The New Hope Baptist Church was organized on Wednesday,
June 28, 1972 in the home of Deacon and Sister James E. Dillard, 70 Kerr Avenue Painesville, Ohio. There were twenty-nine (29) people, men, women, and children that started out on an adventure of faith, with the Rev. Vincent R. Miller as its spiritual leader. The first worship service was held on Sunday, July 2, 1972 in The Morse Avenue Recreation Center Building. The first visiting guest was the Second Lakeview Baptist Church of Cleveland, Ohio, the Rev. W. C. Crayton, Pastor. This afternoon service took place on Sunday, July 9, 1972. On Sunday, November 15, 1972, Deacon Willie Spikes, Chairman of the Trustee Board, presented the State of Ohio Charter to Pastor Miller. New Hope's first land purchase was December, 1972, a parcel of land on West Eagle Street. The second land purchase was August, 1973. This parcel of land was at 428 West Jackson Street. This is the site of our present octagon sanctuary and educational wing. The 428 West Jackson Street property consisted of a two story house and 6 1/2 acres of land. This House was renovated to become the first official place called the New Hope Baptist Church of Painesville, Ohio. The church added two more parcels of land to its ownership, 440 West Jackson Street, December, 1973 and 452 West Jackson Street, March,1977.
In May, 1977, New Hope completed its first baptismal pool. On October 22, 1978, the mortgages for properties at 428 and 440 West Jackson Street were burned. This event made the church free of any major indebtedness. May 1, 1980 the church voted to begin its building program of a new educational wing and a church sanctuary. Ground breaking services took place on November 29, 1980, and actual construction began December 12, 1980. Six months later on June 7, 1981, the New Hope family and friends marched from our original building to a beautiful new edifice lead by Pastor Miller, singing” We’re Marching to Zion.” By action of the church body, Pastor Miller began full-time Pastoral duties at the New Hope Baptist Church on Sunday, September 1, 1985. On June, 1991 another mortgage burning service was held, this was for the liquidation of the mortgage on the educational wing and kitchen area. On November 25, 1996 the church membership voted to continue the building program started in May of 1980. This was to build our octagon sanctuary. The ground-breaking ceremony was held on Sunday, May 11, 1997, and the construction began in June of the same year.
The building was completed in November of 1997and dedicated on the fourth Sunday of November with Philemon Baptist Church of Cleveland as our guest. During the year of 1998, God added fifty (50) souls to the Church. We continued to do God’s work in God's way reaching through teaching God's word every Sunday. The second mortgage, which is our Phase II building site, was paid off April, 2006. On July 23, 2006, the mortgage for Phase II was burned and our guest for that service was Morning Star Baptist Church of Erie, PA was our guest. The Lord has brought us from a mighty long ways from a humble beginning at 70 Kerr Avenue to our present site with 8.3 acres of land.
