About Us
Building a caring community of Christ-like disciples for the glory of God by knowing, growing, serving and sharing Christ.
Immanuel Baptist Church exists for the sole purpose of glorifying God
through, worship, instruction, fellowship, and outreach.
Learn more about our history, beliefs and the pastors and staff of Immanuel Baptist.
Our History
Immanuel Baptist Church traces its origins to 1885 when it was established as a mission outreach of First Baptist Church. Envisioned as a ministry to reach out to the people of north Richmond, the church was led by a succession of ministerial students. Originally located in a small building on Fourth Street between Jackson and Duval, the mission carried the name of Fourth Street Mission Chapel.
What we believe about…
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures to be the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God, and our guide to faith and practice. (See II Timothy 3:16, 17 and II Peter 1:20,21.)
The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became Man, being conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. We believe that He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross, His blood being the purchase price, and that He secured that redemption forever by His literal resurrection from the dead. (See John 1:1,2,14,18; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24, 25 and 4:25.)
We further believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God, where as the High Priest for His people, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor and Advocate. (See Mark 16:19; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25, and I John 2:1,2.)
Humanity
We believe and teach that human life begins at conception and each person is created by God as male or female for life (Psa.139:13-16; Heb. 4:13). These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27).
We believe and teach that by willful transgression Adam sinned by disobeying God and yielding to the deception of Satan (Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12-19). Consequently, all mankind are sinners by nature and by choice, separated from God, unable to redeem themselves, and justly subjected to God’s judgment (Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:1, 5; Rom. 1:20).
We believe and teach that marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union (Gen. 2:18-25; Mark 10:6-9). God intends consensual sexual intimacy to occur only in this union. Any form of sexual immorality is sinful and offensive to God (Matt. 15:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:9-10).
The Eternal Security of the Believer
We believe that all true believers, once saved, are kept secure forever. (See John 10:27-30.)
The Personality of Satan
We believe in the personality of Satan, who is the open and declared enemy of our Lord Jesus Christ and thereby, the enemy of all who believe in Him. (See Job 1:6,7; Matthew 4:2-11; and I Peter 5:8.)
The Eternal State
We believe that at death the spirits and souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence, and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming, whereupon soul and body will be reunited to enjoy the glories and blessings of heaven forever. We believe also that the souls of those who have rejected Jesus Christ as Savior remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne, when soul and body reunited will be cast into the lake of fire to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. (See II Corinthians 5:6,8; Luke 16:19-26; Revelation 20:11-15.)
The Godhead
We believe in one God, existing in three persons–the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory and having the same attributes and perfections. (See Matthew 28:18, 19; II Corinthians 13:14.)
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, though omnipresent from all eternity, took up His abode in the world in a special sense on the day of Pentecost, according to the divine promise and now indwells every believer, and by His baptism unites all to Christ in one body, and as the Indwelling One, is the source of all power and acceptable worship and service.
We believe that the Holy Spirit’s ministry to the world is that of conviction respecting sin, righteousness and judgment. (See John 14:16,17; 16:7-11 and I Corinthians 12:13.)
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (See Ephesians 2:8-10; and John 1:12.)
The Church
We believe that the Church is a spiritual organism composed of all born again persons of this present age irrespective of their affiliation with Christian organizations, (See Acts 2:47b) and as such, is both the body and bride of Christ. (See Ephesians 1:22,23 and 5:25-27.)
The Return of Christ
We believe in the imminent, personal coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His own, and His subsequent premillenial return to the earth to set up His kingdom. (See I Thessalonians 4:13-18; and Acts 15:16,17.)
Church Ordinances
We believe that water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the only ordinances of the church and that they are the scriptural means of testimony for the church in this age.
We believe that baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, setting forth the essential facts in redemption – the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, also the essential facts in the experience of the believer – death to sin and resurrection to newness of life. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of His death until He comes and is to be celebrated at certain intervals by all the members of the church. (See Matthew 3:13-17 and I Corinthians 11:23-26.)
What does it mean to know Jesus?
What does it mean to know Jesus?
Our History
In early 1890 the chapel cut its formal ties with its mother church, organizing into the Fourth Street Baptist Church. At that time, both churches remained affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The new church grew steadily in membership; and in July of 1890 its first contribution to foreign missions was recorded.
Continuing growth contributed to the congregation’s need for a new house of worship; and on October 21, 1894, the people celebrated both a new address and a new name. Entering its new facility at 601 North Fifth Street, the church carried the name of Immanuel Baptist because, as the people unanimously agreed, “God has surely been with us.”
In 1915 the congregation voted to leave the building at Fifth and Leigh to buy an existing church building further west. The membership continued to expand, and the church exercised a greater missionary outreach within its own city while maintaining its support of the Convention’s missionaries on foreign fields. It was in this building at Pine and Grace in the early forties, that Immanuel established itself as an independent Baptist church and began to support missionaries of its own choice.
Once again God blessed the congregation with steady growth, and the people envisioned the wisdom of a larger sanctuary. In July 1958 the cornerstone was laid at the corner of Monument and Thompson Avenues for the new worship center. In 1962 the building was expanded by the addition of north and south transepts. In 1983 the facilities were further enhanced by the addition of the north educational wing which included the Fellowship Hall, kitchen, classrooms and staff offices.
On February 29, 1966 the newly purchased missionary home was dedicated in honor and in memory of Mary Baker, who was martyred on November 24, 1964 during an uprising in the Congo.
Immanuel’s missionary commitment still thrives as it sends out men and women to tell all nations the good news of the love of God and the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose from the dead. And in the spirit of Acts 2:41-47, the church continues to emphasize four major objectives – worship, instruction, fellowship, and outreach.