New Hope Baptist Church

About Us

New Hope Baptist Church in Portsmouth, NH, was officially established on April 14, 1969. It emerged from the former Peoples Baptist Church, the first Black Baptist church in New Hampshire, serving the community for over 50 years.

Peoples Baptist Church, located at 45 Pearl Street, had been a center of Black religious and social life in Portsmouth since 1915. However, financial difficulties led to its closure in 1968, and many of its members, along with their pastor, Rev. Raymond Hailes, formed New Hope Baptist Church. Initially, services were held at the Old Town Hall in Newington, NH, before the congregation was granted use of the former Peoples Baptist Church building.

Over the years, New Hope Baptist Church has undergone multiple pastoral transitions and financial challenges. In the late 1970s, under Rev. Ralph G. Henley, the church acquired land on Peverly Hill Road to build a new place of worship. The congregation sold its Pearl Street building in 1984, and after years of temporary worship locations, we finally moved into our new church home in October 1987.