Worship and Bible Study in Northwest Goldsboro
Faith Free Will Baptist Church sits at 1200 West Grantham Street in northwest Goldsboro, North Carolina, on the southwest corner of the intersection of I-795 and Highway 70. The congregation's motto, "Loving God, Loving People," appears alongside the recurring phrase "Find grace among friends," a phrase that captures the welcoming tone the pastors and congregation aim to set for every visitor and every member of the church family.
Sunday is the heart of the weekly rhythm. Sunday School gathers at 9:30 AM in classrooms spread across the campus for every age group. The morning worship service begins at 10:30 AM in the church sanctuary. A second Bible study meets in the sanctuary at 5:00 PM, giving the day a deliberate shape of teaching, praise, and reflection. The Wednesday program follows at 6:30 PM, with Bible study for adults in the sanctuary, a student ministry gathering in the Teen Room on the second floor of the Ministry Center, and a children's program in the Fellowship Hall on the first floor of the Ministry Center.
All services are available on the church's Facebook page, kept online for thirty days, and on the church's YouTube channel, so members who travel, are ill, or simply cannot attend in person can follow along. A podcast, the Faith Audio Podcast, carries sermons as well, and a Vimeo channel preserves a video archive of services and events under the username faithfwbc.
What a First-Time Visitor Finds
Faith Church treats the first visit as an event worth preparing for. Volunteers and ushers greet everyone at the door, point out seating, and direct families to the right classrooms or nurseries. They will also show visitors the restrooms and water fountains. Parking is simple: the main entrance is accessible from any space on the campus, so there is no need to remember a specific lot.
What to wear is up to the guest. The church explains, "We want you to be comfortable while you are visiting, so what you wear is your choice. You can dress up or dress down, either way is totally acceptable." Worship itself is described as dynamic, with messages from Senior Pastor Christian Powell that are biblically grounded and aimed at practical, everyday application. "Pastor Christian's messages are based solidly on Biblical teaching together with practical application, and will guide you toward growing in your faith and applying God's Word to your family, job, and life."
Sunday School offers classes for every age, and dedicated children's programs run during the same hours so that parents can focus on the service knowing their children are being taught in age-appropriate ways. The church's motto for newcomers is simple: "No matter who you are or what you've done, you can find grace among friends at Faith Church."
Children and Students at Faith
The children's ministry at Faith Church treats children as the precious people Jesus called them in Matthew 19:14. Classes and activities are designed to be safe, comprehensive, and caring for children and parents alike. Children of all ages learn, live out their faith, experience acceptance, and have fun. The church explains its purpose this way: "Faith Church desires to come alongside you as a parent, assisting your children as they discover the bright hope and future we have in Jesus Christ." Through the relevant teaching of God's Word and a godly, loving example, the church works to help each child mature in faith and live it out. Children's Pastor Josiah Falero leads this work.
Faith YTH, the student ministry, invests in middle and high school students week by week through group activities, Bible studies, and community service opportunities. The students meet on Wednesday nights for a time of worship and learning from God's Word. The leaders are "passionate about leading middle and high school students to love God with their whole hearts and be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives." The goal is to equip young people to live lives that honor and reflect Christ so that they might reach others for His glory. The student ministry keeps an active Instagram presence at @faith._.yth for updates, encouragement, and connection, and Student Pastor Jonathon Cribb oversees the work.
Adults, Keenagers, and the Rhythm of Community
Faith offers several adult ministry opportunities designed to help adults grow in faith alongside others. The vision is to create environments where adults in similar stages and phases of life can develop authentic relationships with one another while being encouraged to see how God's truth intersects with their everyday lives. The church explains, "Our adult ministry programs all center on gathering as a community around the Word of God and living lives modeled after Christ." The goal of every adult ministry at the church is to help challenge participants to live out their faith while impacting others with the power and truth of the Gospel, anchored in the promise of Matthew 18:20 that where two or three are gathered in His name, He is in the midst of them.
The Keenagers, the senior adults ministry, meets monthly from September through May with food, fellowship, and preaching from God's Word, and the group travels together to several different places throughout the year. The name captures the spirit of older adults who remain keen, sharp, and engaged, and is paired with the conviction of Job 12:12 that "with the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding." Anyone is welcome to come join the group for any of the monthly meetings or trips.
