The Middletown Baptist Church
The Baptist Church (American Baptist Convention) was founded by Baptists from the colony of Rhode Island, who came to New Jersey seeking religious freedom.   Formally organized as the Middletown Baptist Church in 1668, it was one of the first Baptist churches in the colonies and the first in New Jersey. It was the “upper meeting house” of the Middletown Baptist church and shared preachers with the “lower meeting house” which is now Old First Church in Middletown. Eighteen of the 36 men who signed the original patent with the King of England in 1664 were Baptists and members of this church. By 1705, the first edifice was on the site where we worship today, as was the first ‘parsonage’ for the ministers. The present building, which was built in 1809, underwent considerable remodeling in the late 1800’s.

The Dutch Reformed Congregation
The Dutch Reformed congregation, begun in 1699, was first known as the Middletown Church of the Navesink, and later as the Dutch Reformed Church of Freehold and Middletown.  The first house of worship was erected between 1719 -1721, about a mile from Holmdel Village on Middletown Road where the old cemetery continues to mark the spot.  The church was ‘yoked’ with Old Brick Church in Marlboro, and shared a pastor (Dominie) for many years.  The Holmdel Reformed Church (Reformed Church of America) was built in 1838, at what is now 43 Main Street on the northeast corner of Route 520 and Holmdel Road, at the same time that Holmdel became its own town, separate from Middletown. It is one of the oldest Reformed Churches in the state.  The church prospered in the late 1800’s when the area was a thriving farming community. But then the economy changed. Loss of membership and severe financial problems began to set in by 1916.