Tucked Right Where Candler Meets West Asheville
Starnes Cove Baptist Church sits at 149 Starnes Cove Road, just up behind the Cracker Barrel on Smokey Park Highway, in the part of West Asheville that locals often describe as the meeting point with Candler. Since 1941, this Southern Baptist congregation has called that corner of Buncombe County home, growing and adapting as the neighborhood around it has changed. The church describes itself as a family on mission rather than a Sunday routine, and that posture shapes everything from its Wednesday night community supper to its mission trips with Send Relief.
People who pass through find a church rooted in the Baptist Faith and Message, led since August 2022 by Pastor William Moore, a West Asheville native who grew up just a few houses from the building and met his wife Sheila in the church as children. The motto is simple: love God, love people, and make disciples. The mission statement is to worship God, to bring people to Christ and into a loving fellowship of believers, and to disciple them for service and outreach to others. The vision is to relationally evangelize the neighborhood, the nation, and the world while keeping the church's systems fresh enough to reach the next generation.
From Tent Revival to Sanctuary
Starnes Cove began the way many Southern Baptist churches in the region did: with a tent and a handful of determined families. In 1940, a group of men, women, and families gathered in a house just off Starnes Cove Road and organized a Sunday School. The next summer, on June 8, 1941, they gathered under a tent at the corner of Starnes Cove Road and Holbrook Road to formally organize the church. Several nearby Baptist churches helped launch the work, including Calvary, West Asheville, New Morgan Hill (now Lake Hills), and Patton Avenue (now Erwin Hills). The North Carolina Baptist State Convention secured the present site, and charter member Mrs. Ida Capps later deeded the land to the church as a gift.
Rev. Ralph Hensley became the first pastor. The first building was a modest 28-by-40-foot structure made from materials salvaged from the old Enka Baptist Church, dedicated on May 3, 1942. A parsonage followed in 1953. By 1960, the church had grown enough to break ground on an educational building, dedicated the following September under the leadership of Rev. Howard Laney, who steered the church through theological tensions in the Southern Baptist Convention and kept the fellowship in cooperation with the denomination.
Rev. Jesse Head pastored from 1971 to 1985 and oversaw another era of growth, including the groundbreaking on March 31, 1974, for the present sanctuary and a second educational building, which were dedicated on May 4, 1975. A media center renovation came in 2004, with sanctuary and vestibule updates in 2005 and ongoing media improvements beginning in the fall of 2020.
In December 2018, the church said farewell to Pastor Charlie Sams, who had faithfully served for more than thirty-two years. Dr. David Horton of Fruitland Baptist Bible College served as interim pastor until June 2020, when Paul Sanchez was elected as lead pastor. Sanchez transitioned to a teaching role in July 2022, and the church called William Moore, its former youth director and associate pastor, as its new lead pastor that August.
Sunday Mornings at Starnes Cove
On Sunday mornings, the rhythm begins at 9:45 a.m. with Sunday School. Classes run from nursery age through the oldest adults, with most classes co-ed and a few separate classes for men and women. Ushers and a Welcome Team greet visitors at each entrance, and someone is in the parking lot to help direct traffic and answer questions about which class to attend.
The main worship service begins at 10:50 a.m. and ends around 12:00 p.m. The bulletin includes announcements, a prayer guide, and a tear-out visitor card. Pastor William usually preaches from the English Standard Version and occasionally references other translations. Bibles are available in each pew, but visitors are welcome to bring their own, paper or app. Nursery and Cove Kids are provided during the service so parents can worship without distraction.
For those who cannot attend in person, the Sunday morning service is livestreamed on YouTube at 11:15 a.m., and recordings remain available afterward through the sermons page.
Wednesday Nights Around the Table
Wednesday evenings are a defining rhythm at Starnes Cove. Beginning in September 2026, the church shifted to a new Wednesday schedule designed to close the gap between supper and Adult Discipleship, help families with children get home earlier on a school night, and keep activities from regularly running past 8:00 p.m.
The night opens with a free Community Supper from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Anyone is welcome, whether or not they are staying for the rest of the evening's programs. There is no charge for the meal, though donations are appreciated. The supper is run by volunteer teams from the congregation and is one of the church's most consistent points of contact with its neighbors.
From 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., Cove Kids (preschool through 6th grade) and Cove Students (7th through 12th grade) meet in their own spaces with age-appropriate lessons, games, and worship. Nursery care is available during these hours for babies from six weeks old to two years.
