A North Raleigh Congregation Becoming The King's Chapel
Christ Baptist Church sits on Newton Road in north Raleigh, along the corridor that runs toward North Hills and Midtown. The congregation now operates under the name The King's Chapel of Raleigh, and that rebrand is gradually rolling out across the campus and its ministries. Sundays still begin at 9:00 a.m. with Life Groups and gather at 10:30 a.m. for worship at the same Newton Road address, with a livestream available for those joining from home.
The church's mission is simple and threefold: love, grow, and send disciples of Jesus within the local community and around the world. The welcome statement reads: "We are believers in Jesus Christ located in Raleigh, North Carolina, committed to helping each other and our families love, grow, and send disciples of Jesus within our local community and globally."
Sundays at 9:00 and 10:30
Sunday morning follows a familiar rhythm. Life Groups meet at 9:00 a.m. for adults, students, and children, providing an hour of fellowship, prayer, and Bible study before the larger gathering. Children have their own ChristKids programming during this hour, and adults dig into Scripture in classes that vary by age, stage, and topic.
At 10:30 a.m. the congregation moves into the Worship Center for the Sunday service. The gathering is led by the Worship Choir and Worship Orchestra, drawing on a blend of familiar hymns and newer expressions anchored in biblical passages and Christian themes. Keith Pendergraft serves as organist, and the services feature both accomplished players and singers committed to the arts and to Christ.
Planning a first visit? Arriving a few minutes before 9:00 a.m. gives families a chance to drop children at ChristKids and head to an adult Life Group themselves. Those who prefer to start with worship can come straight to the 10:30 gathering. Sermons are shared through a livestream on YouTube and a sermon archive, with guest speakers occasionally filling the pulpit alongside regular teaching.
Saltshakers: A Tuesday Bible Study for Women and Children
Saltshakers is the church's flagship women's Bible study, meeting each Tuesday from September through April in both morning and evening sessions. The morning program runs from 9:45 to 11:30 a.m. and includes a children's program and home-school proctoring, making it a regular Tuesday commitment for mothers and their children. The evening program meets from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. for women whose days are full elsewhere.
Each year the study focuses on a different book of the Bible, with small group discussion, a teaching lecture, fellowship, and prayer woven together. Sarah Knott serves as the teaching leader, with Julie Carpenter and Lynn Easterling filling the rotation as guest teaching leaders. Karen Jennette serves as class administrator, handling registration and coordination.
Saltshakers has been a defining ministry of the church for more than a decade. Members who have walked through the program describe it as a weekly discipline that has shaped their families for years. One long-time participant, Georgia Mae, has brought her children to the program for fourteen years and now watches her oldest daughter sit in a women's small group of her own. Another, Tracy, calls Saltshakers "a lifeline" through the pandemic, when gathering in person with fellow believers to study, sing hymns, and pray kept her focused on God.
Worship and Arts: Choir, Orchestra, and Seasonal Concerts
The Worship and Arts Ministry exists to facilitate and encourage worship and praise of Jesus Christ through music. Two ensembles carry much of that work week to week.
The Worship Choir is the principal choral ensemble, leading worship each Sunday and at seasonal worship concerts. Its repertoire spans various time periods and genres, anchored in biblical passages and Christian themes, and members are expected to bring basic music literacy to rehearsals.
The Worship Orchestra is the primary instrumental ensemble, made up of youth and adults, amateurs and professionals. The orchestra rehearses Sunday mornings from 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. in the Worship Center and serves weekly through worship music, congregational accompaniment, and choral support. The Worship Choir rehearses Thursday evenings from 7:15 to 8:45 p.m. in the Rehearsal Suite.
Together these ensembles shape a worship gathering that the church describes as blending the familiar and the new in pursuit of musical excellence, with the motto "excellence in all things, and all things to the glory of God."
Care and Support: GriefShare, DivorceCare, and Stephen Ministry
For those walking through grief, loss, divorce, or other difficult transitions, the church offers a Care and Support ministry that pairs biblical teaching with practical community.
GriefShare meets on Thursday mornings from 10:00 a.m. to noon in a lower-level room at the right rear of the building. The 13-week program is non-denominational in design and uses a video seminar, small group discussion, and a workbook to walk participants through the grieving process. Registration is $25 with scholarships available, and participants can begin at any point in the cycle since each session is self-contained. Topics run from "Is This Normal?" and "Challenges of Grief" through "Lessons of Grief" and "Heaven" to "What Do I Live For Now?"
DivorceCare and ongoing Stephen Ministry support round out the care offerings, providing confidential, one-on-one companionship from trained Stephen Ministers for people facing a wide range of life challenges.
CBC Women: Hospitality, Décor, and Mission
The CBC Women's Ministry gathers women of every age, background, and life stage around a single mission: to apply God's Word through studying His Word, seeking Him in prayer, and serving Him faithfully. The vision statement reads, "RADIATE Christ serving together and sharing the gospel within CBC, surrounding communities and the world."
Women find a home in one or more of several serving teams:
- Hospitality plans, cooks, and decorates for the Women's Annual Spring Tea, the Women's Christmas Brunch, the churchwide Thanksgiving Feast, and Vacation Bible School.
- Décor keeps the church beautiful year-round, with the largest effort reserved for the Christmas season, when a small army transforms the building over a couple of days.
- Care and Compassion (Martha's Heart) prepares and serves a meal for families on the day of a funeral at the church.
- Missional Sisterhood meets practical needs through hospital visits, meal provision, transportation to appointments, and new mom classes.
- New Members hosts a quarterly luncheon to welcome those who have recently joined the church.
- Encouragement organizes small gifts and notes of appreciation for the church's staff and volunteers.
Together these teams make the rhythms of church life possible, from the spring tea and summer VBS to the Christmas brunch and Thanksgiving feast.
Discipleship: Life Groups, Bible Studies, and Service
Discipleship at the church rests on four pillars: Life Groups, Bible Studies, serving locally and in the community, and missions locally and globally. Life Groups meet on Sundays and weekdays. Bible Studies meet on weekdays. Service and mission flow out from what is learned in those settings.
The Discipleship ministry frames its work around Jesus' words in John 8:31-32: "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Adult discipleship is offered through CBC Men, CBC Women, the children's and student ministries, and Bible Studies such as Saltshakers.
ChristKids and the Next Generation
ChristKids is the children's ministry of the church, providing age-appropriate Bible teaching during Sunday Life Groups and other gatherings. Through Saltshakers' Tuesday children's program, kids from infants through grade school encounter the same biblical stories year after year from a team of teachers many parents describe as faithful servants of Christ.
The combination of Sunday morning children's ministry and Tuesday Saltshakers programming gives children a steady rhythm of biblical teaching across two days each week.
What We Believe
The church holds to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as its confession of faith. In its own words, the church teaches:
"We believe the Bible is God's sole inspired revelation to humanity that guides our faith and practice. Sin (evil) entered God's creation through disobedience, but salvation from sin comes through faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone. The church looks forward to Jesus' second coming when he will judge all humanity."
This Bible-saturated, Christ-centered, grace-alone posture shapes the church's teaching, its ministries, and its invitation to anyone considering a visit.