Church History

In late summer of 1996, Reverend Larry Vaughn and three other ministers met to discuss the possibility of forming a joint ministry. These four ministers met on several occasions to pray and seek God's guidance as they moved forward in the discussion of planning a joint ministry. As these ministers proceeded with the planning phase, Rev. Vaughn offered the name of Restoration as a possible name for the joint ministry. The Lord had placed the name, Restoration Baptist Church, on his heart while sitting in a Sunday worship service approximately five years prior, and had made it known that this would be the name of a ministry that He would give him. As the ministers continued to pray and talk, it became evident that each preacher was destined to pastor a flock. On Friday, December 27, 1996, Rev. Vaughn under the inspiration of God, along with Reverend Robert Kelley III, Leittia Vaughn and Doris Artis, founded and incorporated Restoration Baptist Church.

As Rev. Vaughn prayed and sought out a location to worship, one of his co-workers directed him to a minister that put him in touch with the D.C. Baptist Convention. At the recommendation of Dr. Robert Cochran, Director of Missions/Evangelism for the D.C. Baptist Convention, Rev. Vaughn submitted a proposal to Broadview Baptist Church concerning the use of space in their church building as a worship location for Restoration. After several meetings with Pastor Terry Minchow-Proffitt and the church council of Broadview, it was agreed that Restoration would be allocated space to begin its ministry.

On September 7, 1997, Restoration Baptist Church held its first 11:00 am worship service at 5757 Temple Hill Road, Temple Hills, Maryland with approximately 200 people in attendance. Rev. Vaughn dedicated this first service in memory of the late Carole Baker, a family friend of over 30 years. Four souls joined during this service. The Rev. Dr. Chester A. McDonald, Sr. and the Maple Springs Baptist Church family were the guest for our evening worship service. During the evening service, Reverend Vaughn was installed as the Pastor of Restoration Baptist Church by Rev. Dr. McDonald, Sr. The first Bible Study class of Restoration was held on Wednesday, September 9, 1997, where Pastor Vaughn began to teach a series on prayer.

In addition to the 11:00 am Worship Service, the Sunday School meets at 9:30 am each Sunday and we have a "Fellowship Service", which is held every third Sunday afternoon at 3:30 pm. Pastor Vaughn and Restoration currently render service monthly at the Central Union Mission in Washington, DC, the Millennium Healthcare Center and the Bradford Oaks Adventist Nursing Home in Maryland. These services are very special to the Pastor, for it gives Restoration an opportunity to share the gospel with those who are experiencing storms in their lives.

These past five years have been full of blessings for Restoration. Restoration has participated in a number of outreach activities: door-to-door evangelism, street evangelism, Thanksgiving Day Dinner for those in need, and Christmas Adopt-A-Family programs. In June 2000, Restoration sponsored its first evangelistic community outreach in Southeast, Washington, D.C. With the help of other caring and concerned saints, the Word of God was delivered in preaching and song, souls were saved, deliverance came forth, and food and clothing were distributed during the event. God has ordained that this outreach activity be an annual event at a location designated by Him.

In the year 2000, Restoration licensed two daughters, Delores Vaughan and Leittia Vaughn, to exercise the gift of preaching the Gospel as the Lord provides opportunity. We were also blessed that year with the organization of our usher board and our choir, the Voices of Restoration.

In May of 2002 the Women of Restoration sponsored their first Women's Conference. The theme was Women of Faith as Overcomers. We were blessed mightily with spirit-filled preaching and teaching. Our weekend of empowerment was concluded with our first Women's Day Service.

We thank and praise God for all that He has done for us. We are especially thankful for those that have partnered with us to do God's work and for the many family members and friends that have shown their love and support toward us. We at Restoration do not seek to be different, but to make a difference.