History of New Hope OPC

In 1983, the Mid-Atlantic Presbytery sent the Rev. Richard N. (Dick) Ellis and his wife, Gayle, to Frederick, Maryland to plant an Orthodox Presbyterian congregation. They began meeting for Bible study and prayer with several families, two of which are still part of the church today. New Hope Presbyterian Church started Sunday worship on June 12, 1983 at the Ellis’ home in Walkersville, MD. From there, the church moved to the Frederick Seventh Day Adventist facility, then to a movie theater and finally settled into 216 Carroll Parkway, Frederick, Maryland, which they purchased in June of 1992. New Hope was organized as a particular church on May 15, 1988 with two ruling elders and Dick Ellis was called as the first pastor.

Since 1983, New Hope Church experienced slow but steady growth in membership until 2006, which marked the peak of membership at 220 (172 communicant and 48 non-communicant members). The average weekly attendance at our Sunday morning worship service that year was approximately 180 adults and children. Current membership (November, 2008) is 202 members (162 communicant and 40 non-communicant). Attendance at worship since 2006, however, has declined by about 20%.

In March, 2001, the Session approved a resolution to hire a part-time assistant to help our church in two key areas: worship and discipleship. The search was expanded in September 2001 to find a full-time associate pastor. In December 2001, the Presbytery approved Dick Ellis as its paid, half-time regional home missionary. The Session approved that action. In June, 2002, the Rev. Vincent (Vinny) Tauriello was called as associate pastor. He accepted the call and moved his family to Frederick from New York City shortly thereafter. The pastoral and administrative responsibilities of the senior pastor and the new associate were divided to accommodate Dick’s work as regional home missionary.

During the period of growth we came to realize that our facility at 216 Carroll Parkway had become a constraint to ministry activities. Though built as a church building it lacked adequate space for a worship facility, Sunday school classrooms and fellowship activity. In anticipation of a brief sojourn in rented facilities, the church building was sold to Ambassador Baptist Church in 2004. New Hope began to use rented space for the church offices and the Parkway Elementary School as a worship facility.

Fortunately, the church office and the school are located close to each other and near the center of New Hope’s church population. Even though the need for additional space was real, the timing of our search for a new building coincided with an explosion in real estate prices nationwide and in the Frederick area. The Lord has been gracious in providing interim facilities convenient to us, but we did not plan to be in them as long as we have. The facility search has consumed much of the time and energy of the church leadership and has been a point of frustration within the congregation. As we wait on the Lord’s guidance to a new facility, we are blessed to have a significant facility fund that has been funded both by the sale of 216 Carroll Parkway and also by the generosity of church members. This fund is overseen by the trustees and is deposited in several interest-bearing accounts.

Recent Church History

After many years at New Hope, Pastor Ellis resigned in May, 2008. His resignation was effective on October 1, 2008 and the Ellis family moved to New Jersey in January 2009 after Pastor Ellis accepted a call as pastor at Faith Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Pole Tavern.

Shortly afterward, Pastor Tauriello, who has had a long-term burden for inner city work, announced to the congregation that he planned to take such a position in the PCA working in a church planting capacity in Philadelphia.

New Hope was served by three very capable preachers and pastors, Pastor Steve Green, Pastor Karl Dortsbach, and Pastor Jim Stastny, before we called a full-time interim pastor. Dr. Allen Curry directed for many years Great Commissions Publications and then taught at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi until his retirement. He served New Hope very ably until the arrival of our current pastor. Pastor Francis VanDelden arrived in the spring of 2011 from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He and his wife Laura and their three children are now settled in Frederick and at New Hope.

Characteristics of the New Hope Congregation

Our congregation can best be characterized by a commitment to principles of the Reformed Faith and strong family values. It is not strictly a local church as we have active membership from the four state area of Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. Members of our church have been willing to drive long distances to attend a reformed church. It is also notable that there are a number of large and medium sized families which numerically constitute the bulk of the church. However, there are also a handful of single people and a growing number of young couples and empty nest couples. By and large our congregation is well grounded in their faith and the number of new believers is small.

The Community Served by New Hope

Demographics of New Hope

A recent survey showed the following demographics of the New Hope Population:

1. Congregation Age Profile
• Over 65: 10
• Under 65: 77
• Teens: (13-17): 19
• College Students: 16
• Children 0-12: 51
2. Geographic Location of Members
• Maryland
• Frederick City: 48
• Clarksburg: 7
• Emmitsburg: 4
• Hagerstown: 4
• Knoxville: 2
• Libertytown: 13
• Middletown: 4
• Mount Airy/New Market/Ijamsville: 9
• Myersville: 4
• Sabillasville: 1
• Thurmont: 1
• Union Bridge: 2
• Walkersville: 12
• Virginia
• Leesburg: 6
• West Virginia
• Charles Town/Shepherdstown: 9
• Pennsylvania
• Waynesboro: 9
3. Schooling
• Homeschool Children: 25-30
• Private School Children: 5-10
• Public School Children: 20-25