The History of
Cub Hill Bible Presbyterian Church

The Past History of Our Church

The foundation of our church dates back to 1941, when a number of Christian families joined together for a time of Bible study under Dr. Arthur G. Slaught. Before long, this informal gathering had gained enough support to organize a local church by the name of "South Baltimore Bible Church." It was officially incorporated under this name on September 21, 1943. With the purchase and renovation of the Hanover Street fire satation, Dr. Slaught was installed as the new congregation's first pastor. In this way, a herald was sounded for fundamental, Bible believing Presbyterians in Baltimore.

Our current pastor, Dr. John A. Dekker, was born in Holland and called into the Lord's service in 1955. After pastoring churches in Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada, Pastor Dekker came to America via California in 1958, and in June of 1963 he moved to Baltimore. He served as the assistant pastor until Dr. Slaught passed away in September of 1963. It was at this time that Pastor Dekker assumed full responsibility for the church. He has faithfully continued as the pastor since that time.

Upon his arrival in 1963, Pastor Dekker established the Saturday morning radio program entitled "In Defense of Truth" on WBMD in Baltimore. This ministry has been greatly blessed of God since its inception, continuing for many years by the support of it's faithful listeners. The format of this ministry is to discuss current events and issues facing our nation in light of God's prophetic Word, and to defend faith and freedom. This program has been a great help to many believers in discerning how God's Word applies to our country and what Christians can do to influence people towards righteousness. "In Defense of Truth" is now being aired daily on 2 radio stations throughout Maryland.

In 1966, Pastor Dekker began holding services in the Towson Legion Hall, where 30 new members joined our congregation in a single year. This is but one example of the gracious outpouring of God's favor that our church has experienced since Pastor Dekker's arrival.

In 1966, we purchased the current parsonage on Harford road, and on Christmas Eve of that year our Pastor and his family moved into their new home. The Lord, through Mrs. Doris Kane, enabled the congregation to purchase valuable property on Cub Hill Road , where the church building was constructed and dedicated in 1967 under its new name, the Cub Hill Bible Presbyterian Church.

Pastor Dekker and his wife Nita have faithfully carried on the ministry ever since it moved to the Cub Hill area. They have raised eight children. Two have since gone into full time Christian service. They now have fourteen grandchildren and the family is still growing.

In 1982, Pastor Dekker met Mr. Marvin Walz, representing Church Growth Services of South Bend, Indiana, and after much prayer, the church hired this firm to study our needs and recommend action for the years to come. It was agreed that the church adopt their long range master plan in the planning of ministries for the future.

Upon the completion of his seminary training in 1984, the church hired Tom Kimmel to strengthen the church ministry as an associate pastor. He worked with the Session to implement several of the objectives recommended by Church Growth Services to enhance the overall church ministry. As a result, the youth ministry, Evangelism Explosion, Children's Church, and Word of Life ministries were started and developed in the years to follow. Many young families have since joined the church and helped him to establish these ministries.

In 1985, in accordance with the recommendations of Church Growth Services, we purchased three lots adjacent to Harford road in order to enlarge our present site and to develop the long range master plan, intended to maximize the new site's potential and increase our existing structure's capabilities.

In 1987, through the leadership of Mr. Richard Walton, we remodeled our fellowship hall into the existing Sunday School and office space. This was done to improve both our Sunday School's ability to function and the quality of the offices until we could expand our facilities.

In 1988, we were able to purchase the rest of the property required to develop the long-range master plan located on Harford & Cub Hill Roads. This property is adjacent to Harford road where the "green house" is located. In 1990, with the architectural drawings of Albert K. Broughton & Associates and Frank J. Goettner Constructi on Company, we were able to expand the physical building to approximately twice the size. Having completely furnished the new building, we dedicated it to the Lord in 1992 with the assistance of Dr. Ian Paisley, our guest speaker from Ireland.

The Present State of Our Church

Presently our church is located on five acres of prime real estate along the very heavily traveled commuter route of Harford Road. On this site there is still much land available for future development and expansion.

Our sanctuary is able to seat 400 individuals in the worship service. Prior to the building project our attendance averaged 140. Since then, our attendance has averaged 180 each Sunday. At our recent Friend Day emphasis we set an all time high attendance record of 313.

Our building expansion has also provided us with additional education space. We now have 7 classrooms, a library, kitchen, and a youth room that is under construction.

We are currently involved in a special ministry to Bible believing Christians in India, many of whom are denied the support of mainline churches and live in very challenging conditions.

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