First Baptist Church of Seaford

First Baptist Church of Seaford 543 N Bradford Street

Seaford, DE 19973 (302) 629-7161

“To glorify God in the salvation of souls, the edification of Christians through the teaching of God’s Word, the worldwide proclamation of God’s saving grace expressed in the shed blood and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary.”

History of

First Baptist Church

In the fall of 1948 three couples met together to pray and discuss the formation of a fundamental Bible believing Baptist Church. On October 3, 1948 the first Sunday service was held in one of the homes with Rev. Schuyler Marshall as our First Pastor. By November 15 we were able to find a meeting place in the Acorn Club building.

On November 18, 1948 the first congregational business meeting was held with sixteen members present to organize the society into the “Seaford Baptist Church”. The name changed to the First Baptist Church of Seaford when the church was incorporated on January 6, 1949.

For sometime, a search had been going on for a lot upon which to build a church and several were considered. Finally on March 19, 1951 we purchased two lots measuring 120 feet by 140 feet overall that was located at the corner of Bradford and Walnut Streets (Walnut Street now being Holly Street). The two lots were purchased from the owner, W. H. Parsons for $1,500. Work was begun on the parsonage and by August 1, 1951, Rev. Raymond Street, the church’s second Pastor, had moved into the new parsonage.   

In the meantime the Acorn Club was put up for sale and a new meeting place was found in the Odd Fellows Building on Third Street to which we moved in June 1951.

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on Sunday, July 15, 1951 at the site of our new church building. The church was constructed by church members over the next 18 months. We then moved into our own church building aside the parsonage in December 1952. Services were held in the downstairs of the building while completion of the remainder of the building was built by church members.

The first Sunday service in the new sanctuary was held on Easter Sunday 1955.

With growing membership, an addition was added to the church in 1961. This was known as the Sunday School addition.

It was a heartfelt desire in the late 1960s of the Rev. John R. Hancock to establish a Christian school as a ministry of First Baptist Church. In September 1973, Seaford Christian Academy began. Outgrowing its usage of the Sunday School rooms in the church, the school constructed a school building in 1976. Growing enrollment of the school resulted in the construction of the high school in 1984 and the gymnasium in 1988.

Nearly 60 years later, First Baptist Church and Seaford Christian Academy are leading the way in Bible believing preaching and the best in Christian education.

About our ministers:

There have been 6 ministers of First Baptist Church during its nearly 60 year history.

Our first minister was the Rev. Schuyler Marshall. Rev. Marshall was a student in a Wilmington, Delaware seminary when he was called to become our Pastor. He served from April 1, 1949 until December 1949.

Our second Pastor was Rev. Raymond Street. Rev. Street came from Midway, Pennsylvania. He served March 10, 1950 until October 5, 1955. During his ministry we saw the construction of the parsonage and the original church building.

Our third Pastor was the Rev. James Westcott. Rev. Westcott was formerly the Pastor of a Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia. He served from December 9, 1955 to January 31, 1963. Rev. Westcott left our church to establish Camp PaMaDeVa in Hanover, PA. Camp PaMaDeVa was abbreviated for Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. He established this camp as a youth ministry and served as head of the camp for nearly twenty years. The second addition to the church was also added during Rev. Westcott’s ministry. Rev. Westcott retired to Florida in the 1990s. He passed away at age 92 on October 2, 2008.

Our fourth Pastor was the Rev. Joseph C. Dalton. He was Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Crum Lynne, PA. He served as our Pastor from July 1, 1963 until July 31, 1966. Rev. Dalton served at Congressional Heights Baptist Church in Rockville, Maryland after leaving our church. Now retired, Rev. Dalton resides outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Our fifth Pastor was the Rev. John R. Hancock. Ordained as a Minister of the Gospel in 1958, he was formerly Pastor at the Independent Baptist Church in Renovo, PA. He was Pastor of our church from October 9, 1966 to July 2002. During Rev. Hancock’s time as Pastor, we saw the establishment of Seaford Christian Academy. It was also during Rev. Hancock’s time the steeple was added on the roof of the church in 1970 and central air conditioning was installed in 1974.  Now retired, Rev. Hancock resides in Seaford with his wife Evelyn.

Our sixth and current Pastor is Rev. Michael A. Hopkins.