How & When was this Church Established

 The Beginning
In the autumn of 1997 Damascus Road Community Church formed as a nondenominational church and began meeting in the Damascus High School. We desired to be a Christ-centered church that presented the gospel in contemporary ways to people who didn't know Christ or were burned or bored by past religious experiences. At the time Damascus Road was established, God blessed us with a purchase/donation of approximately 225 acres in Laytonsville, Maryland, about nine miles south and east of Damascus, which we anticipated would be our permanent home. After meeting in the high school for three years, we were not ready to begin a multi-million dollar building project on our Laytonsville land but we wanted a 7-day a week facility. We decided to negotiate a 7-year lease for 20,000 square feet of space in the Damascus Shopping Center.


The Geographic Shift
Since our move into the shopping center in 2000, we have developed a strong base of small group fellowships (Life Groups), but these were primarily located 10-20 miles to the north and west of Damascus. Locally our members have also made strong ministry connections with the men of the Frederick Rescue Mission and the evangelistic work of Centennial Methodist, reaching out to struggling lives in the city of Frederick.

As our membership in the northwest of Damascus grew, our membership to the south east diminished as many people who had driven long distances to Damascus Road Church either moved out to Frederick County or connected with congregations closer to their homes. As a consequence of these patterns, the church membership shifted from a majority south and east of Damascus to a significant majority north and west. After much prayer and discussion the leaders of our church felt that God was calling us to sell our Laytonsville land and search for property that was in closer proximity to the majority of our members. In 2005, we sold our land to a sister congregation, Derwood Bible Church.


The Present Outlook
We believe that God has led us to a new piece of property in Frederick County between Mt. Airy & New Market on Route 144. We have purchased that property and look forward to moving into a construction phase very soon.

We currently meet for worship on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. Damascus Road has an average weekend attendance of approximately 500. Despite limited space, the Children's Ministry (newborn through 5th grade) serves an average 125 children per weekend. Our Youth Church meets on Sunday evenings & Wednesday evenings, with an average of 45-80 middle-school and high school students in attendance.