From the church web site:
Depending on how you look at it, Harvest Baptist Church is either the oldest independent Baptist church in Watertown or it is the youngest. You see, our history is not the history of one church, but two.
Community Baptist Church was started by the Wickherst and Barstad families in the fall of 2000. Through the years, Community Baptist met in many different places: homes, school gymnasiums, and a church building shared with the 7th Day Advendist. In 2003, God provided a more permanent place for the church in the form of a rented storefront on Kemp Avenue. Community Baptist was always a small congregation who may have been few in number, but always faithful. There were times, years even, without a pastor, times of financially difficulty, and certainly times when many churches in the same situation would have simply closed the doors. But God was always faithful in providing just what was needed when it was needed.
Harvest Baptist Church was started by Pastor Lamar Whittemore. Pastor Whittemore, who at the time was in Greeneville, TN, was given a burden by God to start a church in Watertown in the fall of 2006. After a couple of years of deputation, the Whittemore's arrived in Watertown in the summer of 2008. Throughout 2008, Havest Baptist met in the Luppo's home. In January of 2009, through God's blessings, Harvest Baptist started meeting at the Watertown Event Center.
Neither church at this time, though both distinctly aware of the other's presence, would have dreamed in a million years that God had plans to bring these two churches together in a way that remains marvelous to our eyes. In the spring of 2009, Pastor Mike Wheeler, the current pastor at Community Baptist stepped down due to health issues. Coincidently around that same time, the Whittemore's attended a funeral at Community Baptist and made quite an impression. So when Community Baptist was faced with the arduous task of yet another pastor search, Pastor Whittemore came immediately to mind. So, figuring it couldn't hurt to ask, Community Baptist initiated some discussions with Pastor Whittemore. Even then, neither church really believed it would go anywhere, but God thought differently.
Through many more discussions over several months, we got to know each other pretty well. The better we got to know one another, the more we realized how much we had in common: the same beliefs, the same burden for the lost in our community, the same passion for seeking and doing the will of God, the same love for one another. The more we prayed about it, the more God confirmed it in our hearts: we were meant to be together. So, on October 18th, 2009, we officially merged into one church under the name of Harvest Baptist Church.
God has truly blessed, but we fully believe this is only the beginning of many great things God has planned for Harvest Baptist Church.