Our History
Covenant Community Baptist Church
Silver Spring, Maryland
Not long after being called as the fifth pastor of the then Parker Memorial Baptist Church (PMBC) in December, 1989, by the powerful movement of the Holy Spirit, Rev. Dr. Guy A. Williams, Sr. and PMBC began to experience a season of unprecedented growth in its membership and community attendance. With sustained increase in the congregation, the church outgrew its original facilities on Geneva Avenue, Takoma Park, MD. With a commitment to maintain its presence in its community of origin, the church held its services in neighboring high Schools (Norwood, Kennedy and Reservoir High Schools respectively).
Contextually, from the middle 1980’s - 2004, the Washington metropolitan area saw prodigious church growth particularly by its African-American and Latino communities. The largest church growth of these congregations occurred in neighboring Prince George’s County. While the local government was open and welcoming of these ethnic groups and their growing churches, most Montgomery County public officials, members of the Planning Board, and residents were adamantly opposed to this explosion. Almost unimaginably for an ethnically diverse and progressive County in the late twentieth century, deliberate efforts were launched officially and unofficially in a campaign to “stop church growth” in Montgomery County (MC). While officials, planning board members, and civic associations claimed that racism was not the motivation behind their campaign, the evidence is undeniable that, like predatory lending, their efforts were targeted in areas with the largest ethnic minority populations and church growth. Undeterred by the maliciously unconstitutional and intrusive proposed legislation of the Zoning Text Amendments (1995-2004) introduced by the County Council and Planning Board and derogatory defamation by some community leaders, the PMBC congregation rallied around its pastor as Dr. Williams led a counter-legislative, interfaith campaign called V.O.I.C.E.S. – Voices of Interfaith Congregations Emerging in Solidarity, representing 350 of the 500 MC houses of worship. This group, along with the staunch support of several members of County Council and the Planning Board, overturned the invasive legislation and established an unprecedented partnering relationship between the faith community and government.
Like the Children of Israel in the Old Testament, the Covenant Community
Baptist Church was born out of an experience of “wrestling God” through the
vicissitudes of life of a man and ministry of God (cf. Gen. 32:22-32). Reminiscent
of Jacob in the Sacred Text, the unrelenting Rev. Dr. Guy A. Williams, Sr. (reorganizing and founding pastor) and an undaunted faithful remnant of its church of origin, Parker Memorial Baptist Church (f. November 1920), had been on a nineteen year arduous and costly quest to secure, settle, and inhabit a Promise Land for its congregational home and designed conduit of blessing to the broader community of Montgomery County.
By the favorable hand of God, the support of the faithful of PMBC, participating congregations, and partnership of key public officials, the battle and the war of religious freedom and congregational growth in MC was won! However, as with a literal military campaign, the cost and casualties to PMBC and its pastor were great. At that time, with most of its congregation comprised primarily of young adults (ages 26-45) new to Christ and His Church, “as a result many of [its members]” – like those who learned of the “cost of discipleship” with Jesus became discouraged and “walked away and walked with [them] no more,” (Jn. 6:66), having lost three Promise Land parcels (12.58 acres @ Fairland Rd; 11.5 acres @ Blackburn Lane; and 8.4 acres @ Norbeck Rd. valued at over $10 million) with over $1 million expended in real estate acquisition and development costs. Though its external adversaries were formidable and financially debilitating and PMBC’s “quest for a Promise Land” protracted, all the fault for its failure cannot be laid at the feet of those who opposed the work of advancing God’s church. What the congregation lacked was what God required in His Word – faithfulness, steadfastness, perseverance and hope (1 Cor. 4:1-2; 15:58; Gal. 6:9; James 1:2-8, 12; Rom. 5:3-5).
Understanding the spiritual-theological/socio-economic context of PMBC is paramount to properly interpreting the history of our church. Speaking of the inception of the Christian Church, the Lord Jesus promised, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it” (Matt. 16:18b). God’s promise is true! However, an overview of the growth of the New Testament Church in fulfilling its commission to “preach the Gospel” (Acts 14:7, 15; 16:10) and “make disciples” (Matt. 28:19-20), the Bible clearly reveals that the enemy of the church, Satan, will nevertheless unleash an onslaught of attack against the church in an effort to halt or hinder the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ and the advancement of His Church (Acts 4:1-37; 5:1-42; 6:8-8:3; 9:1-12; 11:19; 13:50; 14:5-6, 19-20; 16:16-40; 17:5-9, 13-14, 18, 32; 18:12-17; 19:9, 21-41; 20:3, 22-23; 21:27-36; 23:12-24:9; 25:10-11; 27:1-28:28; cf. Eph. 6:10-12; 1 Thess. 2:2; 2 Thess. 1:4; 2 Tim. 2:9-10; 3:11; 1 Pet. 1:1-2). The once largest land owner of any predominately African-American congregation in Montgomery County was devastated by the external political and communal persecution associated with its development efforts and internal lack of perseverance and faithfulness of its members became the parallel experience and testimony of PMBC.
Having endured far greater hardship in faithfully fulfilling God’s call and vision to advance His church, the apostle Paul states, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Cor. 4:7-9). Unwilling to quit on God, the preservation of His Church, one another, or the unsaved/unchurched of Montgomery County, on May 22, 2011, under the continued leadership of Rev. Dr. Guy A. Williams, Sr. and sustained by the God’s grace and ministry vision, the remaining undaunted, faithful remnant of PMBC reorganized as the Covenant Community Baptist Church and launched its inaugural service at the Silver Spring Civic Center, downtown Silver Spring, MD.
The CCBC disciples of Christ persevere in hope, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne God” (Heb. 12:2) trusting that “after [we] have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called [us] to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish [us]” (1 Pet. 5:10). As with the Children of Israel, God’s promise of restoration remains true – “For thus says the Lord, when [?]years have been completed . . . . I will visit you and fulfill My good Word to you . . . ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:10-11).
