Sharing Christ and Building Believers on Cloverdale Road
On Cloverdale Road just east of Roanoke, Bonsack Baptist Church has been gathering under the banner of its unchanging mission: Sharing Christ and Building Believers. For more than 140 years, families in the Bonsack community and across the Roanoke Valley have come to this congregation for worship, Bible study, food assistance, music, and a deep bench of programs for every age. The church sits at 4845 Cloverdale Road and offers two Sunday morning services that run at the same time in two different spaces, a roster of weekday activities that reaches from nursery care through senior adult outings, and partnerships that extend from the Roanoke Valley Baptist Association and the Baptist General Association of Virginia to the Dominican Republic and Kenya.
Two Sunday Services at 9:45
Sunday mornings at Bonsack revolve around 9:45 worship in either of two simultaneous services, bracketed by LIFE Groups before and after. At 8:30 am, adults gather in LIFE Groups around the church campus. At 9:45 am, the CLC or Sanctuary service begins. At 11 am, a second hour of LIFE Groups follows.
The Sanctuary service features a blended style of worship that draws on hymns and contemporary choruses, with the Adult Choir, the organ, handbells, and supporting instruments. The CLC service, held in the Community Life Center, features a contemporary Praise Band and choir leading a more casual, modern gathering. Because the services run at the same time, Pastor Chris Cadenhead's sermon is livestreamed into the CLC for that service. Both services are also livestreamed online for those who cannot attend in person.
Visitors are welcome to come as they are. The dress ranges from coat and tie to casual. First-time guests can stop by the New center as they leave for an information booklet and gift certificates to the church coffee shop, a Wednesday night family dinner, and the Rec Center.
LIFE Groups Around the Campus
Small-group Bible study, called LIFE Groups at Bonsack, is the heart of the church's weekly schedule. Groups meet on the church campus during the hour before worship at 8:30 am or after worship at 11 am, with classes for nursery children through senior adults and a wide range of adult electives.
The 8:30 LIFE Groups include classes for adults 55 and up with topical studies, gospel studies, and Explore the Bible curriculum. The 11:00 am LIFE Groups are particularly broad. There are classes for special-needs adults (PURE), college students (Synergy), young professionals in their twenties (Anchors), couples and singles in their thirties (Multiplying, Roots 2:7, Growing Together), empty nesters, men in their sixties and seventies (For Him, Pollinators), and many others. The church uses Lifeway's Bible Studies for Life and Explore the Bible across many groups.
Children and youth have their own LIFE Groups during the 11 am hour. Bonsack Kids runs classes for infants through sixth grade, with check-in at the first-floor Children's Desk. Middle school and high school LIFE Groups meet in the third-floor Youth Space.
Wednesday Nights: Dinner, Bible Study, and Choir
Wednesday evenings during the school year (August through May) are a second front door at Bonsack. The night begins with a family dinner in Roanoke Hall from 4:30 to 6 pm, with adult meals at nine dollars, kids' meals at five dollars, and children under four eating free. The cap per household is twenty-eight dollars.
At 6 pm, the church's adult programs run in parallel. Pastor Chris Cadenhead leads Through the Bible, a book-by-book study of Scripture in the Sanctuary that is also livestreamed. Across the building, Mike Zepp leads a men's study on Old Testament Essentials, Lisa Adams and Joy Hanson lead a women's study, and Lucas and Cassidy Smith lead a BRIDGE young adult study of Every Thought Captive. Children's programming begins at 6 pm with Music Time for Kids, while middle and high schoolers gather for Acteens and Baptist Young Men.
At 7 pm the schedule shifts again. Children in grades 1-6 join Girls in Action and Royal Ambassadors mission groups. Youth gather for Power Hour, a worship- and fellowship-focused service with music, games, and a sermon. Adults head to the Sanctuary for Adult Choir practice. Continuous childcare for kindergarten and under is available for parents attending Bible studies from 6 to 7:50 pm.
A Music Ministry That Spans Generations
Music at Bonsack has been part of the church's identity for as long as anyone can remember. Today the graded music program reaches more than two hundred participants, from three-year-olds in Music Time for Kids through senior adults in their mid-nineties in the Senior Adult Choir.
The Adult Choir leads worship in the Sanctuary each week and presents up to three major productions a year, including the Sounds of Christmas concert with full orchestra and handbells. The choir has sung at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, Constitution Hall, and the National Cathedral. The Adult Handbells meet Monday evenings at 7 pm from September through May. The Sunday Orchestra plays once a month in the Sanctuary, drawing on professional and amateur musicians, with brass and string ensembles and an occasional big band.
The CLC Praise Band and CLC Worship Choir provide the contemporary leadership for the Community Life Center service. The Senior Adult Choir meets September through May on Tuesdays from 2 to 3:30 pm and ministers through music at area nursing and retirement homes. Student Music meets on Sundays at 3:30 pm with student choir, band, drama, percussion, and vocal coaching for middle and high schoolers.
Bonsack Kids: Infants Through Sixth Grade
Children's ministry at Bonsack aims to give kids a nurturing environment where they can learn biblical truths and experience God's love. Sunday mornings offer childcare with Bible lessons for infants through Kindergarten at 9:45 am and LIFE Groups for infants through sixth grade at 11 am. Visitors check children in at the first-floor Children's Desk and receive a sticker with a number that flashes on digital screens in the Sanctuary and Community Life Center if needed during the service.
Wednesday nights add Music Time for Kids from 6 to 6:50 pm and the mission-focused Girls in Action and Royal Ambassadors from 7 to 7:50 pm. Each month the children's mission groups focus on a different place in the world and a missionary serving there, with recent themes like Mission Explorers taking kids around the globe through stories, activities, and hands-on mission projects.
