Mission
The mission of the Delaware Baptist Association is to strengthen the disciple-making efforts of churches and pastors in our region. We seek to accomplish this mission through four simple and strategic emphases.
01.
Connecting pastors to each other
02.
Giving oversight to SBC church planting and revitalization efforts
03.
Advocating for resources and assistance for DBA churches within other denominational entities
04.
Overseeing disbursement of DBA ministry funds towards efforts of greatest regional impact
History
Delaware Baptist Association was established on October 10, 1967, by eight Southern Baptist Churches located in the State of Delaware who were also cooperating churches in the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. These original churches were:
The "Initial Covenant" of the Delaware Baptist Association, signed in Dover, Delaware, on 10 October 1967.
- First Southern Baptist Church, Dover
- Bethany Baptist Church, Newport
- Harrington Baptist Church, Harrington
- Grace Baptist Church, Seaford
- Calvary Baptist Chapel, New Castle
- Ogletown Baptist Church, Newark
- Community Baptist Chapel, New Castle
- Milford Baptist Chapel, Milford
The Susquehanna and the Eastern Baptist Associations in Maryland were also instrumental in our founding.
Over the last 50 years, we have had five full-time Directors of Missions (formerly called Associational Missionaries or Superintendent of Missions). They were:
- John Tollison, 1969-1971
- Joe Paul Turner, 1972-1979
- Wesley M. Johnson, 1980-1989
- James McBride, 1990-2009
- Mitch Dowell 2012-2015
Dr. Blake Hardcastle, Director of Baptist Student Ministry (University of Delaware), with a recent group of Student Leaders.
In 2016, we moved to a part-time leadership structure, dividing the responsibilities between two Associational Church Catalysts:
- Drue Matthews (2016 to the present)
- Champ Thornton (2016 to the present)
Today we serve a total of 27 churches throughout Delaware and two in Maryland's Eastern Shore. Two of our latest church plants are EverSpring Church (2011) and LifeHouse in Smyrna (2016).
Additionally, we value our partnership with Baptist Student Ministry on the campus of the University of Delaware, in Newark.