On the east side of Burton, just outside Flint, Eastgate Baptist Church has gathered around the Bible and the people of mid-Michigan since 1954. The church's stated mission - leading generations of people to become fully devoted followers of Christ - shapes everything from its Sunday services to its food pantry to its annual Vacation Bible School.
A Flint-Area Church Since 1954
Eastgate Baptist Church is located at 4226 East Atherton Road in Burton, just minutes from the Flint city line. The congregation was founded in 1954, and seven decades later the same basic convictions still drive it: teach the Bible clearly, and reach the Flint area with the love of Jesus Christ. The church describes itself as a Christ-centered, Bible-teaching church with a passion for sharing the gospel and serving the community.
To make that mission practical, the church organizes life around a four-part rhythm it calls Believe, Belong, Become, and Be Sent. People are invited to discover faith in Jesus, connect with others, grow as a disciple, and live on mission. The four words show up everywhere from children's ministry to the discipleship pathway to the church's identity statement.
Sunday Mornings: 11:00 Worship, Plus Connection Groups
Sunday is the heart of the week at Eastgate. The schedule starts at 9:30 a.m. with Connection Groups for all ages, from infants through adults. The full worship gathering follows at 11:00 a.m. and runs about 75 minutes. On Sunday evenings at 4:00 p.m., students in grades 7 through 12 gather for Awana YM.
Midweek programming takes over on Wednesdays. At 6:00 p.m., children ages 3 through sixth grade gather for Awana Kids. At 6:15 p.m., youth and adults come together for Bible study. The whole week, in other words, is built around small groups, Scripture memory, and verse-by-verse teaching.
What a Sunday Morning Looks Like
First-time guests are told to expect a relaxed, welcoming environment where Jesus is at the center. Sunday services open with congregational singing. The music is contemporary in style but draws on a mix of traditional hymns and modern worship songs. The goal, the church says, is to sing songs that are biblically grounded and centered on Jesus Christ.
After the music, the service moves into a time of giving. Members and regular attenders are invited to give tithes and offerings as an act of worship; visitors are told to feel no obligation and are simply welcomed. The middle of the gathering is given to expository Bible teaching, with the pastor preaching through books of the Bible in a way that aims to strengthen believers and clearly proclaim the gospel. Prayer is woven through the service in praise, thanksgiving, confession, and intercession.
Guests are encouraged to dress however they feel comfortable. Eastgate's culture statement puts it plainly: the church is not worried about how someone is dressed or where they come from, and the family is made up of imperfect people with every kind of story.
Connection Groups and Discipleship Groups: From Believing to Being Sent
Connection Groups are the front door of small-group life at Eastgate. They meet every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and are organized by age and stage of life, with classes for infants through kindergarten, first through sixth grade, students in grades 7 through 12, and adults. Inside a typical Connection Group, members study the Bible together, pray for one another, build friendships, care for one another through life's challenges and celebrations, and discover ways to serve. The church points to Acts 2:42-47 as the model: teaching, fellowship, prayer, and shared life.
For those ready to go deeper, the church offers Discipleship Groups. These are small, intentional gatherings of three to five believers of the same gender that meet weekly or biweekly in homes, coffee shops, the church, or restaurants. The focus is accelerated spiritual growth, regular Scripture reading and memorization, accountability, and multiplication - helping each disciple become a discipler of others. A Discipleship Covenant, a participant guide, and a facilitator guide are available to help groups get started.
Together, Connection Groups and Discipleship Groups form the main pipeline through which Eastgate tries to walk a person from first-time visit to mature disciple to disciple-maker.
Kids and Students at Eastgate
Children's ministry is one of the most visible parts of Eastgate's life. The church describes itself as passionate about helping kids grow from birth through adolescence, partnering with parents to help the next generation know and follow Jesus. Each week, children experience age-appropriate Bible teaching, worship, and fun activities designed for their stage of development.
On a first visit, a volunteer will help a family register and walk them to the right classroom. The church uses a secure check-in system that prints matching name tags for parent and child, so pickup is safe and straightforward. Children's programming happens during Connection Groups at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays and during Awana at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Student ministry is built around two goals: helping teenagers develop a personal faith and giving them a way to live that faith out in their families, schools, and friendships. On Sunday mornings, students are encouraged to worship with their families in the main gathering, then join their own Youth Connection Groups at 9:30 a.m. On Sunday evenings at 4:00 p.m., grades 7 through 12 meet for Awana YM. Wednesday evenings at 6:15 p.m. add a youth Bible study. The student ministry team emphasizes a safe, respectful environment and takes seriously its responsibility to walk with teenagers both spiritually and personally.
