Blessed Hope Baptist Church
Over fifty years of legacy. A family sent from Oklahoma. One gospel church for Genesee County.
The Faithfulness of God
Fifty years ago, by the faithfulness of God, a Bible-believing church was planted in Batavia, New York. Their purpose was simple but it was great: preach the gospel and make disciples.
For five decades that church stood as a place where the Word of God was preached, generations were reached, and families were built. Many in the Batavia community knew the testimony of this church. People you meet along the streets still remember it and carry a piece of its story.
A New Chapter Begins
Through unforeseen circumstances in 2023, the church had to make a change. It was time for a fresh start, a new beginning. By God's grace, that restart came. The church was reorganized, renamed, and set on a new course with a renewed sense of purpose.
The name chosen was Blessed Hope Baptist Church. Not a name chosen lightly, but one that reflected exactly what the congregation had held onto through the hard years. Their hope had never rested in a man or an institution. It had rested in Christ, and He had not failed them.
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
Philippians 1:6
The Man God Sent
Joshua Calabrese was raised in a Christian home in upstate New York, the youngest of three children. His parents, both formerly Catholic, came to faith in Christ and threw themselves into serving the Lord. They served at Harts Hill Baptist Church before later restarting a church in Central New York. From the beginning, ministry was not an obligation in the Calabrese home, it was a joy.
At six years old, after hearing his pastor preach through the book of Revelation, Josh understood that he was a sinner separated from God. That night, after a Sunday evening service, his mother led him through the gospel at his parents' bedside. He trusted Christ as his Savior and never looked back.
On July 28, 2009, at the age of eleven, God called him to preach at the Northeast Vision Summit Conference in New Jersey. Having grown up in the Northeast, he had always carried a burden for starting churches in this part of the country a burden that would eventually bring him back.
A Life Surrendered to Serve
Kara was born and raised in a Christian home as the third of four children. Her father served in the military, which meant the family moved often but no matter where they lived, he made finding a solid, Bible-believing Baptist church the first priority. Kara grew up understanding that the local church was not optional.
She made a profession of faith at age seven, but it was not until she was twelve years old that she was truly convicted of her sin and understood her standing before God. Her parents led her to the Lord in their living room on September 3rd, 2009. From a young age she had a burden to be a pastor's wife, and she surrendered to that calling at fourteen at her home church, Bella Vista Baptist Church in Albuquerque.
Two Lives Become One
Josh attended Heartland Baptist Bible College in Oklahoma City, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in pastoral theology in 2021. Kara transferred her credits to Heartland after a health setback interrupted her earlier studies, and she graduated the same year with a ministerial secretarial degree. It was at Heartland that Josh and Kara met, and they were married in August 2021.
After graduation, Josh accepted a call to serve on staff at New Heights Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma under Pastor Paul Gentry. He served there for nearly four years as youth pastor preaching, leading music, running Vacation Bible School, and hosting the church's first youth rally and teen conference. Kara served alongside him every step of the way, contributing to the music ministry through the piano and vocal specials. Those years in Tulsa were years of preparation, refinement, and deepening burden.
The Call to Batavia
In the spring of 2024, Josh began sensing God move. He started pursuing where the Lord would have him plant a church. It was during that season of prayer that God showed him the need at Blessed Hope Baptist Church in Batavia, New York. After taking a survey trip, the burden was confirmed.
The numbers told part of the story. Batavia sits in Genesee County with a population of 15,600. Blessed Hope is the only independent Baptist church within a 30-mile radius, a radius that contains 132,000 people with no true gospel witness. Josh and Kara felt the weight of that, and they said yes.
In September 2024, Blessed Hope Baptist Church was officially established as its own legal entity. That same month, Josh and Kara began traveling to churches to raise support. By God's grace, every weekend was booked through November. At the beginning of November, they made the 22-hour drive from Oklahoma to Batavia.
The heating system in the building was failing as winter approached. God opened a door with a bank for a loan, and an HVAC company finished the installation right before the first snow. On November 10th, 2024, Josh and Kara were formally sent out from New Heights Baptist Church in Tulsa. The following Sunday, they stood in the pulpit at Blessed Hope for the first time. Visitors came that Sunday, and they came back the next week. God was already at work.
A New Name. The Same Gospel.
The Lord led the Calabrese family to come and reestablish this great work with a clear purpose: to love God's people, to build once again a vibrant and healthy ministry, and to use this church as a lighthouse to proclaim the gospel and start more churches in Western New York.
Within the first month, music and nursery ministries were restarted. Twenty members showed up to those organizational meetings, ready to serve. That first December, the church participated in a neighboring town's Christmas parade, knocked on doors across Batavia, and invited over 700 people to a special Christmas service. Fifty people came. God was meeting with them.
God Provides
In January 2025, Pastor Josh presented the work at the National Church Planters Conference in Oklahoma City. God moved in an extraordinary way. The giving of churches that day was enough to pay off the entire heating system loan. He came home and revealed what God had done the following Sunday. The congregation wept and rejoiced together.
The 2025 church theme was Onward: A Fresh Start, A Firm Faith. The year was defined by that spirit. Families were welcomed into the Calabrese home. Shut-ins and widows were visited. Door-to-door gospel work continued. Souls were saved. Visitors came and kept coming back.
Annual Missions Month became a tradition each March, with pastors from across New York State preaching at Blessed Hope. In 2026, the church took on five new missionaries through faith promise giving and gave to ten different church planters out of their own missions fund. A church barely a year old, giving to plant other churches. God gets all the glory.
Resurrection Sunday 2026 saw nearly 70 in attendance with 10 first-time visitors. A choir was established. A 15-passenger van was provided to bring people to church. On March 18th, 2026, Toby Michael Calabrese arrived, joining Elianna and Vincenzo in the Calabrese home. God's faithfulness is evident at every turn.
Where We Are Headed
The 2026 church theme is "Strengthening the Work of His Hands" from Nehemiah 6. That is where Blessed Hope stands today. The work is wonderful, but it only goes forward if God is greater. There is no coming down from the work, only finding rest in God while staying faithful to it.
We are grateful for every person who held on through the hard years. We are grateful for the calling that God has placed upon the Calabrese family, and we are excited for every new family walking through our doors.
God is writing a story in Batavia. We would love for you to be a part of it.