Capitol Baptist Church sits on Kesselring Avenue in Dover, Delaware's capital city, less than fifteen miles from the Maryland state line and a short drive from Dover Air Force Base. For more than fifty years the congregation has identified itself as an independent, Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church, governed by the Lord Jesus Christ and shaped by an unwavering commitment to the King James Version of Scripture. The church is best known in the region for three things: a steady diet of expository preaching from Pastor T.H. Moore, a K-12 Christian school, and a 24/7 radio station that carries its services across central Delaware.
From Two Air Force Families to a Dover Landmark
Capitol Baptist Church began in June 1965 when two Air Force families started meeting in their own homes for worship. Within two years the small group had grown enough to purchase a home that served as their meeting quarters. On Easter Sunday of 1968 the congregation moved into a building that volunteers had constructed during the previous year. By the fall of 1971, Capitol Baptist School was established as an extension of the church's ministry, and the two institutions have shared a campus ever since.
The church's own statement of identity is plain: it is an autonomous, self-governing, and self-supporting congregation whose sole authority for faith and practice is the Bible. Capitol's motto, drawn from Acts 5:42, reads, "...they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." Decades after the first service, the church still places an emphasis on preaching, evangelism, discipleship, missions, conservative music, and building strong families.
Pastor T.H. Moore and the Staff
T.H. Moore has served as pastor of Capitol Baptist Church since January 2007. He and his wife, Debbie, were both saved on March 19, 1996, at Mainland Baptist Church in Absecon, New Jersey, where he later served as a Sunday school teacher, bus ministry director, and deacon. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Pastoral Theology from Northeast Baptist School of Theology in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, where he also spent two years as Assistant Dean of Students and Dean of Students, teaching classes and traveling with the college music groups.
Before coming to Dover, Moore pastored Grace Baptist Church in Oxford, Pennsylvania, from 2002 to 2007, and earned a Master of Ministry degree from Crown College. In 2019 he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Ambassador Baptist College in Lattimore, North Carolina. Pastor and Mrs. Moore have been married for thirty-nine years and have three children and fourteen grandchildren.
Two men serve alongside the pastor as Assistants to the Pastor: Aubrey Cordrey and Jeremy McKay. Several staff members have served at Capitol for more than forty years, a sign of the stability the church emphasizes.
What Capitol Baptist Believes
Capitol Baptist holds a detailed doctrinal statement that begins with the Bible itself. The church teaches the verbal, plenary inspiration of the original Scriptures, God's preservation of His pure words to every generation, and the use of the Masoretic Text for the Old Testament and the Textus Receptus for the New Testament. The King James Version is the only English version the church accepts and uses, and a six-part series titled "Why the KJV?" is available for download from the church's resource library.
The church confesses one true God existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in redemption. The doctrinal statement affirms the virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, literal physical resurrection, ascension, and present high-priestly ministry of Jesus Christ, as well as the regenerating, indwelling, and sealing work of the Holy Spirit. The sign gifts of the Spirit, including speaking in tongues, are regarded as temporary.
Mankind is described as created in the image of God, fallen in Adam, and totally unable to remedy his lost condition. Salvation is by grace through faith, plus nothing and minus nothing, and the redeemed are kept by God's power and secure in Christ forever. The ordinances of the church are baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. The church practices biblical separation from religious apostasy and worldly pleasures, and looks for the literal, personal, visible, imminent, premillennial, and pretribulational return of Christ.
Weekly Schedule for Visitors
Visitors who arrive on a Sunday morning can plan around a simple rhythm. Sunday School begins at 9:45 AM, with classes offered for all ages. The Morning Service follows at 11:00 AM and includes junior church classes for sixth grade and below. After a break for the midday meal, Choir Practice gathers at 4:30 PM and the Evening Service begins at 6:00 PM.
On Wednesdays the Prayer Meeting and Bible Study starts at 7:00 PM, and during the school year the King's Kids program for children through sixth grade meets at the same hour. On Saturdays at 10:00 AM, two outreach teams head out from the church: one for general soul-winning and visitation, and another specifically for bus-rider visitation. Nursery care for children age two and below is provided for all services, and interpreting for the deaf is available upon request.
The Morning Service, Evening Service, and Wednesday Prayer Meeting are live-streamed on YouTube and broadcast on WIHW-LP 96.1 FM.
Capitol Baptist School
Capitol Baptist School has served the families of Dover and surrounding areas since 1971. The school provides a Christian education for children from K-3 through twelfth grade and is an approved member of the American Association of Christian Schools (AACS) and the Delaware Association of Christian Schools (DACS). Each subject is taught in light of biblical truth, and the school uses the Accelerated Christian Education (A.C.E.) curriculum.
Beyond academics, students participate in music and sports, compete with area Christian schools, and have opportunities to enter fine arts competitions. The school encourages biblical standards, respect for parents and authority, and patriotism. Parents interested in Preschool, Kindergarten, Lower Level (grades 1-6), or Upper Level (grades 7-12) can submit an inquiry form, and the school office can be reached at 302.678.9190.
