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A Light on the Hill: The Surprising Story of How a Local Church in the Nation's Capital Influenced Evangelicalism
God’s Faithfulness on Display in an Engaging Church Biography
Capitol Hill Baptist Church, located just blocks away from the center of American power, has a rich 150-year history. Its members have participated in significant world events, advocated for religious freedoms, and spoken out against the moral failings of the times. There’s no doubt this church has had a unique impact on evangelicalism from a significant location. But these lively characters and their unique experiences only tell part of this engaging narrative.
Through real-life stories, A Light on the Hill reveals how God works through church bodies and remains faithful during times of uncertainty. Exploring themes such as pastoral ministry, faithfulness, courage, racial reconciliation, church and politics, and more, this book will help readers see the long-term effects of faithful church ministries. Ultimately they will be encouraged to invest in a local church and preserve the gospel for the next generation.
Engaging Compiled stories recount Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s unique history and its impact on evangelicalism Characters Come to Abolitionist pastor who argued with Lincoln, a one-armed veteran, the widow who founded the church, a scamming pastor, a pastor whose beliefs were transformed by Martin Luther King Jr., and more Reoccurring Pastoral ministry, faithfulness, courage, racial reconciliation, church and politics, and more Appeals to Pastors, Church Members, and Offers valuable insights for leading congregations and provides personal spiritual encouragement Includes Over 80 Photographs
Capitol Hill Baptist Church, located just blocks away from the center of American power, has a rich 150-year history. Its members have participated in significant world events, advocated for religious freedoms, and spoken out against the moral failings of the times. There’s no doubt this church has had a unique impact on evangelicalism from a significant location. But these lively characters and their unique experiences only tell part of this engaging narrative.
Through real-life stories, A Light on the Hill reveals how God works through church bodies and remains faithful during times of uncertainty. Exploring themes such as pastoral ministry, faithfulness, courage, racial reconciliation, church and politics, and more, this book will help readers see the long-term effects of faithful church ministries. Ultimately they will be encouraged to invest in a local church and preserve the gospel for the next generation.
Engaging Compiled stories recount Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s unique history and its impact on evangelicalism Characters Come to Abolitionist pastor who argued with Lincoln, a one-armed veteran, the widow who founded the church, a scamming pastor, a pastor whose beliefs were transformed by Martin Luther King Jr., and more Reoccurring Pastoral ministry, faithfulness, courage, racial reconciliation, church and politics, and more Appeals to Pastors, Church Members, and Offers valuable insights for leading congregations and provides personal spiritual encouragement Includes Over 80 Photographs
398 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 21, 2025
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July 8, 2025
You may not think that the history of a church would make for very interesting reading. However, after reading several positive reviews of the book, I decided to read Caleb Morell’s history of the 150-year-old Capitol Baptist Church (CHBS), which is located just blocks from the U.S Capitol in Washington D.C. My wife Tammy and I have had the pleasure of worshipping at CHBC while in Washington D.C. on a business trip.
Morell did an outstanding job researching the church’s history for this book. I very much enjoyed reading how God has used this church for nearly 150 years.
We are told that this is not the story of an extraordinary church. Rather, it is about God and how he delights to do extraordinary things through ordinary people and ordinary churches. The book looks at the factors and conditions that contribute to gospel faithfulness. The church has stayed centered on the gospel and present in the place God planted it because of the ordinary people who worked, prayed, sowed, and stayed.
The origins of the church date back to between 1876 and 1878, when the Metropolitan Baptist Association began hosting a weekly prayer meeting on Wednesday evenings and, soon after that, a Sunday evening prayer service. On February 27, 1878, dozens gathered to form the Metropolitan Baptist Church. Joseph W. Parker would become the church’s first pastor.
As a matter of first importance, the church gave their attention to their governing documents: the statement of faith, church covenant, and rules of church order and discipline.
The church would survive a church split in 1884, when pastor Wilbur H. Ingersoll resigned and formed a rival church just two blocks away, taking thirty-three members with him. The author tells us that the story of Ingersoll and the church split of 1884 is a sobering reminder of how sin, pride, and factionalism can decimate a church community.
In 1885, William Henry Young would become pastor. The church would make the decision to adopt female deaconesses. Later, they would welcome a woman to preach from their pulpit. The author states that for twenty-first-century evangelicals, a woman preaching from the pulpit might be taken as an undisputable sign of theological liberalism. Surprisingly, however, this was not the case among many nominally conservative churches in the early twentieth century.
John Compton Ball would pastor the church for forty-one years. Sadly, Ball refused to cede pastoral leadership to K. Owen White, his successor. The author tells us that if ever there were a case study in how not to handle pastoral succession, this was it.
One significant difference between Ball’s ministry and White’s ministry was White’s commitment to expositional preaching. Sermons at Metropolitan had always been topical, focusing on a single verse during the Sunday morning service and a single verse during the evening service.
By 1948, well over a thousand packed into the church building every Sunday where there was standing room only at services. Beginning at Easter 1948, White led Metropolitan to adopt a two-service model for its Sunday morning services.
However, by 1961, Metropolitan’s membership was down to its lowest in twenty-one years. There was a downward spiral in membership experienced by Metropolitan Baptist Church in the 1960s and 1970s as the church fought to survive amid peace protests, racial unrest, rising crime, and members moving to the suburbs. The church would not admit it’s first Black member until 1955.
Sadly, pastor Harry Kilbride was guilty of serious sexual immorality. Mark Dever was called as pastor in 1993. In 1994, the church voted to drop “Metropolitan”, and became known as Capitol Hill Baptist Church.
