The Beginning

The first Sunday in July of 1987, nineteen Christian believers came together in the home of Reverend Leroy and Veatrice (Drue) Mitchell and formally organized New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. The name, New Hope, was indicative of the emotions the members were experiencing during that summer. Unsure of their direction, they had faith that God would guide and show them the way if they would only trust and obey.

After meeting three weeks in the Mitchell’s living room, members met at the Judson Baptist Campus Ministry building for noon worship services, after Doctors John and Ruth Peterson had finished the worship services for Northern Illinois University students. Once the fall session began for the University, the members of New Hope moved their worship services to the University Village Recreations Center.

In December of 1987, worship space was secured at the DeKalb Holiday Inn Banquet Room (today the Red Roof Inn). The Lord began to bless us in miraculous ways. The church membership began to grow and continued to do so. Seven months later in July 1988, a five-year lease was signed with Seventh Day Adventist Church. Auxiliary meetings and other church-related activities were conducted out of the home of members or other local churches.

A New Home

In January of 1992, the congregation agreed to purchase ten acres of land on Twombly Road in DeKalb. As only God could orchestrate the closing on the ten acres of land took place in July 1992, which was the fifth anniversary of New Hope. The acres of land were completely paid for by December 1994. Immediately after the property was paid for members began to focus on fundraising efforts. Many members have been instrumental in fundraisers such as Corn and Pumpkin Fest, the Harvest Tea, Gospel workshops, banquets, and numerous anniversary activities.

In 1996, a strategic plan and capital campaign were formulated and lead by Rev. Linda Carter. New Hope members continued to pursue a building for the purpose of establishing a permanent sanctuary to worship and implement programs and services that advance the Christian doctrine as well as create an environment for community outreach and service. The membership had grown from 19 to 275 with numerous guests attending each Sunday.

April 5, 1998, a groundbreaking ceremony took place at 1201 Twombly Road, the new site for the church. Once again, as only God could orchestrate, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church opened its doors for worship in the new edifice on the first Sunday in July of 2000 our 13th Church Anniversary.

Growth and Purpose

As New Hope entered the new millennium, members continued to seek spiritual growth for the purpose of serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The members will continue to strive to develop and encourage Christian education and outreach throughout the community.

We have learned through our tests and trials that all things are possible through Christ who strengthens us. This gathering of believers is a testament to God’s mercy and grace towards us, how He can take a little and make much. Further, how when His people humble themselves, pray, and seek his face their faith is rewarded exceedingly and abundantly more than they can ever ask, think, or believe.

Ministries

The Deacon Ministry has been blessed with eleven ordained deacons: Derrick Smith, John Hopkins, Thomas Spillman (late), Jim Bailey, Darlene Webb, Brazilian Thurman, Ron Carter, Carmela Williams, Glendon Hayes, Charles Williams, and LaMetra Curry-Chatman. We currently have two deacons on trial: Sade O’Leary and Fred Rhea. Eight associate ministers have been ordained: Larry Pringle, Alicia Crooks, Linda Carter, Thomas Spillman (late), Jerry Wright, G. Joseph Mitchell, Richard Baker, Brenda Donley, Charles Williams, Desiree Bailey, and Anthony Chatman.

George Joseph Mitchell became Co-Pastor at New Hope on January 1, 2009. In 2010, New Hope was blessed when our mortgage interest rate fell from 7.4% to 3.7%. We decided to seize this moment and embark on a Capital Campaign to raise $250,000 to pay down the principal balance. This marks the precursor of our second building phase to build the Derrick Smith Family Life Center. This facility would include a gym, additional classroom space, larger kitchen, and food pantry.

Rev. Dr. Leroy Mitchell is the founding pastor of New Hope. After 30 years of humble faithful service, Dr. Mitchell retired on July 2, 2017. To honor his leadership, loyalty, and love Dr. Mitchell was named Pastor Emeritus. Rev. Dr. G. Joseph Mitchell transitioned from Co-Pastor to Senior Pastor.

Paid in Full 

In July 2019, New Hope celebrated its 32nd church anniversary and by His glory, it was a special one! Twenty-one years before a remnant of faithful believers borrowed $1.6 million dollars to construct the first African American church in DeKalb’s history. On July 10, 2019, we received our Promissory Note of $1,620,258.69 from the bank stamped “paid in full” on our building loan!

Edify the Edifice 

We continue to engage Christ, community, and culture. In 2020 we embarked on the “Edify the Edifice”, an initiative to give the building and property some much-needed TLC (tender loving care). This initiative includes resurfacing the parking lot, repairing the retention pond, and replacing the two flat roofs.

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 definitely caused us to pause and rethink who we do holistic ministry. We suspended in-person worship for 16-month and moved all meetings, worship, Sunday School, and Bible Study to virtual platforms. We stayed true to our mission “to be the hands, feet, and voice of our risen Savior”.  We continued to serve people through our food pantry, gave away 1,000 backpacks with school supplies at our scaled-down Back to School Bash, and sponsored DeKalb’s first Juneteenth Celebration. In the midst we got the parking lot repaired and a new roof on the building because of the faithfulness of God and the people!

God willing in 2022 we will start the pre-construction process on the Family Life Center. To God be the glory for the things He’s done and will do.