At 6:30 p.m., adults gather in the sanctuary for Adult Discipleship. The hour opens with a prayer guide listing requests from the church and community, time for new requests, and updates on people the church has been praying for. The pastor then walks through a passage of Scripture as part of an ongoing study. Adult Discipleship runs from September through May, following the Buncombe County Schools calendar.
The Wednesday night service is livestreamed at 7:15 p.m. on YouTube for those who are sick, traveling, or simply unable to attend.
Cove Kids: A Safe Place to Grow
Cove Kids is the children's ministry for kids from preschool through 5th grade (with 6th graders joining on Wednesday nights). On Wednesdays, children are split into three classes by grade in school: preschool and kindergarten, first through third grade, and fourth and fifth grade. Each class has one or two assigned teachers who stay with them throughout the year.
The evening starts with all the children together singing worship songs, hearing a Bible story, reciting the Cove Kids motto and focus verse, and asking questions. Then they break into their classes to dig deeper with worksheets, crafts, and hands-on activities before coming back together for games.
Safety is taken seriously. Every Cove Kids volunteer must pass a background check. A new check-in and check-out procedure begins in the Fellowship Hall, where parents fill out a detailed form covering allergies, emergency contacts, and other notes. The same careful process covers the nursery and Cove Students. Allison Merrell, who grew up attending Starnes Cove and graduated from Montreat College in 2021 with a bachelor's in Educational Studies, leads the ministry.
In the summer, a Summer Kids program keeps children engaged with games and Bible lessons when school is out, and a full-length Vacation Bible School is offered in the mornings each year, a rarity in the area.
Cove Students: Believing, Beholding, Becoming
Cove Students is the ministry for 7th through 12th graders. The name reflects three words the ministry hangs its identity on: Believing, Beholding, Becoming. The mission is to worship God and abide in a loving relationship with Him, living in biblical community and being disciples who make disciples for the Kingdom of God.
Students meet on Sunday mornings from 9:45 to 10:50 a.m. and on Wednesday evenings during the program hour. A typical Wednesday includes a lesson, games, live worship, discussion, and prayer. The ministry keeps an open line of communication with parents, recognizing that they have the most important job in raising disciples.
Outside of those weekly gatherings, Cove Students plans regular outings - snow tubing, bowling, putt-putt, paintball at Wolverine Paintball in Hendersonville, summer camp at Caswell, and other activities designed to build friendships and create space for spiritual growth. The student ministry also runs the SHV Backpack Program, providing bags of nonperishable food items to children in need at Sand Hill-Venable Elementary School.
Community Groups for Every Stage
For adults who want something beyond Sunday worship and Wednesday classes, Starnes Cove runs two community groups that meet in homes and on the church campus.
The Young Adult Community Group is for singles, couples, parents, and anyone between 25 and 45 years old. They meet on Sunday evenings from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the home of Sunday School teachers Lee and Meghann Pegram. The first 45 minutes are spent snacking and catching up, and then the group splits into separate men's and women's discussions centered on that morning's sermon. Children are welcome to come along and play together while the adults talk.
The College and Career Community Group is for ages 18 to 24, meeting on Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the church. Led by Sheila Moore, the format is similar: snacks and fellowship, followed by a discussion of the morning's sermon broken into guys' and girls' groups. The aim is to model the early church pattern of believers gathering in smaller, more intimate groups to share life and grow together.
Music That Bridges Generations
Worship at Starnes Cove is blended. The church maintains both a traditional and a contemporary flavor, drawing on a long-running praise team and a choir. Kathy Glass has served as church pianist since 1982 and leads the Praise Team for contemporary worship music. Carol Radford has been the church organist since 1977 and also teaches a long-running adult Sunday School class. Together they shape a musical style that welcomes longtime Baptists and younger worshipers alike.
Occasionally the church holds special Nights of Praise with congregational singing, prayer, and refreshments. The choir leads music for the annual Live Nativity each December, when Cove Kids children perform the Christmas story outdoors with hot cocoa, cider, and seating around heaters.
The music director position is currently open as the church seeks new leadership to build on the legacy of former music director Billy Woody. Those interested in serving on the Audio Visual Team, the choir, or the Praise Team can connect through the Opportunities to Serve page.
