Sayre Woods began in 1956. The church was started by the Minute Men of the Conservative Baptist Association of New Jersey–a group of men committed to planting new churches in NJ communities without a solid, Bible-teaching church. Rev. Earl Cook, Clinton, NJ and Rev. Wesley Olsen, Hillside, NJ were part of the Minute Men. They surveyed Madison Park, Laurel Park, and Haven Village and determined that a new church would flourish in the area. Madison Park Elementary School was chosen as the initial location. CBA requested a missionary pastor to start the new church and Rev. and Mrs. Edward F. Burckart accepted the call.
The first services were held on October 28, 1956 in a corner classroom at Madison Park School. Attendance at Sunday School was 36 and at the morning worship was 34. Those signing the guestbook that day were: George Moore and family; Mrs. M. Szpora; Mr. and Mrs. George Weston; Mr. and Mrs. Roberts; Roger Mulrooney; Barbara Morehart; Billy Morehart; Marlene Kratz; Mrs. H. Miller; Mrs. H. Macomber; Mr, and Mrs. M. Garrison; Mr. and Mrs. H. Le-re (writing unclear); Mr. and Mrs. Wm. E. Knowles; Mr. Wilson Dacus; Mrs. Robert Hermann. Interesting enough, this was the Sunday of the time change and the first people to arrive that morning, one hour early at 8:30 AM, for Sunday School were Robert Hausler and his brother, Billy Hausler. Robert still attends the church today. Jean Smith was just a youngster when she first attended church here and is still here today.
The first Baptismal service was held at Old Bridge Baptist Church on June 16, 1957. Doing the baptism was Pastor Burckart.
The Constitution of the church was adopted and the first officers elected on June 27, 1957. The officers were: Trustees: George Weston, Bill Morris, Tom Clayton, Wilson Dacus; Deacons: Wilson Dacus, Tom Clayton; Deaconess: Martha Dacus, Florence Mulrooney; clerk, George Weston; treasurer, Wilson Dacus.
Daily Vacation Bible School started July 1-12, 1957. First Sunday School picnic was August 3, 1957 at Squibb Park, North Brunswick.
George Wormald was pastor from October 13, 1957 to February 15, 1959. In October 1957 the church was incorporated with 12 members on the roll. Beginning November 24, 1958, midweek prayer meeting and Bible study was held in the home of Wilson and Martha Dacus.
Pastor Roy W. Anderson (Feb. 1959-July 1960) was educated at Wheaton College, received his master’s degree at New York University, received his M.S. degree from The Graduate School of Library Science at Rutgers in NJ. He was ordained at Brookdale Baptist church (the charge given by his father Rev. Charles W. Anderson who was the pastor there) on June 12, 1959. His brother, Rev. Paul Anderson, pastor of the Linden Baptist Church then, gave the ordination message.
It soon became evident to the membership that a building and land were needed to make a permanent home for the church. It is interesting how the property that was eventually bought became known to the members. One of the young people was supposed to take some others to a retreat, but he had a flat tire and asked Wilson Dacus to take them. On his way back from doing this, Wilson saw the for sale sign on the side of the highway, so he let the church know of it. The outcome is history.
On February 22, 1959, the church voted to purchase the property located on Route 9 in Old Bridge consisting of 3.15 acres land, and a small house with basement which would serve as a parsonage, later as Sunday school rooms, and as a nursery. The cost of the land and the house was $20,000; the closing date of the sale was May 29, 1959. A used Jewish synagogue, formerly in Princeton, was advertised by JAF Construction company in New Egypt, NJ, costing $3,300, and was purchased by September 1959.
An article in the Perth Amboy Evening News, 1 September 1959, shows Pastor Anderson looking at the building. It was brought up Rt. 9 on a truck, placed on cribbings; then two weeks later placed on footings and walls built by mason Ed Harrison, Wilson Dacus and other men of the church and friends. They excavated the basement for Sunday School rooms, enlarged the room for a sanctuary, and constructed a choir loft. Soon in the same month, 13 September 1959, the first church service was held in this building.
There was room for parking and a house was already on the lot which was used first as a parsonage and later as the nursery and various other things. The church building was heated by a pot belly stove. In the beginning there were no inside bathrooms, just an out house in the grove of trees at the back of the property. More importantly, the church had many godly men and women who now had a place to worship God.