Music Ministry
The music ministry at Faith Church exists for four stated purposes: to praise the Lord and Savior for the gift of salvation; to provide opportunity for the congregation to worship through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; to give those with God-given musical ability a way to serve Him with that gift; and to share the story of Jesus Christ with the lost. Music Pastor Ethan Phillips leads this work. The ministry's scriptural foundation spans Psalm 66:16, Ephesians 5:19, Psalm 95:1, and Psalm 40:3, suggesting a worship practice that draws from historic hymnody and accessible, contemporary song. The combination is meant to lift up the congregation, give skilled musicians a place to serve, and carry the gospel to those who have not yet heard.
World Missions
Faith Church takes seriously Christ's command to "Go" into all the world and preach the gospel to every person. Through Faith Missions, the church's own sending agency, the congregation seeks to evangelize the unreached people of the world, to edify new believers into spiritual maturity, to establish autonomous local churches, and to enlist nationals to assume leadership roles in new churches.
The scope of this work is significant. Fourteen missionaries have been called out of the Faith congregation for missionary service, and the church faithfully supports more than sixty missionaries and outside evangelistic ministries. Ten of those missionaries have been sent out through Faith Missions itself, both within the United States and around the world. Members of Faith are encouraged to participate through fervent prayer, sacrificial giving, and personal going. Many have traveled on short-term mission trips, and the church describes the resulting life change as one of the most visible fruits of the missions program. Whether a person is called to a career of mission service, a short-term trip, or the quieter work of supporting missionaries through prayer and finances, there is a place to be involved. Missions Pastor Hemant Patel coordinates this global work.
Faith Christian Academy
Sharing the campus with the church is Faith Christian Academy, a K-12 school dedicated to the education of the whole child. FCA assists parents by providing quality spiritual, academic, social, and extra-curricular programs that encourage young people to achieve their individual best for the Kingdom of God. Morgan Moser, M.Ed., serves as Head of School, with Jennifer Prahl as the middle and high school principal and Kristi Ellis as the elementary principal. The school is an extension of the church's investment in the next generation, weaving academic preparation with biblical teaching and a supportive community.
What the Church Believes
Faith Church's mission is to honor Jesus Christ supremely and to make disciples who make disciples, grounded in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
The doctrinal core of the church is set out in a series of statements.
The church believes the Bible to be the revealed Word of God, fully and verbally inspired, inerrant and infallible, found within the sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation. God not only inspired every word but has preserved them through the ages, anchored in passages such as Psalm 12:6-7, 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 1 Peter 1:23-25, and 2 Peter 1:19-21.
The church believes in one God, eternal, self-existent, infinite, and immutable, who has one nature, one essence, and one substance, and who manifests Himself to humanity in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The church believes that the church began with the calling out of the twelve apostles by Jesus Christ and was empowered on the day of Pentecost. The local church is composed of members who have been saved and baptized according to the command of Christ and have voluntarily united for worship, fellowship, service, and the observance of the ordinances of baptism and communion. All true believers will be taken up at the rapture, just prior to the tribulation.
The church believes Jesus Christ to be the one and only Savior of mankind, eternally God, possessing all the attributes of Deity. He was virgin-born, God incarnate, and the purposes of the incarnation were to reveal God, to redeem men, and to rule over God's kingdom. Jesus Christ never relinquished any attributes of His Deity, but merely veiled them. He lived a perfect, sinless life, at the end of which He was offered for all mankind as a substitutionary sacrifice for man's sin. This sacrifice was a just payment to God for the forgiveness of sin, activated by His death through the shedding of His blood on the cross and accepted by God upon His resurrection. He ascended into Heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father and is waiting for the time of receiving His church at the rapture, which is followed by His return seven years later to earth to rule and reign as King for one thousand years.
The church believes that all men were born with an inherited sin nature received from our common ancestor, Adam. Because of his nature, man is a sinner by choice and is totally incapable of reforming himself or ceasing from his sin by his own power. The only hope of deliverance is a total change of mind about sin and a turning to Jesus Christ as the only Savior. Only through the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross can a man be delivered from his sin. All who reject Jesus Christ as their Savior are already condemned to an eternity in the lake of fire.
