Bill Finnerty serves as the senior pastor of Open Door Baptist Church. He joined the ministry of Open Door as an intern and has served on staff since January 1998. Before taking on the role of senior pastor, Bill managed the missions program as well as church fellowships. He also taught an Adult Bible Fellowship group on Sunday mornings. Bill grew up and attended school in the nearby town of Gates. Except for time spent away for military service in the Air Force and Bible college, he has remained an active member of the local Chili community.

Bill accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior in 1982. He was reading the Bible and was convinced that he needed to choose Christ for himself rather than rely on religion or good works. He realized that these would not get him to heaven as he read Ephesians 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5-6. He accepted God’s grace and His gift of salvation.

Bill graduated from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, with a B.S. in Missions.

“When one goes, we all go”
Pastor Bill’s passion is for people. As the former Missions Pastor, his goal was to create a mission’s program that made it possible for our church members to get to know each of our missionaries personally. He planned group mission trips to assist new church plants in the USA, Canada, Philippines and Australia. Realizing that all church members are not able to go to the field, he coined the phrase “When one goes, we all go.” This symbolizes the unity in the ministry, recognizing that some will pray, some will give, and others will go. He occasionally travels abroad himself to visit our missionaries. He, together with his wife Diane, continues to supervise outreach and missions-focused projects such as the July 4th Chili Basketball Shootout, the annual Missions Conference each fall, and the Orphan Christmas Fund.

Pastor Bill carries this passion for people into the role of Senior Pastor. His favorite verse for the ministry is 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Pastor Bill lives in Spencerport with his wife, Diane. They have three grown children: Trevor, Gregory, and Meghan. He retired from his law enforcement career with the City of Rochester. For 15 years he balanced his duties as a part-time Associate Pastor of Missions and a full-time police officer. Bill considers it a great blessing to have the opportunity to serve the Lord Jesus Christ full time in the community where he was born and raised. He enjoys motorsports, running, biking, travel, and spending time with family..