History of Franklin Lakes Baptist Church:

Early in 1960, the need for establishing another New Testament Baptist church in the northern New Jersey area was discussed at the North Jersey Baptist Pastor's Fellowship.  It was agreed that the area should be thoroughly investigated.  A survey was conducted by Dr. Kenneth H. Good, Pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church, Paterson, with the assistance of Pastor Paul Gelatt, Saddle Brook Baptist Church: and Pastor Larry Smith, Director of Religious Education at First Baptist Church, Hackensack.  This committee recommended that a work should be established in Franklin Lakes.  The North Jersey Baptist Pastors' Fellowship voted and accepted the recommendation.  An initial $100.00 was allocated by Frontiers Unlimited of the Fellow ship toward advertising a public meeting to be held in the Fire Hall, Pulis Avenue, Franklin Lakes.  Interested people were invited to meet on Sunday afternoon, February 28, 1960.  Dr. Good was the speaker at this first meeting.  The Madison Avenue Baptist Church, of which Dr. Good was Pastor, sponsored the work in Franklin Lakes.

The work began with weekly Bible studies conducted in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank La Viola, 995 Colonial Road, Franklin Lakes.  Pastors Paul Gelatt and Larry Smith taught these weekly studies for a time.

Meanwhile a search began by members of the North Jersey Baptist Pastor's Fellowship for a full-time worker to care for this new ministry.  Pastor Francis A. McQuade, a graduate of Shelton College and Dallas Theological Seminary, was approached during the summer of 1960 and consented to come as the acting missionary pastor under the auspices of the Fellowship of Baptists for Home Missions, Elyria, Ohio.  Pastor and Mrs. McQuade, with their four children, arrived in Paterson, New Jersey in August of 1960 and were welcomed by the members of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church. Their first residence was in the Missionary Home of the church located at 895 East 19th Street, Paterson, where they resided until March of 1961.

On October 9, 1960, the first meeting of the missionary church was held at the Ramapo Regional High School, Franklin Lakes, with sixteen people present: Pastor and Mrs. McQuade and their family, along with members of the families of Russell Shafer, Frank La Viola and Richard De Graff.

An important step which led to the ultimate construction of our church at its present location began with a letter written by the late Mr. Henry Stam to Pastor McQuade on October 31, 1960, advising of the availability of the Loux property in Franklin Lakes, previously the estate of A. Lozier, consisting of 11.4 acres of land with a home and barn.   In March of 1961, the McQuade family moved to a home located on the property of the Sicomac Dairy in Wyckoff to be closer to the work in Franklin Lakes, and remained at this location until the purchase of the first parsonage at 224 Mabel Ann Avenue where they moved in August, 1961.  Prayer meetings were also held at this location and Lord's Day services continued to be conducted at the Ramapo Regional High School.

The matter of the Loux property was discussed by the Advisory Committee of the missionary church on November 20, 1962.  It was recommended to present to the congregation for approval, the purchase of the Loux property at a total cost of $42,000.  The congregation accepted this recommendation at a meeting held November 21, 1962.  In the interim, the Borough of Franklin Lakes purchased 2.47 acres of the Loux property at $750.00 per acre.  Therefore, the purchase of the Loux property took place in March, 1963 at a total cost of $40,147.50 for 8.929 acres including the house and barn.

Following the purchase of the Loux property, the Mc-Quade family moved into the newly acquired parsonage at 649 Franklin Avenue in April, 1963.   Prior to the acquisition of the property, a preliminary organizational meeting to establish the missionary church as an official incorporated body was held February 21, 1963.  It was at this meeting that a motion was passed to appoint a committee of six to draft a Constitution and Statement of Faith for the church.  Those selected were John Cook, Ralph Giannone, John Harom, Allan Monroe, Edward Ringer, and Pastor McQuade.  The Church Covenant, Articles of Faith and the Constitution were presented and approved at a congregational meeting on April 18, 1963.

