The history of Holmdel Community United Church of Christ (UCC) is unique in the family of the United Church of Christ in New Jersey. It is one of the oldest churches in the state, yet one of the youngest of the UCC churches, in an ecumenical denomination formed in 1957.
Holmdel Community UCC traces its roots back to 1688, when one of our three precursor congregations – an independent Baptist Church - was first gathered in Middletown, New Jersey. With two centers, in Middletown and Holmdel, Sunday services alternated between the two churches which were called the “Upper House” and “Lower House,” respectively. Land for both locations was purchased from indigenous inhabitants, the Lenape Haki-nk or Lenni-Lanape. The date 1668 is also noted in historic documents by Morgan Edwards, who claims an “incomplete formation” of the church began at this earlier date. (See The Story of Middletown p.92, Sources)
The Middletown Baptist Church was the child of the first Baptist Church in America, located in Rhode Island. Settlers migrated south to organize a church, many of these descendants of Obadiah Holmes, a Baptist leader from the Middletown, RI church, who came to the area seeking religious freedom. One half of the signers of the Monmouth Patent which codified religious freedom in the colony 100 years before the Bill of Rights, were members of this Baptist church. (Note: The Patent also established slavery as the basis for economic development of the region and began the displacement of the indigenous inhabitants, the Lenni-Lenape.)
From these origins, the first meeting house in Holmdel was built in Holmdel Village, in 1734, however, it first began meeting in the private home of John Stout, in 1705. By 1734 land was given to the church by the Hartshorne family, and a house of worship was built, lasting until 1832 when the current Sanctuary building was constructed. In 1857 this structure was remodeled and enlarged, and a tall spire was added. A large Victorian parsonage was added to the property in 1882. By 1896 major efforts to preserve the historic structure were made; this included the six Tiffany stained-glass windows in the sanctuary.
During the Revolutionary War, the church building was used as a barracks and a hospital, causing worship services to be held in a barn near Headden’s Corner.
Membership at the time of the Baptist Church’s formation was 66, serving a territory that included what is now Monmouth, Ocean, Mercer and part of Middlesex counties. Attendance grew slowly and reached 223 members in 1888.
Our roots are also tied to the Reformed Church tradition. A Reformed congregation, first known as the Reformed Church of Navesink, and later as the Dutch Reformed Church of Freehold and Middletown, led to the formation of a Holmdel Reformed Church, (Reformed Church of America). This emerged from the Middletown part of the congregation, first organized in 1699. The first house of worship was built between 1719 & 1721, about a mile from Holmdel Village on Middletown Road where the old cemetery continues to mark the spot.
This congregation moved to the corner of Holmdel Road and Main Street in 1838 and prospered in the late 1800’s as part of a thriving farming community. By 1916 serious financial difficulties and declining membership led into the Depression era of the 1920’s and 1930’s, and both the Reformed church and its neighbor the Baptist Church were dying.
In 1936, the two small historic congregations voted to become a federated body known as the Holmdel Church. For many years they were without a full-time pastor, yet in 1958, Dr. Wallace Gallup was called to the pastorate and a Community Church was created within the federation for those who did not wish to be formally part of either denomination. At this point three different congregations existed, with two church buildings; each building was used six months out of the year.
Under the leadership of the federation’s subsequent pastor, Rev. John Waldron, the three church bodies merged into one church in 1968. The parent denominations (Baptist and Reformed) agreed to allow the church to severe its historic ties and to become part of the new ecumenical denomination (formed in 1957), called the United Church of Christ.
Today, the congregation combines historic traditions with progressive Christian values. In 2009, the church officially declared itself “Open and Affirming” to publicly welcome LGBTQIA+ members into the life of the congregation. The church is known for its commitment to justice, peace, and community outreach programs. Its historic campus remains located at 40 Main Street in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Rev. N.B. Sellers, 2026
Sources Consulted:
Monmouth Timeline Inc.’s article “The Monmouth Patent” – April 8, 1665 as found at https://monmouthtimeline.org/timeline/the-monmouth-patent/
https://www.njfounders.org/history/monmouth-patent-and-patentees
Achter Coll to Zoning; Historical Notes on Middletown, N.J. by Thelma K. Jelliffe (Academy Press, Middletown, NJ, 1982).
The Story of Middletown; The Oldest Settlement in New Jersey by Ernest W. Mandeville (An Exact Reprint, Annotated and Indexed by Thelma K. Jeflliffe. Academy Press, 1972).
A Brief History of the Holmdel Community United Church of Christ brochure by Rev. Russell Eidmann-Hicks.