In 1970, the population of Durham was about 10,000, and each September another 10,000 UNH students arrived in town. Durham had three churches, all which welcomed them if they came through the door. None of them, however, were evangelically motivated, so there was little reach out to the students – nor to spiritually needy permanent residents. The nearest evangelical church was Dover Baptist, which drew very few Durham residents or UNH students. Five Durham men and their wives were attending this church, and felt Durham’s need. The group included three college professors, the head of the UNH InterVarsity Christian Fellowship ministry, and an industrial engineer. With the blessing of Dover Baptist, these 10 people contacted the national Conservative Baptist Church office, who assisted in both initial financing and recruiting a pastor. Over the summer of 1973 Durham Evangelical Church was created, and in September 1973 the first service was held in the Durham Grange Hall. Durham’s need was obvious in that, by the end of September, the congregation had outgrown the Grange Hall. Arrangements were made to use the University’s Hamilton Smith Hall. By Autumn 1976, this facility had become too small, and the church moved to McConnell Hall. We met there until moving into our own building in December 1982. There we have continued to grow, with the current Sunday attendance being about 500.
In September 2023, DEC will be 50 years old. It is time to write a history of the church. Problem: no records have been kept from which we can find information. This means we need the cooperation of the entire church. What memories are tucked away in your head? We need memories of your favorite happenings in the church and how they affected you. To be honest, we also need your reactions to the bad things that must be avoided in the future. If you have been involved with church activity programming or carrying out, we need that too. We will accept anything associated with the church that you may wish to provide. The story form will be great – it might even be shared on this page (name included or not – your decision). If you are not ‘into’ stories, just send an outline of what happened and we will find a way to work it in. Send your contributions to durhame.history@gmail.com