On January 8, 1964, the congregation was presented with plans and proposals by the Building Committee with respect to the conversion of the existing barn on the acquired property.  The church agreed to convert the first floor with the possible provision for a second floor conversion at a later date.

Thus, on June 22, 1964, in the atmosphere of a Pennsylvania Dutch house-raising, some twenty families under the faithful leadership of our Building Chairman, George Klein, and his assistant, John Harom, began the conversion of the old red barn into a house of worship.  The entire renovation included many hours of volunteer help as well as skilled labor, with much work being accomplished in the evening hours and Saturdays.  With much praise and rejoicing, the work was completed and the first service held on Easter Sunday evening, April 18, 1965.  A Dedication Service followed on June 3, 1965, with the Dedication Address given by Dr. Joseph Stowell, then Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hackensack.

Meanwhile, the Building Committee was again busy with plans to present to the congregation for the erection of a permanent structure at the 649 Franklin Avenue site.  On November 20, 1966, a special meeting was held at the church following the regular Sunday evening service to discuss our building program.  The Building Committee's presentation included a Master Plan consisting of Three Phases of construction and related facts.  Approval was given to the Master Plan and to proceed with Phase I, which was to be an educational wing.  Authorization was also given to apply to the Church Building Committee of the Fellowship of Baptists for Home Missions, Elyria, Ohio, for a loan to construct the educational wing.

A milestone in the history of Franklin Lakes Baptist Church took place with a ceremony on December 4, 1966, when the church leaders and borough officials broke ground for the church's new two story educational wing.  The building would house the Bible School classes on the lower level and provide a temporary second floor sanctuary until a church could be erected.  After much sacrificial giving on the part of the Pastor and people alike, both in time and effort, another step forward was taken with the completion of Phase I.  With grateful hearts and praise to the Lord the first service in the new Educational Wing was held on June 18, 1967, followed by a Dedication Service on September 24, 1967.

At this point in time, Pastor McQuade, having ably brought our church from its infancy, felt that his ministry among us was accomplished and responded to a call to teach in the Missions Department of Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania.

At the Annual Meeting of the church of February 26, 1969, a call was extended to Pastor Doglas E. Christen of Calvary Baptist Church, Bay Shore, Long Island to become Pastor of the Franklin Lakes Baptist Church.  Pastor Christen, who had thirty-eight years experience in the ministry, accepted our call and preached his first sermon as our Pastor on May 11, 1969.

During the spring of 1968, the Franklin Lakes Baptist Church was approached by the Borough of Franklin Lakes concerning the proposed Summit Avenue extension and the need to acquire the necessary church property to accomplish this extension.  A special meeting of the church was called on May 6, 1970 to continue our deliberations regarding the Summit Avenue extension and its effect upon our property.  It was necessary to determine whether to sell the existing parsonage and part of the property to the Borough of Franklin Lakes.  They were to take .9 acres of land plus the parsonage.  The town offered acceptable payment for the parsonage and land involved and it was agreed by the congregation to accept their offer.

Due to the ultimate removal of the existing parsonage by the Borough, the church was faced with the need to erect another parsonage or to locate a suitable one for Pastor and his family.  In a subsequent meeting held on May 20, 1970, the church accepted the recommendation of the Advisory Board that we hire an architect to prepare the drawings for a new parsonage to be constructed on the church property.  The drawings were presented and accepted on June 10, 1970, and a Parsonage Building Committee was appointed.  Construction began in July and was completed in December.  The Christen's moved into their lovely new home at 641 Old Mill Road on December 12, 1970 and entertained the congregation at an Open House held January 17, 1971.

Through Pastor Christen, arrangements were made to purchase pews from the Bethel Baptist Church, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, to replace the folding chairs in our auditorium.  Men of our church transported the pews from Cherry Hill and installed them in our church.  They were first used on Sunday, September 23, 1973.   Pastor Christen resigned on May 11, 1975.  Pastor James Burns was called in December of 1976 and served faithfully until 1984.