History of New Hope Baptist Church

The history of New Hope Baptist Church is short in time but long on inspiration.  It is the story of a small group of believers who sensed God’s leading to make a fresh start without building on anyone else’s work.  Thus, they set out to build a church that would offer “Hew Hope” to any and all who wanted to grow in their faith and discover the joy of serving Christ.

Those first members began meeting in family rooms, basements, and backyards.  On July 1, 1979 approximately 13 people met in a living room for bible study.  By the time the meeting was over they had decided to start a church which was to be called – New Hope Baptist Church.  On July 8, the first Sunday School and Worship services were held at the home of Vernon and Linda Anderson.  There were 36 people present.  At the evening service the congregation discussed the possibility of purchasing the property known as Grier’s Creek Church.  The congregation conducted its first service at the existing building on July 22, 1979.  On August 1, New Hope decided to join the Elkhorn Baptist Association of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The first Pastor was Reverend James A. Hendricks who served until 1980.  Then, Rev. Thomas C. Nix was called as Interim Pastor and ministered until 983.  It was during Rev. Nix’s service that the church became debt free.  Rev. Nix has gone home to be with the Lord, but his dear wife, Gladys, is still a member of the church.  In the fall of 1983, the church called Mike Berryman as part-time Pastor while he was in seminary.  In 1984, the church extended a call to the Rev. James R Allen.  He served until May, 2001.  In January 2002, Rev. J. Wesley Noss was called as Pastor of New Hope.  The church called Scott Burns to serve as our Youth Minister.

No church grows without sweat and prayer.  Both of these key ingredients were found in the early days of the church.  The present sanctuary had to be renovated inside and out.  A new roof, interior walls, wiring, furnace, etc., all had to be replaced.  The bathrooms were originally outside.  Since then, there have been three remodelings of the inside of the sanctuary.  In 1985, the church voted to build a new education/fellowship building.  The new facility was dedicated in March of 1986 and paid off in November of 1987.  To God be the Glory!  This never would have happened if it were not for the generous giving of the members and friends of the church.  Of course, our Lord was behind each gift with His faithfulness.  Then, in 1988, the church began planning a new two story education building due to the ever growing membership.  By God’s grace this became a reality in 1990.  Because God has been so good and gracious to us, again, that debt was paid off in March of 1998.  We now fill each room with Sunday School classed on Sunday, and during the week, we fill it with numerous classes, activities, and meetings.  We have completed our new 10,000 square foot Worship Center and a new parking lot.  Our building dedication was Sunday, February 1, 2004.  This is allowing us to experience greater opportunities to minister to our community.

The Lord said, “I will build My Church”, and He has been doing just that.  New Hope now has a membership of over 511.  He has directed many committed and talented servants to the church.  With the help of many it is now possible to minister to all ages and many groups.  The Lord truly has supplied every need of this fellowship.  Because of that, New Hope has grown to be a testimony of God’s faithfulness.  The Lord has honored the hard work of its members.  Many souls have been saved and hearts encouraged.  May we all recommit ourselves to Christ and continue to serve as He provides the strength and grace.