The most significant change that Dever proposed in a new constitution was the recognition of a plurality of elders. From the church’s organization in 1878 until 1998, the church had always operated with a single pastor and a plurality of deacons. The entire process of devising and passing the constitution took over a year and ten months. it took nearly five years to revise the church membership, readopt the statement of faith and the church covenant, and introduce elders.
As membership steadily grew, the leadership had to make a decision regarding expanding the sanctuary, planting churches, going to a multi-site model, etc. They decided to plant churches. Today, many of CHBC’s church plants are planting their own churches.
From its earliest days, Capitol Hill Baptist Church understood itself to be a light on the Hill. Despite internal dissensions and the contextual challenges of being an urban church, Capitol Hill Baptist Church has remained centered on the gospel and rooted in its community for nearly 150 years.
The author looks at the preachers, members, and prayer as being key elements to the church being a light on the Hill. He summarizes them:
• The chief distinguishing mark of God’s kindness toward Capitol Hill Baptist Church has been the preachers who have heralded the gospel from its pulpit.
• Another distinguishing sign of God’s mercy has been the humble perseverance of saints like Celestia A. Ferris and Margaret Roy who lived hidden lives of quiet faithfulness.
• Finally, any good that has come from the ministry of Capitol Hill Baptist Church can ultimately be traced back to the power of prayer.
Morell did an outstanding job researching the church’s history for this book. I very much enjoyed reading how God has used this church for nearly 150 years.
We are told that this is not the story of an extraordinary church. Rather, it is about God and how he delights to do extraordinary things through ordinary people and ordinary churches. The book looks at the factors and conditions that contribute to gospel faithfulness. The church has stayed centered on the gospel and present in the place God planted it because of the ordinary people who worked, prayed, sowed, and stayed.
The origins of the church date back to between 1876 and 1878, when the Metropolitan Baptist Association began hosting a weekly prayer meeting on Wednesday evenings and, soon after that, a Sunday evening prayer service. On February 27, 1878, dozens gathered to form the Metropolitan Baptist Church. Joseph W. Parker would become the church’s first pastor.
As a matter of first importance, the church gave their attention to their governing documents: the statement of faith, church covenant, and rules of church order and discipline.
The church would survive a church split in 1884, when pastor Wilbur H. Ingersoll resigned and formed a rival church just two blocks away, taking thirty-three members with him. The author tells us that the story of Ingersoll and the church split of 1884 is a sobering reminder of how sin, pride, and factionalism can decimate a church community.
In 1885, William Henry Young would become pastor. The church would make the decision to adopt female deaconesses. Later, they would welcome a woman to preach from their pulpit. The author states that for twenty-first-century evangelicals, a woman preaching from the pulpit might be taken as an undisputable sign of theological liberalism. Surprisingly, however, this was not the case among many nominally conservative churches in the early twentieth century.
John Compton Ball would pastor the church for forty-one years. Sadly, Ball refused to cede pastoral leadership to K. Owen White, his successor. The author tells us that if ever there were a case study in how not to handle pastoral succession, this was it.
One significant difference between Ball’s ministry and White’s ministry was White’s commitment to expositional preaching. Sermons at Metropolitan had always been topical, focusing on a single verse during the Sunday morning service and a single verse during the evening service.
By 1948, well over a thousand packed into the church building every Sunday where there was standing room only at services. Beginning at Easter 1948, White led Metropolitan to adopt a two-service model for its Sunday morning services.
However, by 1961, Metropolitan’s membership was down to its lowest in twenty-one years. There was a downward spiral in membership experienced by Metropolitan Baptist Church in the 1960s and 1970s as the church fought to survive amid peace protests, racial unrest, rising crime, and members moving to the suburbs. The church would not admit it’s first Black member until 1955.
Sadly, pastor Harry Kilbride was guilty of serious sexual immorality. Mark Dever was called as pastor in 1993. In 1994, the church voted to drop “Metropolitan”, and became known as Capitol Hill Baptist Church.
The most significant change that Dever proposed in a new constitution was the recognition of a plurality of elders. From the church’s organization in 1878 until 1998, the church had always operated with a single pastor and a plurality of deacons. The entire process of devising and passing the constitution took over a year and ten months. it took nearly five years to revise the church membership, readopt the statement of faith and the church covenant, and introduce elders.
As membership steadily grew, the leadership had to make a decision regarding expanding the sanctuary, planting churches, going to a multi-site model, etc. They decided to plant churches. Today, many of CHBC’s church plants are planting their own churches.
From its earliest days, Capitol Hill Baptist Church understood itself to be a light on the Hill. Despite internal dissensions and the contextual challenges of being an urban church, Capitol Hill Baptist Church has remained centered on the gospel and rooted in its community for nearly 150 years.
The author looks at the preachers, members, and prayer as being key elements to the church being a light on the Hill. He summarizes them:
• The chief distinguishing mark of God’s kindness toward Capitol Hill Baptist Church has been the preachers who have heralded the gospel from its pulpit.
• Another distinguishing sign of God’s mercy has been the humble perseverance of saints like Celestia A. Ferris and Margaret Roy who lived hidden lives of quiet faithfulness.
• Finally, any good that has come from the ministry of Capitol Hill Baptist Church can ultimately be traced back to the power of prayer.
February 18, 2026
Phenomenal read, as someone who has been apart of the church for all of my life, I will never get tired of seeing the ways God preserves His church. The 9/11 sermons were so emotional, so much depth and encouragement in seeing the Lord use His obedient saints to get through one trial at a time.
June 2, 2025
One of the best books I have ever read. Amazing to see God’s faithfulness in this local church. Encouraging, convicting, and edifying!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews