Our Church History
(abbreviated)
We turn back the pages of history to relive the birth of the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church located at 109 Butler Street, New Haven, Connecticut. The vision was given to Trustee Props E. Nelson that he should build a church for God. After a long but fruitful search, Trustee Nelson carne upon a lot-known then as a "flower garden". Trustee Nelson purchase the lot and plans to build a church came to fruition with contributions of untiring efforts and supervision by R. L. Daniels, who became the first deacon.
On October 3, 1958, the first Council meeting for the purpose of organizing the church was held. The church was officially organized and named, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. The Rev. W. Lee Baxter, pastor of Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church, Stamford, presided. The Rev. Julian Taylor, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, Ansonia, along with the Rev. William Hall, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, New Haven, served as moderators over this historical event. After a sermon from the Rev. Julian Taylor, 12 members were received on their Christian experience and given the "Right Hand of Fellowship”.
In May, 1959, the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church as accepted Into the Connecticut Missionary Baptist Union. At this time we did not have a pastor, but our pulpit was never vacant. God blessed us to be spiritually fed by many capable visiting pastors and preachers. On October 2, 1959, God saw fit for us to call the Rev. David E. Jelks of St. Petersburg, Florida, to preach our first anniversary service. He later became our first pastor. The church continued to grow in spirit and membership with auxiliaries formed and special services and programs held, some of which became annual celebrated services.
On July 6, 1960, the officers and members took over the mortgage on the church from Trustee Nelson. With God's grace, we completed the mortgage indebtedness In July, 1969. A mortgage burning ceremony was held on Sunday, July 6, 1969.
In August, 1961, the Rev. W. M. Hall was called as pastor. He served as our spiritual leader for about 18 months. We then began our pastoral search and In October, 1963 the Rev. Thomas J. Donelson was installed as our permanent shepherd. Rev. Donelson served us faithfully, making many sacrifices for the cause of Christ. He led us through some troubled years with his great Insight, wisdom, and willingness to endure with us.
During these fruitful years of kingdom building, only God knew what great things were In store for the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. Under Pastor Donelson's leadership, the church continued to grow and many souls were saved. In 1996, the church was again blessed by the addition of a wonderful and loving first Lady, the Rev. Inez Donelson. Our pastor appointed her ·as Assistant Pastor in 1997. On December 22, 2009, at the age of 92, Rev. Thomas J. Donelson was called home by God after serving as our pastor for 46 years.
A new chapter began as we often recalled our late pastor reminding us of God's words from Isaiah 43:18-19-"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. Once again we were charged with seeking another shepherd to lead us. Much time was spent fasting and seeking God's direction for the future of our church. Our prayers were answered. The Rev. John E. Cotten, Jr, pastor of the Gospel Mission Baptist Church, Bridgeport, was called to shepherd the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. Pastor Cotton brought new vitality and excitement with his vision of the work yet to be done at New Hope. On Saturday, March 16, 2011, a "unity service" was held In which 109 members who served with Rev. Cotten at Gospel Mission, joined New Hope. Rev. Cotten was Installed as the new shepherd of the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday, June 5, 2011.
Today, the New Hope family's membership is a "blended threefold blessing of "original" New Hope members, former members of Gospel Mission, and "new" members not formerly affiliated with either New Hope or Gospel Mission. It has been under Pastor Cotten's leadership that we have be able to successfully become a family of ONE in God's house, so affectionately and appropriately tagged with the saying, "There's a NEW HOPE In the city”!
Our New Hope family feels extremely blessed. We will continue to press forward, armed with the power of prayer for we are Indeed, "A church on the move for Christ".