Bahama Baptist Church sits along Willardville Station Road in Bahama, a small community in northern Durham County, North Carolina. The church describes itself as "a community of grace" with a vision of being "God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-filled worshipers of Jesus Christ, who love God and others for His glory." Members and visitors move through a week shaped around Scripture, song, hospitality, and missions that reach "across the street and across the world."
The church's vision is plain: "As disciples of Jesus we seek to grow in our knowledge of Him, our love for Him, and our obedience to Him." Bahama Baptist lives out that vision through a busy weekly calendar, intergenerational small groups, and a deep bench of mission partnerships stretching from Durham to East Africa.
Sunday Mornings: Sunday School Then Worship
Sunday School meets at 9:30 a.m., followed by the morning worship service at 10:30 a.m. Every age group has its own Bible class during the Sunday School hour, with children's classes, student classes, and adult classes all gathering to study Scripture together at the same time. The 10:30 service brings the whole church together for prayer, Scripture reading, preaching, and congregational song. Services are also livestreamed on YouTube for those unable to attend in person, and sermon audio and video archives are available online.
For first-time visitors, the rhythm is straightforward. Pull in a few minutes before 9:30 to join a Sunday School class, or arrive at 10:30 to worship with the whole church. The atmosphere is casual, the people are friendly, and the focus is on the gospel rather than the dress code.
Wednesday Nights: Dinner, Doodles, and Discipleship
Wednesday evening is the second pillar of the church's weekly rhythm. At 6:00 p.m., three things are happening at once: an adult Bible study in the fellowship hall, children's missions classes, and youth group activities. The Wednesday night adult Bible study is affectionately known around the church as "Dinner and Doodles," a relaxed setting where members work through a book of the Bible together, often sketching notes as they go.
On the second Wednesday of each month, the night begins a little earlier with a fellowship dinner at 5:30 p.m. before the regular 6:00 programming. The dinner is donation-based and no sign-up is required, making it an easy on-ramp for newcomers who want a meal and a conversation before the study. After the Bible study hour, the adult choir rehearses at 7:15 p.m. in preparation for Sunday worship.
A Blended Song
Bahama Baptist describes its worship style as "blended," aiming for "a joyful and unashamed noise to the Lord through our adult and children's choirs." Director of Music Ministry Jennifer Pendergrast leads both choirs. The adult choir rehearses every Wednesday evening, and the children's choir prepares music of its own for the worship service.
The church emphasizes that "the content of the music matters more than the style." The blended approach draws from both traditional hymns and more contemporary expressions, anchored in the truths of Scripture and focused on the gathered congregation singing together rather than simply listening.
Children and Students
Children's ministry at Bahama Baptist is led by Doug Glenning and built around partnering with parents "to teach children about Jesus Christ in a safe and fun environment." Bible classes for every age group meet twice a week, on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m., giving children two complementary settings each week to learn about Jesus.
Students have their own dedicated ministry, with youth group gathering Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 7:15 p.m. for hangout time, games, and Bible study through "topical devotionals focused for youth." Sunday mornings at 9:30 add another Bible class just for students. Two extra touchpoints give teenagers more ways to grow: a youth band meets Thursdays from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. for singing lessons and instrumental practice, and a high school girls' Bible study gathers Thursdays at 7:30 a.m. at the Chick-fil-A on Roxboro Road. The youth calendar also includes fun programs and mission and service opportunities that help students live out and share their faith.
Adults Growing in Homes
Adult ministry centers on three weekly gatherings. Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. offers large-group Bible teaching, the Wednesday evening study at 6:00 p.m. gathers adults in the fellowship hall around a passage of Scripture, and adult small groups meet twice a month in homes throughout the area on the second and fourth Sundays.
The small groups are co-ed and multigenerational, designed to help members "point each other to Christ and learn what it means to follow Him in our daily lives." A Tuesday morning men's Bible study at 7:00 a.m. gives the men of the church an additional weekly touchpoint for fellowship and study.
