Worship on Sunday Mornings in the People of Hope Center
Bethel Baptist Church gathers for Sunday School at 9:30 AM and moves into worship at 10:30 AM, with most services held in the People of Hope Center on the far left side of the parking lot. The service is described by the congregation as eclectic and Spirit-led: on any given Sunday the room may be filled with a timeless hymn, a contemporary praise song led by the band called The Circle of Truth, a gospel number from the men's quartet For His Glory, an a cappella piece, or a pianist playing jazz, gospel, or classical. The morning centers on a sermon, prayer, and an open invitation to respond.
Visitors are asked to come as they are. There is no dress code at Bethel: some arrive in dresses, slacks, or ties, others in jeans, polos, or shorts. Communion is observed on the first Sunday of each month. The nursery opens at 9:15 AM for children from birth through preschool, and JIGSAW children's church for grades Pre-K through five welcomes kids at 10:30 AM, when they leave the worship service for their own time of Bible story, crafts, games, and music.
A House of Faith on Huguenot Springs Road Since 1817
Bethel Baptist Church traces its origins to April 23, 1817, when 56 members set out to form a congregation closer to their homes than the place they had been gathering every two weeks, Shortt's Stage Tavern on Buckingham Pike, the road now known as Midlothian Turnpike. The group built a meeting house and, in 1882, replaced it with a brick structure that was the first brick church in Chesterfield County. By 1894 the brick building had given way to the present Gothic Revival sanctuary, designed by architect W.C. West. In 1999 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places for both its architecture and its long history.
Adjacent to the sanctuary sits the cemetery the church established in 1885, one of just four cemeteries in Chesterfield County at the time. Today it holds roughly 500 graves, including veterans from nearly every American war from the Revolution through Vietnam. A commemorative plaque honoring the cemetery and those buried there was unveiled at the church's two hundredth anniversary celebration in 2017. A columbarium is also on the grounds for those who wish to have their ashes interred at Bethel.
The Gothic Revival Sanctuary and Its Stained-Glass Windows
The 1894 sanctuary is the visual heart of Bethel. Its stained-glass windows, described in a commemorative booklet compiled by historians Aleta Goodwyn Jenkins and Ellen Francis Moseley, depict the people and stories of the congregation across generations. Featured windows include "Jesus and the Lamb," the window above the front door, and a chancel window. Each pane, in the words of the church, "lets in God's light" so that worship gathers in beauty and warmth. The booklet, available online, preserves the origins of the windows, the people honored in each one, and the efforts to restore and preserve them.
Charlotte's Food Pantry: Grocery Bags and Prayer
Charlotte's Food Pantry is one of the church's most visible expressions of its mission. The pantry keeps ready-to-distribute grocery bags stocked and distributes them to Bethel members and to neighbors in the surrounding community who are facing food insecurity. The team asks every guest whether they would like prayer, encouragement, or a listening ear alongside the food. No registration is required, and everyone is welcome.
Distribution takes place on three schedules: from 5:00 to 6:30 PM on the second Wednesday of every month, from 9:00 to 11:00 AM on the fourth Friday of every month (no Friday distribution in November and December), and from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on the fourth Saturday of every month. The pantry is also the home of a Backpack Ministry that delivers weekend bags of food to an elementary school in Chesterfield County for children who might otherwise go without meals until school resumes.
Bethel also partners with Grace Fellowship of First Baptist Church in Richmond to provide meals to those experiencing homelessness in the region.
Children, Youth, and JIGSAW
Bethel runs a coordinated set of programs for younger members. The nursery, staffed by paid professionals in the educational building, is available from 9:15 AM through the end of worship for children from birth through preschool. All staff and volunteers pass a background check and do not serve alone. Children's Sunday School begins at 9:30 AM on the lower level of the educational building, using Gospel Light curriculum that pairs a Bible story with a craft, game, or activity.
At 10:30 AM, the JIGSAW children's church gathers students in Pre-K through fifth grade. The name stands for Jesus Is Great, Super, Awesome, and Wonderful, and the curriculum walks through three recurring truths: wisdom, choosing the wise path; friendship, treating others as you would want to be treated; and faith, trusting God in every circumstance. The church uses the Grow Children's Curriculum, a creative storytelling approach that invites children to experience God's love, justice, and presence in everyday life. Free streaming content for kids is available through RightNow Media, a digital library the church subscribes to.
The Bethel Youth ministry welcomes middle and high school students for Sunday School at 9:30 AM and a youth group that meets on the first and third Sundays of the month from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM in the Youth Suite on the lower level of the educational building. Lunch is provided, and the time is built around discussion of the morning's sermon, games, and fellowship. The youth calendar also includes movie nights, summer pool days, a fall retreat, and summer camp.
Adult Sunday School in the Education Building
Adults gather at 9:30 AM for Sunday School classes that meet in the educational building and in the People of Hope Center. Salt and Light is a multi-generational class for adults in their twenties through forties and beyond, built around topical Bible study and open discussion, drawing its name from Matthew 5:13-16. Providers, originally formed in the 1970s as a young professionals' class, now welcomes adults in their forties and up for open discussion of Scripture and life application. Endeavors meets in the People of Hope Center and serves mature adults, generally seventy and older; singles and couples are both welcome.