Independent Baptist Seminary
What was once Capitol Baptist Bible Institute now operates as the Independent Baptist Seminary, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees for Christian men and women preparing for service in a local church. Classes can be taken for credit or for audit, and the program offers in-person classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, modules, online courses, and correspondence options. Pastor Terri Moore serves as President and Professor, Dr. Steve Damron as Director and Professor, and Scott Heishman as Professor.
Youth Ministry: "Rooted in Christ"
The youth ministry of Capitol Baptist Church carries the theme "Rooted in Christ," taken from Colossians 2:6-7. The goal is to ground young people deeply in Christ so that they can stand firm in difficult times and become the next leaders of the local church. Teens meet for Sunday School at 9:45 AM, divided into two classes for seventh through eighth grades and ninth through twelfth grades. Throughout the year, scheduled activities give the youth opportunities for Christian fellowship, and the annual youth camp gathers juniors and teens for a week of Bible preaching, morning and evening devotional times, chapel services with songs and testimonies, and a wide variety of activities.
Ladies' Ministry
Capitol's ladies gather around two regular rhythms. One Saturday each season, the church hosts a Ladies' Tea, open to the ladies of Capitol Baptist Church and their guests, providing a relaxing and encouraging time away from the busyness of life. The Secret Sisters Program runs throughout the year for members and faithful attenders, pairing women to pray for and encourage one another with little gifts and notes until identities are revealed at Christmastime.
WIHW-LP 96.1 FM
Capitol Baptist Church has been ministering to the Dover area through low-power radio station WIHW 96.1 FM, broadcasting through the Fundamental Broadcasting Network. Around the clock, the station airs old-fashioned Bible preaching, Christ-honoring music, biographical stories of Christian historical figures, children's programs, and devotions. Live services are broadcast on Sunday morning at 11:00 AM, Sunday evening at 6:00 PM, and Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM. Listeners anywhere in the world can tune in by downloading the TuneIn Radio app.
Church Planting and Worldwide Missions
Church planting has been part of the heart of Capitol Baptist Church for many years. The church has partnered in two daughter congregations, First State Baptist Church in Wilmington, Delaware, pastored by Knickerbocker, and Easton Baptist Church in Easton, Maryland, pastored by Reid. The Wilmington congregation meets in the chapel of the Weston Senior Living Center on Lancaster Pike, with Sunday School at 10:00 AM, Morning Service at 11:00 AM, Evening Service at 6:00 PM, and a Wednesday evening service and prayer meeting at 7:00 PM. The Easton church meets at 101 Marlboro Avenue, Suite 47, with Morning Worship on Sundays at 11:00 AM and Prayer Meeting and Bible Study on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM.
Beyond the local region, the church supports missionaries across North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific, and Europe, including the Daku family in the Fiji Islands and the Ottosen family in Papua New Guinea. Capitol also helps support home church plants in Florida, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Georgia, Texas, New Jersey, and New York, along with ministries such as Ambassador Baptist College, Baptist Church Planting Ministry, Bearing Precious Seed, Christian Law Association, FBN Radio, and Rock of Ages Prison Ministry.
Vacation Bible School and Bus Ministry
Each summer Capitol Baptist Church hosts Vacation Bible School for children from age four through sixth grade. Free bus transportation is offered in most of Dover, Camden, and Magnolia, with the church contacting families to confirm pickup details.
Sermon Archive and Teaching
The church maintains an extensive teaching ministry. Recent series include The Book of Luke, The Book of Isaiah, and The Power of the Tongue. Archived series such as The Book of Philemon, The Book of Titus, The Book of Colossians, The Divided Kingdom, The Life of Solomon, The Life of Hezekiah, The Marks of a Strong Church, The Bible and Socialism, Wisdom From Above, Why the KJV?, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Why I Am A Baptist, The Doctrines of the Bible, and Raising Godly Children are all available. Messages can be accessed through Sermon Audio and the church's YouTube channel, where the Sunday Morning Series, Sunday Evening Series, and Wednesday Series, as well as featured messages, are posted.
Plan of Salvation
Capitol Baptist's teaching on salvation is straightforward. The church teaches that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Salvation is by grace through faith, not of works. A person is saved by believing that he is a sinner, that he deserves Hell, that Jesus Christ paid the sin debt on the cross, and that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life, and by repenting and placing faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. After salvation, the church encourages five steps of growth: follow the Lord in believer's baptism by immersion, join and faithfully attend a Bible-preaching church, pray without ceasing, read the Bible, and witness to others.
What to Expect as a First-Time Visitor
Capitol Baptist Church keeps a relaxed atmosphere that suits its independent Baptist convictions. Visitors are welcome at 401 Kesselring Avenue in Dover. The main Sunday gathering begins with Sunday School at 9:45 AM, followed by the Morning Service at 11:00 AM. Nursery care is available for children age two and below, and junior church classes are offered for children through sixth grade during the Morning Service. As a traditional Baptist church, the service includes hymns, congregational singing, and expository preaching from the King James Bible. Those unable to attend in person can listen live on WIHW 96.1 FM, watch the livestream on YouTube, or join via the TuneIn Radio app. The church can be reached by phone at 302.734.2410.