What the Church Believes
Bahama Baptist holds to historic, evangelical Christian orthodoxy. The church confesses belief in one God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons in one being. The entire Bible is "true, without error, authoritative, and sufficient," written by people but directly inspired by God, revealing how He judges humanity, how we should follow Christ, and how He has relentlessly pursued a relationship with His fallen creation.
God spoke the world into existence out of nothing, infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, hears and answers prayer, and by His unfathomable grace gave His Son, Jesus Christ, for mankind's redemption. Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, tempted in every way yet lived a perfect sinless life. He took on the sins of the world, was crucified, died, was buried, and on the third day rose again, exercising His power over death and sin. He ascended into Heaven, where He sits at the Father's right hand, interceding for believers.
The Holy Spirit indwells Christians today, persuades people to repent and confess Christ as Lord, and leads the church in rightly understanding and applying Scripture. Humanity was created to bear God's image, but all people have disobeyed God through sin, inheriting both physical and spiritual death and a broken environment inclined toward sin. Salvation comes only through God's grace in Jesus Christ, who died in our place and rose again; those who trust in Him are forgiven and adopted as sons and daughters. Spiritual growth is a lifelong process that flows from walking in submission to Christ, bearing fruit by the Holy Spirit's work in a believer's life.
The church is not a building or a community organization, but a spiritual body of people who have placed their faith in Christ and dedicated themselves to His teachings, united in love to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. The global body of Christ consists of many local churches who genuinely and passionately follow Christ.
Eleven Marks of a Gospel-Centered Church
Bahama Baptist has written out eleven core values that shape its ministry and culture:
- God-centered, aiming in every aspect of ministry to bring glory to God
- Christ-exalting, "all about Jesus, always about Jesus, and only about Jesus"
- Spirit-filled, depending on the Spirit rather than human wisdom
- Bible-saturated, with Scripture as the authority for ministry
- The power of prayer, asking God to accomplish what people cannot
- A culture of grace, proclaiming that Jesus saves sinners
- On mission, committed to making disciples of all nations
- Relationships, valuing growth in community
- The importance of family, supporting families as displays of God's image
- Disciple-producing, helping every person who comes grow in grace
- Joy-pursuing, pursuing glad-hearted relationship over dutiful legalism
Across the Street and Across the World
The missions program at Bahama Baptist is broad and intentional. The church partners with Baptist On Mission, Love Africa, Yates Baptist Association, Safe Families, Magnolia House, Naomi's Village, Cornerstone Academy, Converting Hearts, Ignite C3, My Life Matters of Person County, and Pregnancy Support Services, "committed to sharing the Gospel across the street and across the world."
Several of those partnerships reach across the globe. Naomi's Village in Kenya runs a LEAP preschool, and the church has hosted 5K fun runs to raise support for it. Cornerstone Academy and Love Africa extend the church's reach into education and care on the African continent. Locally, the partnership with Safe Families and Pregnancy Support Services points the church toward vulnerable families and women facing unplanned pregnancies. On the third Friday of each month at 10 a.m., a team from the church visits Canterbury Assisted Living to play games with residents, an intergenerational touchpoint that benefits both volunteers and seniors.
Getting Connected, Giving, and Growing Online
The church offers several on-ramps for newcomers. Members can join a small group by contacting the church office, sign up to volunteer in one of the church's many ministries, or take part in one of the listed service opportunities: mentoring, discipleship, hospital ministry, widow help, teaching, greeting, and cooking among others. Online giving is available, and the church provides free access to RightNow Media, a streaming library of Bible study videos for all ages.
A digital directory hosted on Church Center helps members stay in touch with one another, and sermons are posted online in audio and video form for those who want to revisit a message. Sermon series over the years have worked through books of the Bible including Romans, Ephesians, Advent, Easter, and topical series on themes like "Finding God in the Wilderness."
Leadership
Wes McMurray serves as pastor of Bahama Baptist Church. Andrew Liggitt is the associate pastor of worship and discipleship. Jennifer Pendergrast directs the music ministry, and Doug Glenning serves as children's ministry director.
The church sits at 7917 Willardville Station Road, Bahama, North Carolina 27503. The office can be reached by phone at (919) 471-3181 or by email at info@bahamabaptistchurch.org.