Fifth Avenue Chapel

The ministry of Fifth Avenue Chapel began in the mid 1920’s when Christians from Northern New Jersey and New York started meeting together during their summer vacations. Seasonal gatherings soon grew into a year-round fellowship with a genuine heart for the Scriptures, worship, and evangelistic outreach. In the early years the assembly occupied rented facilities in Neptune, Asbury Park, and Bradley Beach. Relocations were necessitated by both growth in numbers and expansion of ministries, including widely regarded annual conferences.

In 1940 attention was drawn to an unused Episcopal Church called The Church of The Holy Apostles on Fifth Avenue in Belmar. The frame building, constructed in the shape of a cross, was in poor repair having been closed for many years and stripped of all its furnishings. Its beautiful stained glass windows were intact, however, and remain to this day. The property was purchased for the sum of $1,500 and repair work began. The first public ceremony held in the new Chapel was the marriage of Kenneth Hart and Robina Jelly, held on June 25, 1941.

Several modifications to the building were made during the war years to make it more functional. As numeric growth continued it became necessary to expand the facility. A kitchen and Sunday School rooms were added in 1958, and a nursery in the mid 1960’s. Additional classroom space, added in the early 1980’s, brought the building to its present size.