Sunday Mornings, Sunday Nights, and Tuesday Services on Hooper Road
Three services hold the weekly shape of Life Tabernacle Church. The Sunday morning gathering begins at 10:00 a.m., a Sunday evening service follows at 6:30 p.m., and a Tuesday night service meets at 7:30 p.m. The address is 9323 Hooper Road in northeast Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where a sprawling main campus rises around the central sanctuary. The church also offers sermons online and streams its Sunday and Tuesday services for those who cannot be on site.
Worship here carries the energy of an Apostolic Pentecostal revival. Singing is a major component, with a band led by Noah Spell setting the tone from the platform. Visitors stepping in on a Sunday morning will hear a steady blend of gospel and contemporary praise, prayer at the altar for those who want it, and preaching that runs from a conversational Sunday-school style to revival-style conviction. Wednesday nights take a more informal path: at 7:00 p.m. Pastor Tony Spell teaches a Bible class at El Magey on Siegen Lane, a casual setting where students eat, ask questions, and work through Scripture together.
Apostolic Doctrine: One Name, One God
The teaching at Life Tabernacle identifies with the Apostolic, Oneness Pentecostal tradition. The church's statement of belief draws directly from verses such as Deuteronomy 6:4 ("Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD") and Acts 2:38, anchoring its doctrine in the Bible as the inspired and infallible Word of God.
Salvation is taught as a three-part New Testament experience: repentance from sin, water baptism by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost - with speaking in other tongues as the initial physical evidence that the Spirit has been received. The church teaches that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not three persons but three titles held by one God, whose saving name is Jesus. Water baptism is therefore administered in Jesus' name, and the mode is full immersion rather than sprinkling or pouring. Infant baptism is not practiced.
Beyond salvation, the statement covers divine healing (purchased, the church teaches, by the stripes of Jesus), a call to practical holiness after conversion, the imminent Second Coming of Christ, the resurrection of the just and the unjust, and final judgment. Healing services follow the model of James 5:14: elders of the church pray over the sick, anointing with oil in the name of the Lord.
Forty-Five Buses Across South Louisiana
The ministry that defines Life Tabernacle from the outside is its Bus Ministry. By the church's own count, forty-five buses roll every Sunday morning across the Greater Baton Rouge area, pulling out from Hammond, Denham Springs, Walker, Plaquemine, Port Allen, Prairieville, and Zachary, and threading through Baton Rouge neighborhoods both near and far. The system was designed so that no one within reach of the church has to choose between a ride and a pew.
Riders vary from adult members who no longer drive to children whose parents are working on Sunday morning. Drivers and captains keep the ride lively with games, snacks, and songs, and the children often arrive at Sunday School already buzzing with energy. The church treats the bus as the front porch of the campus, not an afterthought.
Anyone who needs a ride can call or text (225) 931-1832 to reach the Bus Coordinator, Paula T., and coordinate a pickup. The same fleet supports special outreaches, including the Saturday bus outreach run during Revolution AYC, the annual youth conference.
Sunday School from Cradle to Senior Year
Sunday School at Life Tabernacle begins in the nursery for babies under two. Conveniently located near the main sanctuary, the nursery is a large open space with room for nursing mothers and experienced caregivers, and safety is its primary concern. Just next door, toddlers ages two and three play with toys, hear Bible stories, and learn simple songs in a lively classroom with several staff members.
Children ages four through seven, called Little Sprouts, meet in the left wing of the main building, where teachers lead Bible lessons, scripture memory, songs, and puppet shows. The Sunday School complex then expands onto the "Tony Spell Memorial Sunday School Complex" directly behind the main campus on Blackwater Road, where older students have their own purpose-built spaces.
Girls ages eight through twelve gather in the Girls Connect building, a comfortable space where they study Bible lessons, sing worship songs, and participate in modesty-themed fashion shows. Boys ages eight through twelve meet in the Sunday School gymnasium, where they eat breakfast, play active games, take part in object lessons and skits, and have wide-open recreation time under staff supervision. The teen class for young ladies ages thirteen through seventeen, called Ladies Elevate, occupies its own building on the same complex and includes a "Modesty Closet" stocked with donated clothing, shoes, and accessories that the girls can take home. Young men ages thirteen through seventeen attend Guys Elevate in the right wing of the main building, taught by mentors who model what it means to live as a man of God.
