On Church Road, Between the Schools
Baleville Congregational Christian Church has its home at 6 Church Road in Newton, New Jersey, tucked between Kittatinny High School and McKeown Elementary School in a quiet residential part of Sussex County. The congregation's tagline is consistent across its ministry: "Helping people take their next step towards Christ." That phrase hangs over the entry to the church and over every program the church runs, from its Friday night children's program to its weeklong mission trip across the surrounding towns.
Behind the tagline is a self-governing congregation with deep local roots. The church still remembers Pastor Dan Arnold, who served as pastor from 1983 to 2011 and whose loving, approachable personality helped many in Newton come to faith. Today the senior pastor is Brian Ingraham, who has been serving in church ministry for about twenty-five years and was recently called by the church to lead Baleville into a new season.
Sunday Mornings at Ten
Worship at Baleville is a single Sunday morning service at 10:00 a.m. The gathering is built around worship through music, prayer, and Bible-based teaching. Partway through the service, children are dismissed to their own age-appropriate classes, while adults remain in the sanctuary for the sermon.
The nursery is available for ages 0 to 2, and two classrooms gather for older children: 3 years through 2nd grade, and 3rd through 6th grade. A "mom's room" is also available for nursing mothers and for parents who prefer to stay with a young child during the sermon.
First-time families are asked to arrive about ten minutes early so volunteers can sign children into the church's check-in system. Every volunteer who works with children has completed a background check and been trained in the church's safety protocols. Parents who want their kids to stay with them during the message can take a sermon outline sheet at the table in the back of the room, designed for kids in 2nd through 6th grade.
Sermons are archived and available to listen to online, both as audio downloads and as video. The church's bulletin is updated each week and posted alongside the most recent message.
A Statement of Faith with Depth
The Statement of Faith at Baleville covers ten areas and is more detailed than is typical for a church of its size. The congregation holds that the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired Word of God and the sole authority for faith and life. They teach one God existing in three distinct persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each worthy of the same worship and obedience.
On the person of Christ, Baleville teaches that Jesus is God in the flesh, fully human but without a sinful nature by virtue of how He was conceived. His death on the cross was a substitutionary sacrifice for sin, His resurrection was literal and historical, and He now serves as the believer's High Priest and Advocate in heaven. The Holy Spirit is given at the point of salvation, indwelling believers as the seal of their promised inheritance.
The church's doctrine of humanity begins with a literal six-day creation of Adam and Eve as the first parents of the human race. Through Adam's disobedience, death entered the world and all people inherited a sinful nature. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Believers are eternally secure.
Baleville also takes traditional positions on marriage, sexuality, and the sanctity of human life. The church teaches that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman, that any sexual activity outside of such marriage is sinful, and that all human life - from conception to natural death - is to be respected and protected. The church looks for the visible, bodily return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and final judgment, with eternal life for those in Christ and eternal conscious punishment for those who reject Him.
The church's polity is congregational. Members enjoy the right of self-government under what the statement calls "the laws of Jesus Christ." A local congregation is organized under Christ as the Head, with scripturally qualified elders and deacons and spiritually gifted members carrying out the work of ministry together.
The Pastor's Desk
Brian Ingraham has served in church ministry for about twenty-five years. He grew up in Bergen County, met his wife Bonnie at Philadelphia College of Bible, and the two have now been married for twenty-five years and have five children together. His desire, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, is to help people take their next steps in their relationship with Christ. He is passionate about seeing people love and understand the Bible and live out what they learn in everyday life, and he sees a critical need for the church to go beyond its walls to meet tangible needs in the surrounding community and point people to Jesus.
Pastor Brian is supported by a Board of Deacons, a Board of Trustees, and a Board of Christian Education. The Board of Deacons is chaired by Maryann Roe, with Debbie Cooper serving as vice chair; other deacons include Dawn Charlton, Gail Leypoldt, Nancy Lombreglia, and Barbara Mosher. The Board of Christian Education, which Pastor Brian currently chairs in an interim capacity, includes Stephanie Biron, Bevin Hughen, and Zoe Yanvary, and oversees the church's work with children and students.