The church believes in a literal interpretation of Scripture. As such, the church teaches that believers are living in the end times, believes in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church followed by seven years of tribulation, believes in the pre-millennial return of Christ to the earth resulting in His rule for one thousand years, and looks forward to the Great White Throne judgment and a new heaven and new earth that follow.
The Pastoral Team
Senior Pastor Christian Powell preaches the weekly messages and provides the overall vision for the church. Craig Taylor serves as Executive Pastor, supporting the church's operations and ministry coordination. Walter Sloan leads outreach, building connections with the surrounding community and the broader region. Hemant Patel serves as Missions Pastor, coordinating the congregation's significant global work. Alex Williams leads the Spanish ministry, which extends the church's reach to Spanish-speaking families in and around Goldsboro. Ethan Phillips directs the music ministry, and Jonathon Cribb oversees the student ministry as Student Pastor. Josiah Falero serves as Children's Pastor, caring for the youngest members of the church family from nursery through elementary ages. At Faith Christian Academy, Morgan Moser, M.Ed., serves as Head of School, with Jennifer Prahl as the middle and high school principal and Kristi Ellis as the elementary principal.
Languages and Communication
Services are conducted in English, and the church maintains a Spanish ministry led by Pastor Alex Williams. Church information is fully translated into Spanish, Romanian, Hindi, and Swahili, making service times, beliefs, staff, and contact accessible to speakers of those languages. The Spanish-language version invites visitors to Sunday School at 9:30 AM, Sunday worship at 10:30 AM and 5:00 PM, and Wednesday Bible study, reflecting the same weekly rhythm available in English.
The church stays connected through several social channels: Facebook at faithchurchgboro, Instagram at faithgboro, YouTube, and Twitter at faithgboro. The Faith Audio Podcast on Buzzsprout carries the sermon ministry to listeners on the go, and a Vimeo channel preserves additional video content. A prayer request form on the contact page allows anyone to share a prayer need with the staff, who commit to bringing those requests before the Lord during the week. Anyone who makes a decision for Christ through the church's ministry is invited to reach out so a team member can follow up, provide a Bible, and help with next steps in the new relationship with Jesus.
The Gospel at the Heart of the Church
For anyone exploring what it means to follow Jesus, the church lays out a four-step presentation. First, recognize your condition: in order to find the way to eternal life with God, a person must admit they are lost in sin. Since Adam and Eve, a sin nature has been present in all people, as Romans 3:23 teaches, and the wage of sin is death, as Romans 6:23 teaches. Second, religion and good works are not the answer: religions try to create their own ways to God, but they cannot bridge the gap created by sin. Salvation is by grace through faith, as Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches, and not by works. Third, the good news: even though people were lost and separated from God, He loved them, and because He is love, He sent His Son to die on the cross and rise again three days later, as John 3:16 and Romans 5:8 teach. Jesus became the payment for sin and took the place of sinners as their substitute. Fourth, repent and believe to receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ: a person must turn from sin and from self-effort, place full trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life, and call upon the name of the Lord, as Romans 10:13 promises.
The church invites anyone who has just trusted Christ to call 919-734-8700 so a team member can provide a Bible and other materials to help with the new relationship.
Giving, Events, and Continued Connection
Online giving is available through the church's giving page, allowing members and supporters to give from anywhere. A merchandise store operated through Spreadshop allows supporters to purchase clothing and other items branded with the church's identity. The events page links to the church's sign-up system for upcoming activities, and a calendar of weekly and special events is maintained for the congregation.
Faith Free Will Baptist Church is part of the Free Will Baptist tradition, a family of churches known for evangelism, missions, and a clear biblical witness. In Goldsboro, that tradition takes the form of a busy, multi-generational congregation with deep local roots, a global missions footprint, a school, a podcast, a social media presence, and a calendar that fills the week with opportunities to learn, serve, and worship together. The church is easy to find at the southwest corner of I-795 and Highway 70, and the people of Faith look forward to welcoming anyone who comes through the doors.