Baltimore, Maryland, Church of the Brethren Revitalized After Pastor and Congregation Join

First Church of the Brethren in Baltimore, Md., faced a leadership gap after its pastor left in early 2022. The congregation was also feeling the strain of a shrinking membership.

Not far away, Keith Carter was leading a Baptist congregation in Maryland. That congregation had a healthy membership but no permanent church home.

During First Baltimore’s search for a pastor, Carter served as a guest preacher and made an immediate impression. In late summer 2022, the church hired him as pastor. He came with members of his own congregation, and the two groups came together. Carter said, “We are now Brethren.”

Carter quickly began pastoral work. He visited members who had fallen ill and started to organize a plan for the church’s future. He personally repaired the ceiling in the fellowship center and repaired and repainted the church sign outside. One parishioner initially believed the sign had been replaced entirely. Carter also served a Mother’s Day breakfast for the whole congregation.

According to the source, the church has been revitalized in the two years since Carter’s arrival. Church groups are active and growing, and Sunday school attendance and youth ministry have strengthened. Services include a music program with a choir and musicians, and fellowship within the congregation has improved. The church has also expanded its community outreach. It hosted an Easter egg hunt for neighborhood children and supported the effort of a local United Methodist church to serve people in need, a practice of sharing with others (Hebrews 13:16). Attendance at love feast was so large that the church had to change its plans for the feetwashing ceremony.

The story was written by John Fleming and first appeared in the newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic District.

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