Bethany Baptist Church

Established in 1871, Bethany Baptist Church of Newark, New Jersey recruits, equips, and deploys followers of Jesus Christ for discipleship and transforming service to others, beginning in its immediate community, and continuing throughout the world.

Bethany Baptist Church, founded in 1871, is one of the first Baptist churches in Newark and is located in the heart of the Central Ward, near the busy Downtown area. With a congregation comprised primarily of seniors—approximately 80–90% of members are age 65 and older—Bethany also serves children through its connected Nelson Mandela Elementary School (PK–5), seniors through a daily Senior Center, and the wider community through weekly food pantry distributions. As both a place of worship and a vital service hub, Bethany provides programs ranging from education and re-entry support with the NJ Department of Justice to health fairs with Rutgers University and job fairs with local and national employers. The church is widely recognized as a historic institution, listed on the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places, and deeply tied to Newark’s Black community. As one of the city’s oldest Black churches, Bethany holds profound symbolic value, making it a potential target of terrorism, particularly given ongoing national threats to historically Black churches and other faith institutions.