city. I’m reminded of John 4:35. Waterville is certainly white unto harvest and we need more help to bring in the harvest. Are you able to help us reach Waterville with the Gospel?