For more than a century, Dupont Park SDA Church has anchored a corner of southeast Washington, DC, working from its campus on Massachusetts Avenue SE to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and to serve the surrounding neighborhood. Situated in the District's 7th Ward, the congregation combines a traditional Seventh-day Adventist witness with a long-running school, weekly Bible study on Wednesday nights, and hands-on outreach to families in need of food and diapers. The church's motto sums up its tone: a passion for God and a compassion for people.
Sabbath Worship on Saturday Mornings
Worship at Dupont Park is held on Saturday, the seventh-day Sabbath, with the service beginning at 11:30 am at 3985 Massachusetts Ave SE. Members and visitors gather for a service that blends preaching, congregational singing, prayer and the study of God's word. Services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, so members traveling or homebound can follow along. A short walk-through of the sanctuary invites newcomers to experience the space before they arrive.
Saturday Lesson Study and the Adventist Bible Curriculum
An hour before the main service, at 10:00 am, the church opens its Saturday Lesson Study, the Adventist equivalent of Sabbath School. Adults work through a quarterly Bible lesson, with the current series on the Epistle to the Ephesians; the lesson is available online, as a downloadable PDF, and by phone or Zoom conference. To make the school accessible to anyone, dial-in participants join by calling (301) 715-8592 with Meeting ID 731 0100 1810#, while Zoom attendees use Meeting ID 435 830 6486 with code 3985. Participants are asked to keep their lines muted until they wish to speak.
Children and youth are not left out. The same campus uses the standard Adventist graded curricula, so a kindergartner through a college student can study the same passage at an age-appropriate depth. Kindergarten (ages 3-4) and Primary (ages 5-9) work through the GraceLink series, Juniors (ages 10-12) use Junior PowerPoints, Earliteens (ages 13-14) follow Real Time Faith, high schoolers (ages 15-18) study Cornerstone Connections, and young adults (ages 18-35) work through the Collegiate Quarterly written by college faculty and students.
Wednesday Connect: A Year-Long Bible School
Midweek, the church's Bible study moves online through Wednesday Connect, a weekly one-hour program of praise, prayer and Bible study held at 7:00 pm on Zoom and phone. Rather than rotating through short topics, Wednesday Connect walks a small group through deep, multi-week series, each anchored in the Adventist understanding of Scripture. The current rotation moves through four major tracks:
- The Revelation of Jesus Christ - a chapter-by-chapter study of Revelation, framed by Ellen G. White's call to study the book for the blessing promised to its readers.
- The Daniel Series - a study of the book of Daniel, with attention to the 2,300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14, the heavenly judgment of Daniel 7, and Daniel's nearness to God in the lions' den.
- The Sanctuary Series - a walk through the Old Testament tabernacle, the priesthood, the feasts and the Day of Atonement, showing how each element points to Christ as sacrifice and high priest.
- Deeper Conversations - topical studies such as a four-part look at "Wine in the Bible" that explores what Scripture actually teaches about a single subject.
Audio, video and presentation slides for past sessions are archived so newcomers can catch up before joining the live call.
DPC Kidz and the Wider Family
Children have their own corner of church life under the DPC Kidz banner. Alongside the graded Sabbath School classes, the children's ministry welcomes kids during regular programming and runs family-friendly activities tied into the church calendar. The church's Family Life section frames the wider congregation in four short lines: "A family that prays together, develops together, prevails together, conquers together." A prayer submission form lets members send requests directly to the pastoral team, and a Women's Ministry called Women of Honor hosts events that are highlighted in the livestream archive.
Community Impact in Ward 7
The Dupont Park Church takes its location in Ward 7 seriously. The neighborhood has real needs around housing, education and food access, and the church meets those needs in five ways:
- Food. A weekly food pantry distributes groceries on Tuesdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. On the third week of each month the schedule shifts to Thursday so that working families have a second chance to come.
- Diapers. Partnering with the Greater DC Diaper Bank, the church hosts a Diaper Hub that supplies mothers, fathers and guardians. It runs Tuesdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, with an additional Sunday distribution on the third Sunday of each month.
- Education. The Dupont Park Adventist School has served the District for more than a century, integrating academics with character and spiritual development.
- Energy. In partnership with Groundswell, a local nonprofit solar developer, and with construction funding from the DC government's Solar for All program, the church hosts a community solar project that delivers electricity to nearby low-income households at no cost to them for twenty years.
- Housing. Dupont Park Seventh-day Adventist Apartments, on the same campus, provides independent and low-income affordable housing for seniors.
Dupont Park Adventist School
The school sits a short distance from the sanctuary at 3942 Alabama Ave SE, Washington, DC 20020. Its mission is to prepare students for service to God's church, country and community and, above all, for eternity. The vision is to graduate independent thinkers who lead academically, socially and spiritually. The school shares staff and volunteers with the church, and every adult who works with minors at either campus is screened through Sterling Volunteers and renews the check every three years, a safeguard drawn directly from the Church Manual's standards for child protection. Parents and prospective families can reach the school at info@mydpas.org or (202) 583-8500.
A Week of Prayer and Fasting
Prayer is woven into the rhythm of the week, not reserved for Sabbath alone. The Strength for Today Prayer Line opens at 6:00 am, Monday through Friday; anyone can dial (605) 313-4821 and enter code 62645# to join a brief call that frames the day in Scripture and intercession. On Tuesdays, Power Up Tuesday extends the practice into a half-day of prayer and fasting that runs from wake-up until noon, based on the Adventist conviction that some breakthroughs come only through combined prayer and fasting. Members join from wherever they are, personal study and family altars replacing a physical gathering.
What the Church Believes
Dupont Park belongs to the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church and holds to the denomination's 28 Fundamental Beliefs. The church summarizes its convictions under six headings: God, the Church, Christian Living, Humanity, Salvation and Restoration. Members accept the Bible as the only source of belief and practice, in the Protestant tradition of Sola Scriptura. They look for the literal return of Jesus Christ and seek to model their lives after Him in humility and service. The church welcomes all earnest seekers of Christ into its fellowship.
Leadership
The senior pastor is Dr. William E. Joseph, Jr., who is married to Kim Jackson, a California native. His ministry theme is drawn from 2 Corinthians 4:8: "We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." His personal motto is "Excellence Must Never Surrender to Mediocrity." A prayer request form, contact form and the office line at (202) 583-7416 connect members and visitors with the pastoral team throughout the week.
Giving and Getting Involved
Tithes and offerings can be given online through Adventist Giving, the denomination's secure platform, or mailed to the church at 3985 Massachusetts Ave SE, Washington, DC 20019, addressed to the DuPont Park Church treasurer. The church frames giving as more than money through a "Time and Talent" program that encourages members to share the gifts God has given them in service. Anyone interested in volunteering goes through the Sterling Volunteers screening before being placed, and an Interest Form lets newcomers indicate where they would like to serve.
A Place to Watch, Study, Serve and Pray
Between the Saturday worship service, Saturday lesson study, Wednesday night Bible school, weekday prayer line, weekly food pantry, diaper hub, school and community solar project, the Dupont Park SDA Church fills the calendar with ways to grow in faith and to love a Ward 7 neighborhood. Visitors are welcome at any of them, in person at the Massachusetts Avenue campus, by Zoom, or by phone.