"Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain."
Psalm 127:1

Our church was founded in 1936, and as most small churches we had our beginnings in private homes and other facilities. Eventually we purchased our first permanent building in Lincoln, Rhode Island. We called ourselves the Portuguese Calvary Baptist Church.

Our first pastor was the Rev. Alice Beals of Franklin, Pennsylvania. When she returned to her hometown in Pennsylvania, the church appointed Rev. Williston Holbert as their new pastor. He served as pastor from 1950 to 1960. At the end of Rev. Holbert’s tenure, Rev. Abel Azevedo was called to serve as pastor. He served for almost three decades. Upon Rev. Azevedo’s retirement, Rev. Williston Holbert was called back to pastor the church, which he did until his call to glory in 1996. January 1997 the church appointed Rev. Olivier Bala as their new senior pastor. Rev. Bala, a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, had been serving as assistant pastor since 1988.

In 1977 Rev. Jose Rodrigues was called to minister to the Portuguese-speaking congregation and served until 2006. After Rev. Rodrigues’ retirement, Pastor Jose Delgado answered the call to lead the Portuguese-speaking ministry and still serves in the capacity.

In 1991, under Rev. Holbert’s leadership, we purchased our current facility located at 734 Hope Street in Providence. This building housed the original Fourth Baptist church from 1897-1983. In order to let the community know that we ministered both in English and Portuguese, we changed our name from Portuguese Calvary Church to the Fourth Baptist Church, which was a well-established landmark in our community. After 12 years at this location, we changed our name once more in order to reflect what we felt God has called us for in this neighborhood. We are now the Mount Hope Community Baptist Church, a place where Christ gives hope to everyone.

We are a very diverse congregation, socially, racially and ethnically. We are Christ centered and Bible centered and determined to do the will of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We invite you to join us, if you do not already have a home church.