Music Ministry: Choir, Quartet, and the Circle of Truth
The music ministry at Bethel is intentionally varied. The adult choir rehearses on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:00 PM and sings a wide repertoire that includes gospel and contemporary music; members also gather for lunches and a festive Christmas party. The men's quartet, named For His Glory, gathers monthly on designated Wednesday nights and performs in worship services and at occasional community programs. The Circle of Truth is Bethel's contemporary Christian band, currently built around a keyboardist, a drummer, two guitarists, and several singers, and they rehearse roughly twice a month. Handbells, special ensembles, and gifted pianists who play jazz, gospel, or classical round out the offerings. Cathy Marshall, Bethel's accompanist since October 1997, has played piano since the age of nine and is the longest-serving musician on the team.
Small Groups and the Discipling Another Program
Outside of Sunday morning, Bethel offers a steady rhythm of small groups for adults. Sacred Circle meets on Wednesday evenings at 5:00 PM in the People of Hope Center's Endeavors Room and on Zoom; the group studies Scripture together, prays, and talks through how to apply Jesus' teaching to daily life, and meetings last about an hour. Sharing and Caring meets on Monday mornings at 9:00 AM in the People of Hope Center and is facilitated by Pat and Bruce Bartlam, with a focus on devotionals, prayer, and fellowship. The church also subscribes to RightNow Media, a free digital library of Bible studies, sermons, and shows that members can use on their own or with a group.
For those seeking more intentional formation, the Discipling Another program is a ten-week, one-on-one discipleship journey grounded in Matthew 28:19-20. Participants meet weekly with a trained discipler and work through a guided workbook focused on biblical fundamentals, spiritual habits, and personal application. The program's stated goal is for every participant to be ready to disciple someone else within a year.
The Bethel Prayer of Thanksgiving
One distinctive mark of the congregation is the Bethel Prayer of Thanksgiving, written down by Pastor Todd Bradbury after he heard it from a bedridden farmer in Cumberland who, after weeks without speech, asked his daughter to tell the pastor this: "Thank God for the good times, thank God for the bad times, thank God for all times." Bradbury carried the prayer with him to Bethel and named it after the church. It captures the church's teaching that God can use the hardest seasons to teach, mold, and shape his people, and the prayer is kept before the congregation as a touchstone of spiritual maturity.
WMU, Scouts, Men's and Women's Fellowship
Bethel hosts a chapter of the Women's Missionary Union that meets on the first Monday of every month at 10:00 AM in the People of Hope Center. WMU provides missions education resources for all ages, from preschoolers to senior adults, and frames missions as a way of life.
For nearly thirty years, Bethel has been the sponsoring organization for BSA Troop 800, which meets at the church every Tuesday night year-round and camps the third weekend of each month, except for July (summer camp) and December. The troop has produced more than 130 Eagle Scouts, a rate of nearly 25 percent, well above the national average of two to four percent. Each year its Webelos Day at Camp Parsons in Cumberland brings in 100 to 200 boys from surrounding troops for a day of activities at no charge.
The Men's Brotherhood and Fellowship gathers monthly for lunch and hosts a church-wide breakfast on every fifth Sunday, with proceeds going to mission projects. The men's fellowship lunch takes place at noon on the first Thursday of each month at Italian Delight Restaurant in Powhatan. The Ladies Coffee Club meets on Tuesdays at 6:00 PM. A Garden Club gathers at noon on the first Tuesday of the month.
Bethel also opens its People of Hope Center to an Alcoholics Anonymous group that meets every Thursday at 5:30 PM, providing a safe place for those struggling with addiction and their families. The Bethel Care Team visits members who are no longer able to come to church, dropping off gifts, treats, and cards. The deacons serve as a ministering body that works with the pastor to meet the needs of the congregation.
Bethel Baptist Preschool
Bethel Baptist Preschool is a weekday preschool ministry serving the church and the wider Midlothian community, directed by Heather Kerns. The preschool is part of the church's commitment to nurturing young children spiritually, socially, and academically in a safe, caring, and Christ-centered learning environment.
Beliefs and Affiliations
Bethel Baptist Church organizes its life around a three-word vision: Knowing, Growing, and Going in the Love of Christ. Its mission is to advance the kingdom of God as revealed by the written Word and by Jesus Christ, the living Word, in continuous loving fellowship with one another and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The church's purpose is to bring people to Christ and into his family, to develop and equip them for service, and to glorify God. The promise of the church is to care for one another and its communities with lovingkindness, humility, and joy. Core values are summed up in seven words: Christ-centered, Prayerful, Worshiping, Loving, Disciples, Servants.
The congregation is affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Baptist General Association of Virginia, the Middle District Baptist Association, and the Women's Missionary Union. Bethel partners with an audio-visual team, a puppet ministry, and a parish nurse ministry to care for the whole person (spirit, mind, and body) and to share the message of Christ within the church and in the wider community.
Lead Pastor Todd Bradbury, a Virginia Tech graduate and a graduate of the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, leads the staff alongside Family Life Minister Jeremy Meads, Worship Leader Stephanie Blanton, Preschool Director Heather Kerns, Nursery Minister Christine Bordwine, and Accompanist Cathy Marshall. Online giving is available by texting the word GIVE or a dollar amount to 804-361-8590.