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Tom Hauser and Sam Hannah met in speech class at Thomas Road Bible Institute.They began street preaching and singing together. Sam would sing on the street corner with his “down home” style and Tom would preach to the gathered crowd.

While in college, Tom and his wife, Char; and Sam and his wife, Pam, prayed and talked about ministering together. After graduation, they agreed to meet in Rochester, NY. While they were here, they met with pastors from this area to determine the necessity of a new church. At this point, they still felt unsure of God’s calling to plant a church here, so they departed and agreed to meet again in Rochester on January 17, 1977.

Sam, Pam, and their two girls arrived as scheduled. However, Tom, Char, and their son and daughter were a day late due to a car accident and a horrific storm. Thankfully, not even a fierce winter storm could keep this young family from their destination. Tom and Sam soon found an apartment big enough for their two families on Thurston Road in the city of Rochester.
The two couples started a small Bible study in their apartment. Tom would visit door-to-door during the day while Sam worked at a local restaurant. In the evenings, Tom and Sam would go out visiting. They also managed the teen ministry together. In addition, Char took care of the nursery and Pam taught the young children. As more people joined the church, the list of volunteers grew.
The small church eventually outgrew the apartment. They needed a larger place to meet, so they rented a building on Thurston Road. The adults met in the new location while the nursery and children’s ministry continued to meet at the apartment.

New York State officially recognized Open Door as a church. The church appointed deacons, and Open Door moved from the building on Thurston Road to the Seventh Day Adventist Church. They rented this building for services on Sundays and Wednesdays.

God provided an opportunity to purchase the former Trinity Emmanuel Lutheran Church at 174 Thurston Road for $165,000. The members of Open Door raised the entire amount! Pastor Tom preached the first service in the new building.
Outreaches, such as Vacation Bible School, Round-Up Sundays, and participation in the annual 19th Ward neighborhood parade provided many opportunities to reach the community with the hope of the gospel. In addition to expanding outreach activities and events, Open Door also formed several ministries in that building. Among these were a bus ministry, a deaf ministry, and Word of Life clubs for children and teens.

As the membership continued to grow, Open Door needed a new building. In 1998, the construction was complete at 350 Chili-Scottsville Road in Churchville, NY.

In addition to a new building, Open Door also required a larger staff. In April 2000, God provided a Missions Pastor and his wife, Bill and Diane Finnerty. Bill had volunteered at the church for more than four years before the church decided to create his paid position. During this time, the church also added Pastor Lloyd McKee to the pastoral staff as the church counselor.

As the youth department grew, the church hired Paul St. Denis to become the Youth Pastor. Paul grew up in the church. He had a calling from God to lead the Youth of Open Door in the right path.

In 2003, the church created a building fund for a large addition. Under Pastor Tom’s leadership, the staff decided that if God wanted the addition to be constructed, He would provide the needed funds to pay with cash.

Along with the growth of a lively and prospering church came many new challenges. One challenge was the church finances. Joe Lima, a man full of grace and truth, had been donating his time as the Financial Officer. Open Door decided to hire him. Joe also managed all business matters for the church.

In June 2007, by the grace of God, the staff, deacons, and members dedicated the new addition. Classes, meetings, and special events now occupy this new space.

In 2011, the church paid off its main building and celebrated with a “mortgage burning” ceremony.

After much prayer, Pastor Tom announced his plan to retire. His proposed successor was Pastor Bill, who was the Missions Pastor at that time. The church members voted in favor of Bill becoming the new Pastor. Together, Tom and Bill devised a transition plan beginning March 17, 2013. This plan allowed Bill to serve as Co-Senior Pastor alongside Pastor Tom. Pastor Bill became the Senior Pastor, and Pastor Tom became the Pastor Emeritus.

Jonathan "T-Bear" Stansel, formerly the Children’s Ministry Administrator, was ordained as the Pastor of Children’s Ministry.

Paul St. Denis moved out of the Teen Ministry to become the Pastor of the Adult Ministry. In addition, the church hired Jonathan Schallmo as Pastor of the Music Ministry

Open Door celebrated its 40th anniversary.