A Brief History of

It was Easter of 1982 when a group of 12 people met in a Washington, DC row house to listen to Rev. Jim Dickerson share his call for a new, diverse community of committed, faithful believers who would take Jesus' gospel message of unconditional love, social action, personal faith and Christian community to an area of the city with significant need and potential.  There they would found a racially, culturally and economically mixed neighborhood-based church with both weekday and Sunday ministries to the surrounding neighborhood.  The basis for this new community would grow form the exportable traditions and principles of the Church of the Saviour, a local, multi-denominational Christian church founded by Rev. Gordon and Mary Cosby.*

Jim shared with those gathered that he was ready to answer the call on his life.  He described his personal background as a troubled young man from an alcoholic home who became a Christian at age 22 in Little Rock, Arkansas in the midst the political unrest in the region in the 1960s civil rights movement.  As a young Christian he left a secure job to work with disadvantaged youth, but struggled to find a church that fostered both his personal faith and mission activities.  All of these factors brought Jim to the Church of the Saviour after a friend and mentor told Jim how it actively attempted to combine the personal and social dimensions of the Christian gospel, emphasized the integrity and commitment of church membership, and ordained its members as ministers of the church.

After two years of discerning his call, Jim moved to Washington in 1971 to join the Church of the Saviour with the intention of returning to Arkansas to start a similar church there.  But by 1972, Jim had married his wife, Grace, bought a home and put down roots in Washington.  By 1982, after several years of inward and outward preparation, Jim was ready to put his call into action.

Five people from the original band of explorers continued to meet, study and pray for discernment and decided to make the commitment to full covenant membership in what was to become New Community Church.  In the beginning, the church worshipped in a conference room in the For the Love of Children office on Fourteenth Street.  In 1984, God answered their prayers for a permanent site, leading Jim to the ruined shell of a building at 614 S Street in the Shaw neighborhood.  The property, while in great disrepair, had a rich and wonderful history as a boarding house and nightclub for African-American entertainers who performed at the famous Howard Theater in the days of segregated Washington.  The neighborhood had become notorious for drug activity, crime and poverty.  Drug pushers controlled this and other properties on the block.  The city government had $70,000 in liens against the property and renovations totaling over $300,000 were required to make it habitable.  With only $2000 in the bank, the church members decided to act on faith and take ownership of the building.

While renovation took three years to complete, the first worship service took place soon after the purchase in March of 1984.  Jim and others reached out to the drug dealers on the street and they responded with acceptance and protection.  "Baldy," the drug boss, even cooked hot dogs and burgers on his grill for each group of volunteers who came to work on the building.  Mission groups formed:  "Bridges" to nurture prospective members, a group called to healing prayer;  "Hope and a Home," a transitional housing program for homeless families;  and Community Medical Care, a clinic providing health care and the ministry of healing in Shaw. 

The first program to be established in the New Community Church building was the After School and Advocacy Program (ASAP), Grace Dickerson's mission to the children of the neighborhood.  Next came  Community Advocacy and Referral for the Elderly (CARE), Marilyn McDonald's outreach ministry to the isolated and homebound elderly of Shaw.  Then Manna, Inc, Jim Dickerson's ministry to buy rundown properties and then renovate and sell them to low-income buyers, located its office in the church building.  Other missions flourished:  Young Life for teens, Arts in Action for kids, the Academy of Hope for adults seeking a high school equivalency degree, Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous, the I Have a Dream Neighborhood Association and later Enterprising Staffing Services, a temporary staffing agency that hires and place low-income workers.

Today Sunday worship at NCC is an exuberant, spirit-filled experience with thirty to forty adults and children in attendance.  Both the church and neighborhood are entering a new phase and there is still much to be done.  While a few of the original founders remain active, a new generation of members is emerging to help realize God's dream for New Community.  The future is open and perhaps the best and most challenging times are ahead of us.  All are welcome to explore New Community as a Place of belonging, service and growth in Christ.