OUR HISTORY
On April 15th, 1976 four people met in a rented building behind the old Aquia Hotel as a mission of Falmouth Baptist Church. They began meeting Sunday mornings on May 2, 1976 and continued to grow. This group of people covenanted together as Stafford Baptist Church on March 4, 1979 with a total of 59 members.
On August 13th, 1978 Stafford Baptist called their first full time pastor, Reverend H. Allen Redd. In March of 1980 the cornerstone of the building (in which we still meet today) was laid. The first meeting in that building was held on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1980 with 105 members present.
In 1984 the church began construction on a second building, where our current main gathering space is located. This construction was completed in 1987.
From 1985 - 2000 Stafford Baptist grew in a variety of ways. In those 15 years the church added a third and fourth part of the building, including an education wing and large gym. The church grew in number, at one point reaching 275 members who were actively participating and fellowshiping with one another. In 1995, under the leadership of Pastor Joe Owings, the church voted to disassociate themselves from the Fredericksburg Baptist Association and to affiliate with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV). We are still affiliated with the SBCV (state level) and the Southern Baptist Convention (national level).
In early 2000, God in his good providence brought Bill Jessup to pastor Stafford Baptist. In 2004, God brought Naethan Hendrix to Stafford, to help the church plant Pillar Church in Dumfries, VA and Pillar Church Quantico.
In 2005, Stafford Baptist began feeling a desire to plant a native language speaking baptist church in Iceland. In 2008 the church sent their youth pastor Colby Garman and his family to work towards this ambitious goal. In 2010, after the Garman's returned, Stafford Baptist sent their pastor Bill Jessup and his family to continue the work in Iceland, where eventually Loftstofan Baptistkirkja was started.
In 2011, Naethan Hendrix was called as the next pastor of Stafford Baptist Church. He pastored the church for seven years during which he lead the church in a significant change including establishing a plurality of elders. This was a refining time for Stafford Baptist in many ways, though God has used it for our good and His glory. Seen as the church continued to work towards the gospel going to the nations as we participated actively with the Praetorian Project and planting Redeemer Church in King George.
On January 12th, 2020 Stafford Baptist called Kelton Zacharias to be their next lead pastor. We are grateful for the way the Lord has worked in the past, sustaining and growing this local church. And we are excited for where God is leading us into the future. Pray with us that God may continue to give us dependence on His Word and love for one another, the community of Stafford County, and the nations.