The first of our members to become a missionary was Carol Lee Stoker, to Dahomey, West Africa, Sudan Interior Mission in November 1960. She married Rev. Robert C. Blaschke, also one of our missionaries there.
Ronald Robinson was pastor from December 1960 to August 1962. The nervous young pastor performed the first marriage in this church and also his first marriage ceremony on 26 December 1960. The bride was Carolyn Haseman who married Joseph Fedin. During Pastor Robinson’s time here, choir practice was held on Sunday evenings at 5:30 and young people’s meetings at 6 PM, and prayer meetings every Wednesday evening.
Missionary Conference was first held April 28-29. 1962. Guests were Rev. Fred Zabel and Mrs. Zabel, Sudan Interior Mission, recently returned from Ethiopia, and Rev. Alex and Mrs. Lois Vincent, Wycliffe Bible Translators, recently returned from New Guinea (the Vincents are still dedicated servants ministering in New Guinea in 2006).
The first Easter sunrise service was held in April 1963 at the Tom Clayton farm. Sunday School picnics were held annually for some years at the Clayton farm. Later, some of the picnics were held at the Kirschman farm, as were baptisms. Tom Clayton died in the fall of 2005 in Florida. He was one of the faithful original members of the church, along with his widow, Ethel, and daughter, Linda Clayton.
On November 27, 1963 Pioneer Girls started for first grade girls up to around sixth grade. Ladies involved in the beginning as leaders were Jean Smith, Maxine Bertin, Anna Bissig, Ida Fizer, coordinator, and later Marianne Murr, first pal, then leader and then coordinator. This group met once a week; it was similar to Christian Girl Scouts, did service projects, made crafts and earned badges. Jean Smith worked as a leader for 35 years from 1963 until they disbanded in 1998. Dot Osbahr worked as a coordinator for many years with this group.
Christian Service Brigade first met in February 1965. On March 12, 1965, the charter application was signed and fourteen boys were registered. On April 9, 1965, the Sergeant was Dennis Dacus, and squad leaders were Eddie Harrison, Chris Kirshman, and Ray Miller. Christian Service Brigade consisted of Stockade for boys, 8-11 years old, and Battalion for boys, 12-18 years old. Each club met in the evenings once a week.
Rev. Richard Jones was pastor from October 1962 to May 1968. During his pastorate, the church membership increased from the original 12 members to 50 families with 124 active members. He graduated from Kings College. Before coming to Sayre Woods, he had worked as chaplain at Ocean County Jail and had some contacts at Trenton State Prison.
In September 1967 the parsonage on Adams Street was purchased and Pastor Jones and his family were the first occupants. The other house which used to be the parsonage was renovated and provided Sunday School rooms and nursery, and a meeting place in the basement for the youth activities.
A motion was voted on November 11, 1969 to build an addition to the church, the present education building. Approval was granted by the trustees to proceed with the addition in 1970. Ground breaking, published March 23, 1970 in the Perth Amboy Evening News. Chris Kirschman and Pastor David Pollock appear in the picture. In the background are Bill, Faye, Carolyn and Jeffrey Prince, my family and I.
Rev. David C. Pollock was the interim pastor from September 1968 to January 1969, and pastor from January 1969 to June 1975. He graduated from Houghton College, Houghton, NY. in 1963, and attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Prior to coming to Sayre Woods, he had served as director for Youth For Christ, and co-formed the Manhatten Christian Youth Service in New York City, an organization working with youth in the metropolitan area and training personnel for youth work.
After leaving Sayre Woods, Pastor Dave became a missionary with Interaction, Inc. He died in Vienna, Austria on 11 April 2004, Easter Sunday morning, after an unexpected cardiac arrest three days after gallbladder surgery. He was in Austria going about his Father’s business. He will be remembered here in this church as a gifted and charismatic communicator, as a man dedicated to the Lord and as a pastor instrumental in the formation and growth of our church.
In January 1973, a building fund was established to prepare for a larger edifice as the church building had become inadequate for the number of people attending services. On February 4, 1976, a motion was carried to build an All Purpose building. Worship services moved from church building to the All Purpose Building on May 17, 1978. The new building provided a reception area, offices for the pastor and secretary, a kitchen, and bathrooms, as well as a large meeting room for services. Ross Britain was interim pastor September 1975 until September 1976.