The children's ministry asks that children with fever, unexplained rash, vomiting or diarrhea, draining sores, or severe cold symptoms in the past 24 hours stay home. The nursery cannot administer medication. Parents are encouraged to bring labeled supplies for infants and to support consistent attendance as the best cure for separation anxiety.
Youth: Middle and High School
The youth ministry serves students in middle school and high school through Sunday LIFE Groups at 11 am, a Wednesday night Power Hour service at 7 pm, and Acteens for girls and Baptist Young Men for guys at 6 pm Wednesdays. The aim is to help students see God at work in their real lives right now.
Throughout the year, the youth calendar adds special events such as Centrifuge, Jamarama, a seventh-grade ice cream party, a middle school wilderness retreat, a high school beach retreat, a spring formal, youth VBS, Great White Out, and mission trips. Students are also encouraged to sing in the choir, play in the orchestra, or take part in student band and drama. A summer internship is open to applicants.
BRIDGE: Young Adults Ages 18 to 29
BRIDGE, which stands for Believers Rooted In Discipleship, Grace, and Edification, is the young adult ministry for adults 18 to 29. It centers on three weekly touchpoints: the Synergy LIFE Group for college students at 11 am on Sundays, the Anchors LIFE Group for young professionals also at 11 am on Sundays, and a Wednesday night Bible study at 6 pm. BRIDGE Fellowship meets twice a month on Thursday nights at the home of Steve and Cathy Ferguson for food, conversation, and prayer.
Adults 60+ and Pastoral Care
Rhon Williams, Minister of Adults 60+, leads the ministry to older adults through fellowship, worship, education, and care. A monthly luncheon on the third Tuesday of each month from 12 to 2 pm brings seniors together with different themes and speakers. The ministry also organizes day trips and longer excursions, including visits to the Barter Theatre, Shenandoah Caverns, the Ark Encounter, historic churches of the Blue Ridge, and Sight and Sound productions, with transportation from The Glebe.
Pastoral care at Bonsack extends to small six-week Grief Groups that follow a large-group seminar, DivorceCare sessions offered in partnership with Journey Church on Tuesday mornings, and a Compassion Ministry and Senior Adult Card Ministry that reaches people who cannot attend in person.
Missions From Roanoke to the Dominican Republic and Kenya
Missions is woven into the church's identity. Local partnerships include the Blue Ridge Women's Center for women facing unplanned pregnancies, Botetourt County Public Schools, Colonial Elementary School (where church members help with literacy programs and playground construction), CarePortal, Friendship House Roanoke, Keystone Community Center, and Straight Street, an inner-city ministry that serves at-risk teenagers in downtown Roanoke. Members tutor, teach ESL, help in food pantries, and serve refugees through these partnerships.
Global partnerships include Pathways Dominicana, which runs trips to the Dominican Republic, and Sodzo International, which helps vulnerable children in Kenya. Members can apply for missions trips and apply for scholarships for non-BBC trips.
Food Bank, Tiny Houses, and the Rec Center
Every Thursday morning from 8:30 to 10 am, the Bonsack Food Bank opens in Bonsack Hall to distribute groceries to people from across the Roanoke Valley. The pantry is an extension of Feeding Southwest Virginia and serves Botetourt County, Roanoke County, and areas as far east as Bedford. Volunteers pick up surplus items from local stores throughout the week and order dry, frozen, and refrigerated goods once a month.
The Tiny House Project is a partnership with Melrose Baptist Church, the Roanoke Valley Baptist Association, and BGAV Disaster Relief. Bonsack is hosting the first build on its property, with the goal of producing small houses that can be deployed as temporary or permanent housing after disasters and to address housing affordability. Each unit includes a living room with kitchenette, full bath, and bedroom.
The Bonsack Rec Center offers recreational programming on the church's campus, including children's basketball leagues and the All In Hoops adaptive league. The Rec Center also hosts the church's coffee shop, which serves as a community gathering spot.
Bonsack Preschool and After School Care
The Bonsack Weekday Early Education Center (WEEC) is the church's preschool and afterschool program, with afternoon care for elementary students as well. The preschool shares the church's Cloverdale Road campus and operates as a ministry of Bonsack Baptist Church. Parents can reach the preschool office at (540) 977-0485.
What Bonsack Believes
Bonsack's Statement of Beliefs affirms one true God who has eternally existed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church teaches that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, born of a virgin, fully God and fully human, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose again, and who will return personally to judge the earth. The Holy Spirit indwells believers, convicts of sin, brings spiritual regeneration, and gives spiritual gifts for the work of the gospel.
The Bible is God's authoritative word, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and without error, with Jesus Christ as the criterion by which it is to be interpreted. Human beings are created in God's image, marred by sin, and saved only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The church observes two ordinances, baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Bonsack holds that marriage is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman and that God created two distinct and immutable genders. The church teaches that Jesus will return, the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge all people, with the unrighteous spending eternity in hell and the righteous receiving resurrection bodies to dwell forever with God. The church describes itself as autonomous and congregational in governance, joining voluntarily with other Baptist associations and networks.
Getting Plugged In at Bonsack
Becoming a member is the way to formally claim the mission of the church. Anyone interested can talk to a minister after any service. Newcomers can find community by attending worship at 9:45 am, joining a LIFE Group, subscribing to the Midweek Update email, joining the Wednesday night family dinner, attending a Bible study or Rec Center class, or following Bonsack on Facebook and Instagram.
Giving is available online through a one-time or recurring gift, and text giving is available by texting "Give" to (540) 210-1873. Members can manage giving, view contribution statements, register for events, and request prayer through the MyBonsack account.