Our History

We look to God in prayer for a renewed vision for our future. It is our desire that Bible Baptist Church continue to bring families together, and pass on a godly legacy to our children and to our children’s children. We are laying a foundation for the future ministry and outreach of Bible Baptist Church. The following is a brief history of the foundation of Bible Baptist Church for the past eighty-five years.

Bible Baptist Church was founded by a group of five ladies during the early part of the 1920’s. They gathered together at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Clarke of Sixth Street in Wood-Ridge, as well as in other homes, for weekly prayer and fellowship. Soon, other ladies of the town began to ask if they could join the group. It was not long before it became evident that their group would outgrow a home meeting place. The first official move toward an organized body of the church was September 27, 1928, when a document was drafted and acted upon. This document stated their belief and purpose and on October 8, 1928, the church was officially named First Baptist Church of Wood-Ridge, New Jersey.

First Baptist Church held its first service on November 4, 1928, when a bungalow at 499 Highland Avenue, Wood-Ridge served as a meeting place. Due to the steady growth of First Baptist Church, an addition was built onto the original building in 1941. In time, they realized the need for even more room. 31 Passaic Avenue was presented to the congregation for their consideration after a lengthy search. It was approved and in June 1954, the papers were signed. Construction was started after they met a financial goal in October of 1956 ($40,000). The new building was completed in April of 1957, and in May, First Baptist Church changed its name to Bible Baptist Church.

Reverend Peter Vander Vliet was called to be the first pastor. It took three years for Sunday School to become an active program. Mr. and Mrs. Lees served as leaders of Sunday School from 1933 to 1945. In 1943, Jasper Meyer was pastor for 18 months, followed by Rev. Kenneth Wilcox from 1946-1952. In August of 1952, Rev. Donald C. Hafler became Pastor and he and his wife Marie served until 1983 when Pastor Hafler went home to be with the Lord. In December of 1984, Pastor Robert Cateau was called as pastor having come off the Mission Field in Aruba. He remained until his resignation in 1988. He will be remembered for helping to start our Faith Promise Giving Program.

A “Pastoral Search Committee” was formed and the members of this committee were resolved that they needed a pastor who would have a very strong evangelical approach, with a definite heart for preaching and teaching, and an ability to truly meet the needs of the community. Reverend William Hegedus visited twice in the Fall and Winter of 1988. The committee sought the will of God and the membership. In February 1989, Pastor Bill Hegedus, his wife Diane and their seven children came to Bible Baptist Church. The members and congregation welcomed Pastor Hegedus at his installation service on February 26, 1989.

Pastor Bill retired on October 2013. Pastor Bill serving together with his family, for 25 years, were very influential in many areas of growth, in our church especially through the Jesus Story for 25 years which was a dramatization of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In 2013, a “Pastoral Search Committee” was formed consisting of the Elder Board, Chairman of the Deacon Board, a Deacon and 2 members. After reviewing countless applications, Pastor Eric Dammann was asked to come to an interview with the Search Committee. After much prayerful consideration, Pastor Eric was invited to come and share a message on Sunday morning for both services. To get a better picture of Him and his family he was invited to our annual Church picnic. Shortly thereafter a meeting of the members of the church was held. By a large majority of the votes he was asked to become Pastor of Bible Baptist church.

Our Vision

The vision of our church ministry is in keeping with the original charter documents, stated in October 8, 1928, and continues to be our purpose today. These being:

1. Discipleship (2 Timothy 2:15)

2. Evangelism (Matthew 28:18-20)

3. Worship (John 4:23)

4. Fellowship (Acts 2:42)

5. Ministry (Ephesians 4:12)

Bible Baptist Church is a family-focused body of multi-cultural believers with 212 members, who gather with the purpose to both glorify God and to inform the world about the work of Christ as Redeemer.

We have approximately 150 men, women and children who gather weekly for corporate worship and Sunday School. The greatest number of attendees reside within a seven mile radius encircling more than 10 townships. Our church is located in a suburban area. Its attendees are mostly lower middle-class. The Hasbrouck Heights/Wood-Ridge area is mainly a middle class population that is mostly Catholic.

The Structure

Some building blocks in that foundation have been and continue to be:

A. Elder Board Leadership

Bible Baptist Church is led through an Elder Board, which is a shared leadership structure of gifted leaders complimenting one another in the responsibilities of shepherding the church. Shared pastoral leadership helps lighten the load and allows each Elder to function primarily according to their personal giftedness. From among the Elders there must be a first among leaders, who is a highly gifted leader and teacher of the Word. This person acts as the spokesperson for the group and leads the church in its vision and preaching. This is the position of the Head Pastor/Elder. 1 Timothy 5:17

B. Membership Covenant

After an individual has received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and has been baptized, attended membership classes and is in agreement with the doctrinal stand and policies as stated in the Bible Baptist Church Constitution, they commit to God and to the members to do the following:

1. I will protect my church.

2. I will share the responsibility of my church.

3. I will serve the ministry of my church.

4. I will support the testimony of my church.

C. Weekly Worship Services

Presently we have two Sunday services. One service at 10:30 am and one Sunday evening service at 6:00 pm. The Sr. Pastor gives a message at the morning service. Then one of the other Elders will give the message at the 6 pm service.

D. Sunday School

Sunday School is from 9:15 am to 10:15 am.

Classes are offered for Nursery to Pre-K, 1st to 6th grade, Adults which average approximately 70 people total.

E. Foundational Ministry Programs

1. Children’s Ministries - include: Kids Church, Kids-4-Truth, and VBS. These are available for children in Pre-K to 6th grade.

2. Rooted in Christ - is our Junior/Senior High School Ministry, which meets on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm.

3. Young Adults - is a ministry for anyone 18-30 year old.

4. Men's Ministry - meets on t first and third Saturday of each month.

5. Women's Ministry - meets on Tuesday mornings and scheduled fellowship events.

6. Midweek Bible Study - meets on Wednesday nights at 7:00 pm and led by the Sr. Pastor.

7. Small Groups - are various small groups which meet at the church and in private homes. Opportunities for people to study the Bible, discover their gifts and fellowship.

8. Couples for Christ - meets on the third Saturday at 7:00 pm and scheduled fellowship events.

9. Senior Saints - is a group for those over 60 years of age, who meet monthly for a devotional and fellowship.

F. Outreach Ministries

1. K-4-T: children ages Pre-k to 5th grade with the gospel. We have book time, games and theme nights.

2. MomLife: is an outreach ministry which ministers to mothers of preschoolers in our community and surrounding areas, many of whom do not know Christ.

3. VBS: vacation Bible School: happens for one week during the summer. Pre-K & Elementary age kids. Book time, skits, music & games.

G. Foreign Missions

Bible Baptist Church supports missionaries serving cross-culturally with a long-term commitment in countries across the world.

We have also had several groups commissioned and sent out from our church which have traveled to other countries (China, St. Lucia, Romania, and West Africa, Ghana, Poland, Russia) as short-term missionaries to minister to their physical and spiritual needs.

We also support individuals from our church that do short term mission trips.

THE ESSENTIALS WE BELIEVE

The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

God

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

God the Father God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

God the Son Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

God the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

Man

Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

God's Purpose of Grace

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.

All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

The Church

We believe that the church is presented in the Scriptures as the whole body of Christ and composed of groups of born again believers who have put their trust in Jesus Christ in any one locality.

We believe that Jesus Christ is the founder, the head, the builder and the sustainer of the church.
We believe that the ordinances of the church are water baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper.