October 2, 2019
By:
Several churches have marked historical milestones this year in DeKalb County and now the New Hope Baptist Church near Alexandria can be added to the list.
This Sunday, October 6 the congregation will be celebrating 200 years of the church’s service to the Lord and the community beginning with worship at 11 a.m. followed by a meal from noon until 2 p.m.
Local author Ria Baker has also compiled a book on the History of the New Hope Baptist Church and will be available for purchase.
The beginnings of the church actually date back to 1817 when Elder William Dale of Salem Church at Liberty began preaching at the home of Thomas Findley which was in the community. In 1818, an arm from Salem Church was established.
A building was completed and the first service was held at New Hope in October 1818 with 11 members present.
By March 27, 1819, the number had increased to 18 and the mission was constituted into an independent church.
At one time, New Hope had more members than any other church in the association, and was in every way one of the leading churches in the association.
This church first joined Concord Association in 1819 which convened at Providence Church. It was a constituent member of Salem Association in 1822 and has represented in the body ever since. By 1877, the church was the largest in Salem Association. It was then divided when Elder William J. Bomer led all but 16 members in another church. It divided again in 1839 and many of the members embraced the Primitive Baptist doctrine. This was the beginning of the Helton Creek Primitive Baptist Church.
New Hope Baptist Church is the mother of the following churches: Mount Zion, New Union, Cooper’s Chapel, and Alexandria Baptist, which is First Baptist Church.
In 1865, the church headed the list of Salem Association with 298 members. However, in 1902 the number dropped to 80 members.
Come join the congregation in the celebration of the church’s 200th anniversary Sunday at the New Hope Baptist Church located on New Hope Road only a short distance from Alexandria.