In September 1976, our beloved pastor, Dr. Joseph Henry Douglass came. He was born in Philadelphia on February 24, 1950. He came to know Christ as his personal Savior when he was eighteen years of age after attending a concert by The New Folk of Campus Crusade for Christ. He was then led to attend the Philadelphia Biblical University from 1968 to 1972 where he received a B.S. in Bible. He attended the Dallas Theological Seminary from 1972 to 1976 where he received a Master’s degree in Theology. He was ordained on May 30, 1976 at Warrington Fellowship church, Warrington, Pennsylvania. He received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon in 1982.
On January 1980, the church passed a motion to seek an additional full-time staff member to minister at Sayre Woods as an associate pastor. Rev. Dennis Ackerson was chosen and served from January 1981 until March 1983.
Sunday School attendance the first six months of 1981 averaged 121. Church attendance showed a steady increase from 136 in 1978 to 200 during the first 9 months of 1981. Membership to that date consisted of 87 voting members, 25 non-voting members, total 112. The church supported 11 missionaries and 8 organizations on its mission budget.
Rev. Steven Foster came in October 1998 and is our present associate pastor. He has a Bachelor of Arts, Southeastern Bible College, Birmingham, Alabama; Master of Divinity, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; Master Sacred Theology, Dallas Theological Seminary. He served one year as a pastoral intern in Dallas. He was ordained in May 1994 at Harbor Baptist Church, Orange Park, Florida. He was a youth pastor at Berean Bible Church in New Orleans for seven years.
Pastor Steve and his wife, Liz, started AWANA in this church in September 1999. Pastor Steve preaches when necessary, teaches a Sunday School Class, coordinates small groups, oversees Christian Education, and created and maintains the church website (www.sayrewoods.org).
In AWANA (Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed, see 2 Timothy 2:15), there are 40+ leaders who come out each Tuesday night to minister to the children, three years old up to eighth grade. The program emphasizes Bible memorization and the Gospel of Christ. Each club time consists of game time, handbook time, and council time (singing, Bible Stories). They have a fall festival, Olympics, Grand Prix, and Bible Quiz tournament. Linda and John Terracianno became the commanders in 2002.
Drive Through the Christmas Story with live animals and people was first held November 29 through December 1, 1984. It was created by Roxanne Tauriello, who directs it each year along with Pastor Douglass; she had seen an article about a drive-through to see Christmas art in California. It starts the Friday after Thanksgiving and lasts through the next ten days. Every year it takes more than 700 people working as volunteers in the 10 scenes and behind the scenes in preparation. All the public is invited; no fees are charged to those attending. About 100,000 people have gone through the pageant to this date, 2006. The tapes are being translated into the Spanish and Russian languages in order for more people to be able to understand the gospel message.
The first youth pastor was Jonathan Stanley from August 1985 until March 1988. Thomas Nelson Detamore, Jr. worked full time as Youth Pastor from May of 1996 through April 2002. At present Tom is the pastor of Ardena Baptist Church, Freehold, NJ.
Adam Wormann joined the staff as full-time youth pastor in June 2002. Adam is a graduate of Philadelphia Biblical University with a degree in Youth Ministry. He was married to JaneAnn Kelly on October 23, 2003.
The Youth program consists of a Jr. High and a Sr. High ministry which meet weekly for Bible study and fellowship. Monthly they have various activities and projects. Each year they have a winter retreat, work in a soup kitchen, and in the summer they have a missions trip as well as other exciting events. All these things are done that they may gain knowledge of God’s Word and what it means to live a Christian life.
A new building fund was established in June 1994 for the purpose of a larger reception area, nursery, primary Sunday School room, more bathrooms, a steeple, offices for the pastor, associate pastor, and secretary. The ground breaking for this expansion took place in 1996. This addition joined the All Purpose Room to the education building, and when finished in the spring of 1997, the church looked like it does now.
In September 1999, the second service on Sunday mornings was started to accommodate more people with comfort in the All Purpose Room. The first service begins at 9:15 AM and the second begins at 11 AM. Sunday School starts at 11 AM.
This is a condensed version of the extensively researched church history compiled by Faye Prince, a long-time member at Sayre Woods. You can view the complete church history at her website.