Kidz Club and Sunday Morning Children
Children are central to the life of Baleville. The children's ministry runs on two rhythms. On Sunday mornings during worship, kids are dismissed after the music for age-appropriate teaching in songs, Bible story, and prayer. The nursery covers ages 0 to 2, while separate classes gather for ages 3 through 2nd grade and 3rd through 6th grade.
On Friday evenings, the church hosts Kidz Club from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. for kids in Kindergarten through 6th grade. The evening has three parts. Game Time features active games and races. Handbook Time gives each child a take-home handbook that walks them through an adventure to earn truth jewels, awarded for memorizing Bible verses that teach what the Bible says about who God is and how He wants us to live. Lesson Time includes enthusiastic singing, a Bible lesson, and stories about missionaries who served as heroes of the faith. Each Friday is designed to help children grow in their knowledge of God and His Word in a setting that is loud, friendly, and full of energy.
Baleville Teens
For students in 7th through 10th grade, the church runs a Friday night student ministry called Baleville Teens, also meeting from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on the church grounds. The stated goal is to see middle school and high schoolers understand who they are in Christ and to grasp the purpose their lives have in the kingdom of God. Each evening mixes fun activities with an engaging lesson that draws truth from the Bible. Students can attend alongside their siblings in Kidz Club, with both programs sharing the same Friday evening schedule at the church.
Small Groups for Adults
Small Groups are one of the main ways adults at any stage of their Christian journey grow at Baleville. The church describes them as opportunities to study God's Word, wrestle with honest questions, pray together, and encourage one another in life. The aim is to move beyond basic Bible knowledge into actual life application, so that participants grow more and more like Jesus in the ordinary rhythms of their week. Groups meet around the area for adults throughout the church, and visitors who would like to join one can sign up through the church office.
The Sussex Serve Project
The church's outreach is organized around an annual week called the Sussex Serve Project. The goal of the project is to be a gospel witness in the community by meeting tangible needs and pointing people to Jesus. Each year, volunteers from Baleville and beyond gather for a week of service projects across Sussex County, with adults and children participating together. Children under twelve are encouraged to join, but must be accompanied by a parent on the project site. The week draws on the words of Jesus in Matthew 5: a town built on a hill cannot be hidden, and a lamp is meant to be set on its stand to give light to everyone in the house.
Becoming a Member
Baleville takes membership seriously as an act of commitment to the local body of Christ. The path from first visit to membership runs through four steps. The first is the most important: a personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ, with active growth in that faith. Baptism is strongly encouraged at this stage.
The second step is to attend one of the church's DISCOVER Baleville events, held once in the fall and once in the spring. These are informal gatherings after the worship service where prospective members meet Pastor Brian, learn about the church, and ask questions. Lunch is provided together, and there are no strings attached - it is an open invitation simply to get to know one another.
After DISCOVER, the third step is to attend two membership classes that cover the church's statement of faith, congregational church life, the membership vows, and how to use one's gifts in the church. The fourth step is a meeting with church leaders, after which the new member is welcomed into membership by the congregation.
Members commit to protecting the unity of the church, sharing in its responsibility, serving in its ministry, and supporting its testimony. In Paul's words from Ephesians 4, the whole body grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work.
Honoring a Long-Tenured Pastor
The Dan Arnold Memorial Scholarship remembers Pastor Dan Arnold, who led Baleville from 1983 to 2011. Each year the church awards one-time scholarships of up to $500 to applicants who attend Baleville monthly, share a clear Christian testimony, actively serve in the church or community, and are pursuing continuing education. The scholarship reflects the church's gratitude for Pastor Dan's loving, approachable personality and the way his ministry extended well beyond the walls of the church and into the surrounding community.
The church office is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with a phone line at 973-383-4743. A current sermon series, the weekly bulletin, and a connection card are all available online for those who would like to learn more about the church's life and ministries.