(for a listing of pastor history see the pastors page)

On May 4, 1959, a planning meeting was held at Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Nanney’s home to plan for a Southern Baptist Church in Seaford. Those present besides the Nanney’s were William Culver, the Eastern District Baptist Missionary, the Eastern District Baptist Mission Committee, and ten others.

The next meeting was held on May 20, in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Turner Blocker. Mr. Nanney suggested the name of "Grace Baptist Mission" and preferred to be sponsored by the First Baptist Church of Berlin, Maryland. Mr. Robert Lohr turned this suggestion into a formal motion and it was accepted. Thus the seed for the formation and growth of Grace Baptist Church.

On June 14, the first church worship service was held at the Nanney’s home with twelve people in attendance. The collection that day totaled forty-seven dollars. Later that week the Hebron lodge number fourteen (Odd Fellows Hall) was secured as the future meeting place for a rental fee of twenty-five dollars per month. Services began there on June 21.

At the business meeting on July 16, the first church budget was approved, requiring a weekly collection of forty-five dollars and sixty cents to meet it. At this same meeting a motion was make and approved to start a building fund. Rev. David Lucas, pastor of the sponsoring Berlin Baptist Church, was very active in helping the mission, contributing the first dollar to the building fund. Later in the meeting a gift of twenty-five dollars was made to this fund.

Rev. Charles Adams became the first pastor of Grace Baptist Mission and preached his first sermon on December 6, at the Lodge, having left the pastorate of the Upper Seneca Baptist Church of Cedar Grove, Maryland to come to Seaford. On February 10, 1960, the mission voted to buy the one and half acre lot on Atlanta Road from Mr. Adron Fleetwood to use as its future site. The purchase was actually made on April 6, at a cost of ten thousand dollars. An additional lot adjoining the first one was purchased later.

On December 7, 1960, the Constitution and By-laws were presented and approved. Then on February 26, 196~ the mission became a church, as she was officially constituted with sixty-one charter members. Many had a part on the program of this special constitutional service including Pastor Adams, Dr. Roy Gresham, Rev. Walter Agnor, and Rev. David Lucas who preached the sermon.

The church services moved to a new location on December 17, 1961, meeting for the first time in the basement of the Western Auto Store at Pine Street Hill. On August 12, 1962, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Atlanta Road property and construction soon began on a permanent church building. As stated in the church historical records, "On March 10, 1963, we stopped wandering and moved from the basement of the Western Auto store on Pine Street Hill into our new church building at 805 Atlanta Road where the first service was held on this date with a membership of one hundred twenty-eight. We all sang the Doxology." On October 31, 1976, the church voted to build a new sanctuary and this beautiful worship center was dedicated November 6, 1977. A time capsule, containing material from various departments in the church, was buried in the front yard in 1976 as a bicentennial memento. It is to be opened in the year two thousand.

Today, Grace Baptist Church continues to move forward for the Lord. The church began a major renovation project in late 1996, involving the entire educational building and the addition of a new kitchen. The church also began seeking a full time Minister of Youth and Education. There was a new spirit at Grace as God blessed in many ways.