Our History

Redeemer’s Fellowship began as a home Bible study located in the Bel Air area of Harford County, Maryland. In the fall of 1990, the decision was made to initiate the legal steps necessary to establish a non-denominational church, and in November of that same year we moved to the Paper Mill Recreation Center in Jacksonville, Maryland. In January, 1991, we received our incorporation papers from the State of Maryland. By the time Redeemer’s marked its 10th anniversary in late 2000, the average attendance was 80-100 people on Sunday mornings. Sunday school classes for all ages were available and a choir had been organized. The financial situation had gone from less than $1 in the checking account to an annual budget of over $70,000 and a regular salary for the pastor. The fellowship supported several missionaries and ministries on a regular basis, and was preparing to send our first member to serve on a missions trip to Haiti.  In May, 2006, Redeemer's Fellowship purchased property in Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania and began meeting at our current location six months later. Because we met at the recreation center in Maryland for 16 years rent-free, Redeemer’s Fellowship was able to remain completely debt-free when we purchased our Shrewsbury property. The Lord enabled us to purchase a church home, paid in full! Immediately after settlement, a contractor was hired to upgrade the heating/air-conditioning system, but members of the fellowship carried out the rest of the necessary renovations for occupancy, enabling the church to work within its means and remain debt- free. Looking back over the years, the Lord’s hand has been evident throughout our history as a local fellowship.

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Our Pastor-Teacher

​Our pastor-teacher is Edgar Hardesty, Adjunct Professor of Old Testament at Lancaster Bible College, Professor Emeritus at Cairn University (formerly Philadelphia Biblical University) where he served for 30 years teaching Bible, Jewish studies, Archaeology, and the Geography of Israel. He also regularly leads study tours and participates in archaeological digs in Israel. His professorial responsibilities enhance his teaching at Redeemer’s Fellowship, and he brings the Old Testament to life in a unique way. Ed, as he prefers to be known, is a Vietnam veteran and has spent roughly 50 years in the ministry. A lifelong learner, he is a graduate of Philadelphia Biblical University, Dallas Theological Seminary, Baltimore Hebrew University, and received his Ph.D. in Judaic Studies from the Baltimore Hebrew Institute at Towson University. He also attended Jerusalem University College in Israel for three summers. He is married to Rachel Hardesty and has three grown children and a growing brood of grandchildren.​​​

What We Believe

• We believe that the Bible is God’s word. It was given to man without error and is the final authority for faith and daily life.
• We believe that the God of the Bible is one God, eternally existing in three persons.
• We believe in God the Father, the creator of the heavens and the earth. He is the sustainer of all life, and is infinite and perfect in all His ways.
• We believe in God the Son, Jesus Christ, who became a man without diminishing His deity to provide salvation and eternal life for mankind through His redemptive work on the cross.
• We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who convicts the unbeliever of sin, and gives new life and guidance to the one who believes.
• We believe that man was created in the image of God, but that because of Adam’s disobedience, mankind has inherited a sinful nature resulting in attitudes and actions that violate God’s holiness. Therefore, all men stand condemned.
• We believe that salvation is the gracious act of God whereby He imputes, or credits, His righteousness and eternal life to the one who places his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as his substitute.
• We believe that the Church, the Body of Christ, is a fellowship of believers who gather to worship and praise the Lord, build up one another in the faith, and minister God’s grace to mankind.
• We believe in the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ to establish His promised kingdom and to reign on the earth for a thousand years.
• We believe that when a believer dies, his soul is immediately welcomed into the presence of the Lord forever, but the soul of the unbeliever goes immediately to hell where he awaits final judgment and separation from the Lord forever.

Our Focus

Spiritual growth leading to personal maturity in the Lord Jesus Christ stressing: 

• The preeminence and lordship of Christ
• Systematic Bible study
• The application of biblical principles to daily life

Ministry to one another in the Body of Christ stressing both formal and informal gatherings: 

• Corporate worship & praise
• Bible study, including men's and women's study groups
• Corporate prayer
• Fellowship and social gatherings

Ministry outside of the Body of Christ stressing: 

• Missions
• Personal evangelism
• Community involvement