May 15 Today in OPC History

The Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic in 1983 determined to send Richard and Gayle Ellis to Frederick, Maryland, to help establish an Orthodox Presbyterian congregation. Dick and Gayle first opened their home in Walkerville, Maryland, for Bible study and prayer. Then, on June 12, 1983, the group began Sunday worship at the Ellis home with seven families attending. On December 16 of that year, the presbytery ordained Dick to gospel ministry with the call of evangelist to labor at Frederick. Over the next five years as the group grew under Pastor Ellis's ministry, the meeting places for worship changed from the Ellis home to the Frederick Seven Day Adventist building to a local movie theater and finally to a property on Carroll Parkway in Frederick. On May 15, 1988, New Hope Presbyterian Church was organized as a particular congregation in the OPC.

Picture: Dick Ellis, bottom front right, and the core group at Frederick, Maryland in 1983.