Mount Hebron Presbyterian Church

History

Mt. Hebron’s story begins on March 26, 1961 when God led 56 individuals to come together as charter members of a church established by the Presbytery of the Potomac of the Presbyterian Church of the United States (the "Southern" Presbyterian Church) in a community northwest of Ellicott City, Maryland. These early Mount Hebron Presbyterian Church members quickly hired the Rev. Truman Nabors as their first pastor, and began holding worship services and Sunday School classes in the farmhouse called "Hebron House" on our current eight-acre site. They soon formed a committee, collected pledges, and built the sanctuary building, which was dedicated on September 20, 1964.

Rev. Nabors' ministry centered on providing for the needs of the youth, and on creating a caring community dedicated to serving God. The church began a community Nursery School program in 1965 with an enrollment of 20 children. Various community groups were formed (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4H, and etc.) and the church became the center of activities for the Mount Hebron community. Truman Nabors continued his ministry until 1969, when he resigned to become Secretary of Camps and Conferences for the Presbytery of the Potomac.

In September of 1969, Rev. Gerry Bell became the second pastor at Mount Hebron. Not long after his arrival, the church received a gift in memory of Scott Anderson, the young son of June and Dick Anderson. This led to the construction of the amphitheater. Rev. Bell continued in the traditions by Truman Nabors, but Rev. Bell resigned after a short tenure in June of 1972.

As Rev. Lee M. Cotter began his ministry in September 1973, the area around the church was growing rapidly. This brought an influx of new members to Mount Hebron Church and led to discussions of whether or not to add an addition to the Church. After several years of exploring various options and seeking to discern God's will, the decision was made to make extensive renovation to Hebron House. Rev. Cotter served Mount Hebron as pastor until his resignation in December 1982. The congregation then called Rev. Sidney J. Venable III as its pastor in June 1983.

Mount Hebron has prospered under Rev. Venable's leadership. He reorganized the church governing structure, formed youth groups, and re-instituted the tradition of having a Halloween Haunted House in Hebron House. As the church grew, so did the Nursery School, leading inevitably to the need for physical expansion. So, in March 1992 the congregation voted to proceed with a two-phase building program.

• The first phase, completed in December 1992, included installation of pews, carpet, and a new stone treatment to the sanctuary.
• The second phase was a major building addition providing a new foyer, rest rooms, and a fellowship hall on the upper level, and expansion of the lower level for classrooms, restroom facilities, and office space for the Nursery School. The second phase was completed in September 1994.

After the completion of the new addition, Mount Hebron has worked to grow by involving more people in its fellowship and its service to others. We reorganized our Session committees into "ministries" to reflect our belief that each member has a call to use his/her talents to serve God. The Ministries also focus the Session’s efforts on three important areas of emphasis in the life of our congregation.

As the Church entered a new century, we began focusing our efforts on our youth -- by strengthening our Sunday School program, and developing our youth groups. First, we hired a part-time Director of Christian Education to help with the selection of curriculum and training of teachers. Through the efforts of a committee of church members, we set learning goals for each of our Sunday School classes. While this work was going on, we also sought to strengthen our middle and high school youth groups. Planning meetings were held in September and January where parents and youth chose activities for the next four or five months. The youth groups began having two monthly activities – a fun event, and a mission-oriented activity. After two years of searching, we hired our first part-time Youth Ministries Coordinator in the fall of 2004 to help facilitate our youth activities. Each year the number of youth involved in our program has continued to increase so we have reached the point where we have two very active, energetic youth groups.

Our congregation has continued to grow to its current membership of 210 members and our Nursery School now has an enrollment of 230 pre-school children. Our facilities continue to be used by a number of community organizations (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H) as well as by two other faith groups: a Quaker congregation and a Korean Methodist congregation. We continue to seek to be attentive to God's leading and responsive to God's call to serve. We welcome anyone who is interested in joining us on our collective journey of faith.