History
The History of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
I pause to reflect upon the rugged road over which we have come, of prayers, with toil, sacrifice, and hard work. Rev. Rivers came to Apopka and was the first Pastor. In 1905, Rev. Morton came as Pastor, with help from the members & the Deacons, land was purchased & the Church was built under the pastorate of Rev. Morton.
Years later Rev. Tucker, Rev. Darby, & Rev. D.W. Willis served as Pastors. In 1920, Rev. Walker served for a number of years. In 1924, Rev. J.J. Collins served for twenty-five years. During this time, New Hope did not have a piano so they used an organ, Bro. Garfield was the organist. Deacons & Officers who served at that time were Bro. Garfield Killingsworth, Deacon George Rand, Eson Coney, Howard Smith, Zack Turk, Mack Williams, Watson, T.J. Barnes, Deacon R.B. Williams, Major Morgan, Willie Chisholm, Deacon Box, Henry Wright, Major Simmons, A.J. Williams, Brown, Rev. Willis, Supt., Deacon Brown, A.J. Willis, Clerk & Bro. Joe Colley, Secretary. In 1949, Rev. L.W. Williams came to New Hope & served as Pastor.
In September 1952, Rev. Joseph Matthews Bing came to New Hope. We only had service twice a month; due to the leadership of this pastor, this changed & we have had services each Sunday since. On April 11, 1954, ground was broken for a new church to be built. This building was completed debt free & dedicated in April 1960. The new church was completely furnished with new furniture, pews, piano, dining room, finance room, kitchen & two bathrooms. Rev. Bing organized many groups for the improvement of the church.
When Mrs. A.L. Clayborn joined, it was during the time lamps were being used. Mrs. Clayborn worked, with the help of the Deacons & members of the church, to wire it for electric lights. Also the first piano was bought. She organized a choir, where she served as pianist for a long time.
In 1951, Rev. Herman L. Dericho joined & later became the Assistant Pastor to the Late Rev. J.M. Bing. In 1954, he was elected chairman of the building fund. He devoted his time & service for the building of the new church. In 1963, he was elected Pastor. In 1964-65, a new addition was added to the church & in 1971, it was completed. Two study rooms, a lounge, new dining room, kitchen, & two bathrooms were the addition to our church. During the years of service, he not only served the church, but the community as well. After 43 years Rev. Dericho continues to preach & teach God’s word to his members as well as ministering to lost souls.
Submitted by Sis. Leatha Burrell
Over the years New Hope has been improving & advancing to higher heights. We continue to win many souls to Christ. In the 1990s, we remodeled several areas of the church. We named our dining hall J.M. Bing Fellowship Hall, after the “Father of New Hope”. Other changes include: remodeling the kitchen into the finance room, & the conference room into a large commercial kitchen. We added a computer room to provide tutoring to our youth. On January 18, 1998, Min. Alexander Smith was called into the ministry. He now serves as our Associate Pastor of this great church. We have had many musicians & choirs at our church. Dr. Robert Williams served as our musician for 50 years upon retirement in 2005. Some of the ministries that we have include: Deacons Ministry, Deaconess Ministry, Substance Abuse Ministry under the leadership of Rev. A. Smith & Sister Yvonne Holmes, Home Mission Ministry, New Member’s Orientation, Youth Ministry & many more. In November 2011, Rev. Dericho appointed Sis. Yvonne Holmes as a Deaconess. In 2012, Rev. Dericho, Dea. Lafayette Dowdell, Chairman of the Deacon board and his officers ordained 3 new deacons: Dea. Terrance Dericho, Sr., Dea. Lavila Estiven, and Dea. Clifford Hughley. During the ordination we were blessed with a powerful message from Rev. K.T. Turner of Bethel Baptist of Winter Park, Fl. In 2015, the sanctuary was remodeled which included one main entrance, two front bathrooms, new lobby, pews, windows and a full service sound room. In 2017, The H.L. Dericho Foundation was established, Sis. Kenya Munoz, Pres. New Hope Missionary Baptist Church continues to provide Prayer & Bible Study Thursday nights 7-8, Sunday School 9:45 a.m. & Worship Service Sunday at 11:00 a.m.. Also by God’s grace a Children’s Church was added to our worship Service. Children’s Church is held on 4th Sundays of each month.
Our motto is “A Caring Church in a Hurting World”
Updated by Monique Morris, Church Clerk 4/17