OUR STORY

 

            New Hope Baptist Church began with humble beginnings at its founding in 1874.  With no church in the small village of Earl, records show that Earl School asked Rev. Thomas Dixon and elders of Buffalo Church in South Carolina to help with the organization.  This came a week after a “brush arbor” revival on the ground occupied by the present church.
            There were fifty converts from this revival and others from nearby churches brought their letters of membership, making 161 charter members.  The name “New Hope” was chosen because it represented the feelings of the band of new converts.
             A 40 x 50 foot one-room structure was built in 1874 and served the church until 1913.  In that year, a new church building was begun beside the cemetery.  Following dedication in 1917, this building served the church until the early 1950’s.
            New Hope called John Farrar as its first full-time pastor in 1950 and built a parsonage that same year.
            The current church building, with a 400-seat sanctuary and 35 classrooms was occupied on August 1, 1954.  The church purchased the adjoining Earl School property in 1968 after the school closed.  The former lunchroom served as church fellowship building until a new one was built in 2001 and still serves as a pre-school.
            In August 1999, New Hope celebrated 125 years of service for our Lord and Savior.  During this commemoration, the church had a “brush arbor” service that reminded those in attendance of a time long ago when New Hope was begun.
            Since the turn of the century, New Hope has seen many changes.  Rev. David Gordon led the church as pastor for 25 years from 1980 until his retirement in 2005.  During this time, a new fellowship building, “The Hope Center,” opened in 2001.
            Rev. Russ Bradley served as youth director under Rev. Gordon and was chosen to replace him as pastor upon his retirement.  Rev. Bradley continues to serve the church as pastor, while his wife Melody serves as music director. Other staff members: Mark Watts leads the youth and children as their Student Pastor; Kathryn McCurry has served more than 30 years as church secretary.  Musicians are organist, Ann Thackerson and pianist, Jeannine Harp.
            In 2010 New Hope renovated the church's educational wing and office spaces. In 2016  the gym and youth room was renovated.

            What an appropriate name chosen by those fifty converts under that “brush arbor”1874. "New Hope," that same promise is still available to us today because of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  In Him, we find a new life, a new beginning and a new hope.

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