What Starnes Cove Believes
The church holds firm to the Baptist Faith and Message, the confession of faith used by Southern Baptist churches. The What We Believe page walks through each article of that confession in turn: the Scriptures as the divinely inspired, totally true and trustworthy revelation of God and the true center of Christian union; the nature of God; the nature and fallenness of humanity; salvation by grace through faith; God's purpose of grace; the church as a body of believers; baptism and the Lord's Supper as ordinances given by Christ; the Kingdom of God; last things; evangelism and missions; Christian education; stewardship; cooperation among churches; peace and war; religious liberty; the family; the Christian and the social order; and the Lord's Day as a day of worship and rest.
Baptism is presented as an outward expression of an inner commitment to follow Christ, symbolizing death to sin and new life in Him. The Lord's Supper is observed as a memorial of Christ's death and a celebration of His return.
Reaching the Neighborhood and the Nations
Outreach runs through several streams at Starnes Cove. The Service Ministry organizes home projects for elderly and homebound members, the annual Serve SCB day in the spring, and Serve NC in the fall, when the church partners with ministries like ABCCM, the WNC Rescue Mission, Mountain Area Pregnancy Services, and Broyhill Children's Home for community projects.
The Benevolence Ministry actively supports the Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM), which operates a women's shelter, a veterans home, food pantries and kitchens, crisis counseling, and a free medical and dental clinic. The Great Commission Team coordinates mission trips and projects, including recent partnerships with Send Relief on a St. Louis trip.
The church works with a wide network of ministry partners. Beyond ABCCM, these include Baptists on Mission (the North Carolina Baptist Men) for disaster relief and medical missions, the International Mission Board for church planting and missions, the Buncombe Baptist Association for local cooperation, the Buncombe County Prison Ministry, Mountain Area Pregnancy Services, Broyhill Children's Home, the Western North Carolina Rescue Mission, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Baptist Convention of North Carolina.
Seasonal ministries include Vacation Bible School each summer, the Live Nativity in December, and the Summer Kids program for children when school is out.
Serving Inside the Church
For those who want to get involved inside the church, Opportunities to Serve lists a wide range of roles: the nursery rotation, Sunday School teachers, Cove Kids teachers, youth leaders, the Hospitality Team, the Parking Lot Team, Security, event setup and teardown, the finance committee, the Service Ministry, social media outreach, building and grounds, the Praise Team, Wednesday Night Supper Teams, the Great Commission Team, the decorating team, ushers, the Audio Visual Team, choir, small group leaders, groundskeeping, seasonal and outreach events, the bereavement team, the benevolence team, the church library, the photography team, and prayer ministry.
Each role comes with on-the-job training, and most operate on a rotation so volunteers can still engage in corporate worship. A spiritual gifts test is offered for those who want to think through where they might fit.
Staff and Leadership
The staff at Starnes Cove is intentionally small. Lead Pastor William Moore holds a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry from Liberty University and a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Before returning as lead pastor, he served the church as youth director and associate pastor.
Allison Merrell serves as Children's Ministry Director. Kathy Glass has been the church pianist since 1982 and leads the contemporary praise team. Carol Radford has been the church organist since 1977 and still teaches her long-running adult Sunday School class. The Student Ministry Director and Music Director positions are currently open as the church seeks new leaders for both.
Plan a Visit
Visitors are common at Starnes Cove, and the church has tried to make a first visit as easy as possible. Parking attendants help direct cars on Sunday mornings. There is no strict dress code. Some come in suits and dresses, others in khakis and polo shirts or jeans and a sweater. Ushers hand out bulletins at the door, and a Welcome Team member is ready to walk families to the nursery or their children's Sunday School class.
On Wednesday nights, the same easy welcome applies. The Community Supper is a great entry point for anyone curious about the church but not ready for a full program night. Nursery care is available for children six weeks to two years old, and Cove Kids welcomes new visitors with a simple registration form covering allergies and emergency contacts.
The church building is open Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Office hours run Monday and Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with the office closed Thursday through Saturday.
A Family on Mission in West Asheville
Starnes Cove has spent more than eighty years learning what it means to be a steady presence in a changing neighborhood. The church is still small enough to know the names of the children in the Cove Kids classes and the students in Cove Students, and big enough to feed hundreds of neighbors a week through its Community Supper and Serve NC days. Pastor William and the staff describe the church as a family of sinners, united by a love for Jesus and a common need for a Savior.
For longtime residents and newcomers alike, that means a place where the front doors stay open, the supper is free, and there is always a seat with your name on it.