thebahamasweekly.com - New Hope Missionary Baptist Church celebrates 40 Years

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New Hope Missionary Baptist Church celebrates 40 Years
By LINDSAY THOMPSON
Apr 30, 2016 - 12:47:27 PM

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New Hope Missionary Baptist Church on New Hope Drive, Joan’s Heights West, celebrated its 40th Anniversary with at Service of Thanksgiving on Sunday, April 24, 2016. Apostle Dr Clement Lamont Saunders, Senior Pastor of kingdom Come Ministries delivered the Sermon. Pictured from left are Apostle Saunders; Minister Deborah Saunders, Pearl Thompson, Rev Joseph Thompson, Pastor, Bread of Life; Michelle King and Rev Elmond King, Pastor, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. (Photo/Lindsay Thompson, New Hope)

NASSAU, The Bahamas – The legacy and spirit of the late Rev Dr Mitchell R Cooper, founding pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, could be felt as members celebrated 40 years with a special Service of Thanksgiving on April 24, 2016.

From a room at his house, to a small wooden building on Robinson Road, to an edifice on New Hope Drive in Joan’s Heights West, the Sunday service culminated a generation of struggle, hard work, dedication, faith, praise and worship.

However, the service also started the beginning of a new era under the leadership of Rev Elmond King, the spiritual son of Rev Cooper, who led the celebration under the theme: “Rebuilding God’s Temple…Dedicated for His Glory” taken from the scripture 1 Kings 9:1-5.

“We have journeyed long and have quite a number of experiences to recall. Above all, we pause to give God thanks and praise for his faithfulness, protection and care.

“In rebuilding the temple, our foundation must be strong. Our Altars must be rebuilt. Fellowship restored. Ministry advanced. Souls saved and disciplined for Christ equipped to reach others,” said Rev King.

New Hope Missionary Baptist Church on New Hope Drive, Joan’s Heights West, celebrated its 40th Anniversary with at Service of Thanksgiving on Sunday, April 24, 2016. (Photo/Lindsay Thompson, New Hope)

The church was built on two mantras: ‘The People Hath a Mind to Work” and “The Church Where Fellowship is Real”.

Invited to deliver the Sermon a the Anniversary Service was a friend of the church, Apostle Dr Clement Lamont Saunders, Senior Pastor of kingdom Come Ministries, who preached from scriptures 1 Kings 9:1-5 and Ephesians 2:19-21.

Apostle Saunders admonished that the church “needs all hands on deck in the spirit of unity for the rebuilding of the church.”

He preached that 40 is a very “significant and powerful” number in Biblical times for testing and trials, such as the number appears in the prophecies of Ezekiel and Jonah, and Jesus was tempted for 40 days and 40 nights,

Apostle Saunders noted that New Hope went through a number of challenges of the past 40 years and prayed for strong faith to prevail, as the church embarks upon another journey in Christian ministry.

Remarks were brought by Acting Pastor Rev. Joseph Thompson, 1997 – 1998, who is now Pastor of Bread of Life; and Rev Dwayne Williams.

Amongst the members who participated in the service were: Elder Dorothy Poitier, Sherell King, New Hope Choir and Antoinette Moss, who gave a historical overview of the church.

The church was led by:

Rev. Dr. Mitchell R. Cooper, Founding Pastor, 1976 – 1997;
Rev. Joseph Thompson, Acting Pastor, 1997 – 1998;
Rev. Clifford Smith, 1997 – 2000;
Rev. Harrison Thompson, Interim Pastor, 2001;
Rev. Elmond King, Minister, 2001 – 2004; and,
Rev. Elmond King, Pastor, 2004 – Present

Some of the proposed activities for the year are: Back to the Island Programme in May, A Mother's Day Event and T-Party & Fashion Show, a Grand Ball and Concert, and the renaming of the church’s hall to the Rev Dr. M. R. Cooper Memorial Center.

Weekly services are: Sunday School 9:45am, Mid-week Service, Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Music Ministry, Thursdays at 7:30pm, Youth Ministry, Friday at7: 30pm and Children’s Church, each Sunday at 11:am.