Awana: A Midweek Focus on Scripture Memory
Awana is one of the most distinctive ministries at Eastgate. The church describes it as an internationally recognized children's ministry that partners with parents and volunteers to help kids grow in character, build friendships, and develop a relationship with Jesus. The name comes from 2 Timothy 2:15 - Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed.
Awana at Eastgate is open to children and students from age 3 through 12th grade and is organized into four clubs. Cubbies is for ages 3 to 5, Sparks covers kindergarten through second grade, T&T engages third through sixth graders, and Awana YM is for grades 7 through 12. Each week includes games, large-group Bible teaching, and small-group time built around Scripture memory. One-on-one memorization and discipleship are available for older students on request.
Go Serve Ministries: Reaching Out from Burton
Eastgate describes its outreach arm as Go Serve Ministries. The church partners with Carriage Town Ministries, which serves homeless men, women, and children throughout mid-Michigan. On the third Monday of each month, a volunteer team from Eastgate heads out to help prepare and serve the evening meal, share a time of worship, and bring an encouraging message from God's Word to the guests.
Closer to home, the church runs a Food Assistance ministry that provides food boxes to individuals and families facing food insecurity. An average box for a family of four costs about $35 to put together, and the church keeps a public list of needed items: spaghetti noodles, sauce, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, grape jelly, oatmeal, instant mashed potatoes, ramen, canned vegetables, fruit, soups, beans, tuna, cereal, white rice, plus household goods like toilet paper, bar soap, toothbrushes, travel-size toiletries, and baby supplies. Donations can be dropped off at the church or given through the giving portal.
Vacation Bible School is another major community touchpoint. Each summer, VBS draws children and families from across the area for a free week of Bible lessons, music, crafts, games, snacks, and friendships. Recent themes have included Magnified and Illumination Station.
What Eastgate Believes
Eastgate's statement of faith is drawn from the Baptist Faith and Message and centers on a set of core doctrines that the church says shape its teaching and ministry.
The Bible is the Word of God, written by human authors under the supernatural inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and is the supreme source of truth for faith and life. There is one true and living God, existing eternally in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - equal in every divine perfection. God created all things for His glory, and human beings, made in His image as male and female, are the crown of His creation.
Salvation is by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification are all gifts of God, and a believer's eternal security rests on His grace and power, not on human effort. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, symbolizing death to sin and resurrection to new life; it is a prerequisite for church membership. The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of worship that looks back to Christ's death and forward to His return.
The church is described as an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant, observing baptism and the Lord's Supper, and governed by Scripture. The scriptural officers are pastor or elder and deacons, and the office of pastor or elder is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. Jesus will one day return personally and visibly to judge the earth, and heaven and hell are real, eternal places.
The church also affirms the Great Commission as the duty of every believer, believes in the priesthood of the believer and the separation of church and state, and holds that marriage is the lifelong covenant union of one man and one woman and that gender is a divine gift of two complementary expressions.
Meet Pastor Jerome Taylor
Pastor Jerome Taylor has served as the pastor and elder of Eastgate Baptist Church since the summer of 2013. A native of Mississippi, he has made Michigan his home and the focus of his ministry for many years. He and his wife, Melinda, whom he married in 2004, are the parents of four children.
Jerome earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and History from William Carey College in 2003 and completed his Master of Divinity at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2025. Since entering ministry in 1999, he has served in churches and ministry settings across the United States and internationally. He also serves as the Associational Mission Strategist with the Genesee Baptist Association, helping equip and strengthen local congregations for effective gospel ministry, and partners in mission work with fellow Great Commission Baptists through the Southern Baptist Convention.
His heart, he says, is to lead and equip generations of people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. He is passionate about preaching the Scriptures, identifying servant-leaders, and helping the gospel transform lives throughout the community. Outside of ministry, Jerome enjoys reading, coffee, baseball, football, music, movies, and collecting fountain pens, books, bobbleheads, and historic memorabilia.
Plan a Visit
Anyone who wants to visit Eastgate can fill out a Plan a Visit form online or simply show up on a Sunday morning. The address is 4226 East Atherton Road in Burton. Connection Groups for all ages begin at 9:30 a.m., and the Worship Gathering starts at 11:00 a.m. Services are livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person, sermons are archived online, and prayer requests, questions, and messages can be sent through the contact form or to connect@eastgatebaptist.org. The church can also be reached by phone at 810-742-5600.