Adults who want a class of their own worship in the main sanctuary. According to the church, every Sunday comes to a close with time at the altar - a chance to pray, get baptized, or receive the Holy Ghost for the first time.
Revolution AYC, Born in the Pandemic
In early 2020, the World Pentecostal Fellowship cancelled its annual PEAK conference. Within hours, Pastor Tony Spell announced that Life Tabernacle would host a stand-alone gathering on its own campus, and "Revolution AYC" was born. By the time the first conference opened its doors, Life Tabernacle and its pastor had already become a national story for continuing services in defiance of Louisiana's pandemic restrictions.
Pastor Spell was arrested on March 31, 2020 for holding services during the pandemic; he spent twenty-seven days on house arrest in April and May. The legal fight wound through the courts, and on May 13, 2022, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that Governor John Bel Edwards' mandates against churches had been unconstitutional. In March 2021, the church purchased an additional 5.325 acres to build "Revolution Square" and tie together the existing 41 acres of property.
Revolution itself is a five-day, on-campus youth conference that combines revival-style preaching with hands-on soul-winning training. Mornings bring Bible teaching and altar services; afternoons and evenings fill with tournaments in softball, kickball, basketball, and relay races, along with kayaking, swimming, a petting zoo for the youngest, shopping, and a faith-and-fellowship atmosphere meant to draw in adults as well. Transportation is provided to and from a list of partner hotels near the airport for those flying in from out of state.
Yeshiva, Haven Cafe, and the Wider Campus
For members who want to study deeper between services, Life Tabernacle offers Yeshiva, a free, self-paced online Bible school. The name comes from the traditional Jewish study house, and each application is reviewed by Pastor Spell and his staff. Courses continue to be added over time, and completion certificates are printable at the end of each course.
On the ground, Haven Cafe operates as a gathering spot on the campus with a weekly posted menu, and All Things Wellness rounds out the church's health-and-discipleship programming. A small online storefront sells a live concert video from "The Church That Never Closes Tony Spell Trio," giving a sense of how seriously the music ministry takes its role in the church's identity.
Behind the main building, the Tony Spell Memorial Sunday School Complex ties the older children's and youth ministry spaces together, with the gymnasium, Girls Connect, and Ladies Elevate buildings all within walking distance of one another and the central sanctuary. A legal fund page on the church's site accepts donations specifically to support ongoing religious-liberty work, and a separate hurricane-relief page gathers giving for storm response.
A Family-Led Congregation
Pastor Tony Spell and Sis. Shaye Spell have led Life Tabernacle since April 2009, and the leadership page lists more than a dozen ministry heads who keep the church's many ministries running. Noah Spell leads the band. Emily H. serves as Chief of Staff. Courtney T. coordinates Bible study. Tammy C. oversees Little Sprouts; Deidra P. heads the nursery; Nikki W. supervises Girls Connect; Jessica D. supervises Boys Connect; Jeremy and Nicole B. lead Ladies Elevate; and Colton B. leads Guys Elevate while Katie B. oversees the broader Women's Ministry. Reverend Ivory Woods serves the men's ministry and assists the pastor. Cornelius and Ashley W. also serve as assistants to the pastor. Kris N. keeps the buses roadworthy, and his wife Krystal N. coordinates outreach.
First-time guests who arrive on a Sunday morning are welcomed into an environment that runs by the rhythm of an Apostolic Pentecostal altar call: come as you are, sit where you like, and stay as long as you want. Those who come back week after week get caught up in a movement that was forged under unusual pressure and has continued to build toward what its leadership calls Revolution Square - one connected campus where the bus ministry, the sanctuary, the Sunday School complex, and the youth conference can all run side by side.
Joining In
Online giving is available through the church's Fellowship One giving portal, and sermons are posted by year on the Sermons page. Spanish sermons have their own section for Spanish-speaking visitors. Event requests for weddings, anniversaries, or other gatherings on campus go through an online form reviewed by Sis. Spell and the staff, with a typical response time of three to five days. And for anyone along the bus route, the easiest way to attend is to call or text (225) 931-1832 - the church will send the bus to the curb.