Ginter Park Baptist Church, on the northern edge of Richmond, Virginia, has spent more than a century offering a steady, progressive Baptist witness in a city shaped by rivers and railroads, by congregations both historic and new. The congregation now gathers at 2301 Hilliard Road, Suite 8, after years of transition that included selling its longtime home at the corner of Brook Road and Laburnum Avenue. That sense of change and rootedness at the same time is a fair summary of the church: a hundred-year-old Baptist body that continues to ask how the historic Christian tradition can speak to the city it lives in. The church is known for its Weekend Backpack Ministry, its commitment to welcoming every person without exception, and for a Rule of Life that the congregation wrote and lives by together.
All of You Are Welcome Here, All of You Is Welcome Here
Open and Affirming is not a side note for Ginter Park Baptist; it sits at the center of how the congregation describes itself. The church states, "All of you are welcome here, all of you is welcome here," and the Rule of Life states that members commit to practicing "radical acceptance and welcome of all persons, affirming them as created in the image of God and as beloved of God." Ginter Park Baptist Church welcomes and values people of every race, gender assigned at birth, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, age, physical and mental ability, national origin, economic station, and political ideology to full participation in the life of the community. This includes serving in all areas of leadership, receiving Holy Communion, Baptism, Marriage, and Ordination.
The church describes itself as a community of faith that strives to build relationships among its own people and the wider community, and as part of the Body of Christ in the world, valuing diversity and inclusivity, including ecumenical and interfaith partners. This welcome shows up in the way worship is planned, in the partnerships the church keeps, and in the priorities of the budget.
A Rule of Life for a New Millennium
Few Baptist congregations write their own Rule of Life. Ginter Park Baptist did, drawing on Marjorie Thompson's definition in Soulfeast: "A rule of life is a pattern of spiritual disciplines that provide structure and direction for growth in holiness.... It fosters gifts of the Spirit in personal life and human community, helping to form us into the persons God intends us to be." The congregation's Rule is not a list of doctrines to believe or rules to obey but a way of guiding the life of the church as followers of Jesus and a lens through which to view decisions, order actions, and reflect on outcomes.
The Rule commits disciples, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to:
- Practice radical acceptance and welcome of all persons, affirming them as created in the image of God and as beloved of God.
- Build relationships among themselves and throughout the community in a commitment to shared mission and common life.
- Serve Richmond neighbors and the wider world, working toward the dismantling of oppressive systems and serving with those whose lives seek transformation.
- Engage in learning as a lifelong pursuit, acknowledging complexity and embracing mystery while seeking, giving, and receiving truths in humility.
- Operate with a culture of generosity, trusting in the abundance of God and refusing to operate with a scarcity mentality.
- Be accountable to one another, speaking out when necessary and asking awkward questions that may upset the status quo.
- Live their lives as a conversation with God in a commitment to personal spiritual practices.
- Extend grace to themselves, to one another, and to all those whose paths they cross whenever they fall short.
Anyone wishing to identify with the community is asked to commit to this Rule of Life, which the congregation understands as a description of values and character traits rather than a creedal test.
Sunday Mornings: Centering Music at 10:20, Worship at 10:30
Worship at Ginter Park Baptist is the steady rhythm around which the congregation turns. The church subscribes to the free church tradition and is not bound to any denominational style or creed. Scripture texts are primarily drawn from the Revised Common Lectionary, and worship planning is a joint effort of the ministerial staff and lay leaders. Each Sunday begins with ten minutes of centering music and prayer at 10:20 AM, followed by worship at 10:30 AM. The church describes worship in terms that ring familiar to anyone who has spent time in a free church setting: "To worship someone or something is to ascribe worth to that person or object. When we take time to worship God, we are saying that God is worthy of our time and attention."
Worship is explicitly hybrid, with the same hour offered on Zoom and in person. The Zoom meeting ID is 804 359 2475, and a dial-in number (301 945 8592) is also provided so that anyone who prefers a phone connection can join. Masks are optional for those physically present, virtual participants are brought in as active participants rather than passive observers, and "in all things, grace and love." The church states, "Whether you prefer to dress in 'Sunday best' or be comfortable and casual, you are welcome in this space."
Recent Sunday services have worked steadily through Genesis and the gospel of Matthew, drawing on the lectionary's long arc. Recent proclaimers have included Senior Pastor Anita Laffoon, Don Polaski (Associate Professor at Randolph-Macon College and Hebrew and Old Testament scholar), Sandra Polaski, Melissa Jackson, and Bill Nieporte, each of whom has brought a different voice to a particular Sunday. Sermon titles in recent months have ranged from "Wrestle" on Genesis 32:9 to "Cold as Go" on Matthew 15:21-28, from "Marching Orders," "Sinners, Saints and Fools," "Any Dream Will Do," and "Happy Dance" on Easter morning.
The Pastors and Staff
Rev. Dr. Anita Laffoon was called as Senior Pastor in July of 2022. She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Randolph-Macon College, a Master of Divinity from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, and a Doctor of Ministry from the Campbell University Divinity School with a focus on hospitality in shared sacred spaces. She was ordained in 2011 by Cornerstone Christian Church, and her professional experience is quite ecumenical; she has also served in Episcopal, Methodist, and Baptist congregations. Visitors reach her through the church office.
Rev. Frederick D. Horn has served as accompanist since February of 2017. Originally from Kentucky, he holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Morehead State University and a Master of Church Music Degree with a secondary major in Preschool and Early Elementary Music Education from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also holds a post-graduate certification with specific studies in Music Therapy in Worship from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. Fred has served congregations in Kentucky, Indiana, and Virginia since 1983. Outside the church, he teaches elementary music with Hanover County Public Schools and plays piano with the Reflections Big Band; he can frequently be found with adults and adults in a variety of musical theater capacities in the Hanover community and continues to serve as a choral clinician and conference leader in various musical settings. He and his wife Lisa have been married since 1987 and have one grown daughter, Abby, along with her husband Jake and their sons Mason and Parker, who reside in South Carolina.
The two pastors work alongside a part-time Church Administrator and a wider circle of lay volunteers who lead small groups, teach classes, pack backpacks, and plan worship.
The Weekend Backpack Ministry
The Weekend Backpack Ministry is the ministry most associated with Ginter Park Baptist, the work that the church talks about with the most pride, and the place where most new volunteers cut their teeth. The mission of the program is to feed local children so they may learn, grow, and make good decisions. Through the program, students receive backpacks of nutritious food over the weekends and during holidays when free and reduced-price breakfasts and lunches are not available. The church quietly encourages the school staff and offers the support of the community as they teach and counsel.
In 2014, Ginter Park Baptist began its partnership with the MICAH Initiative and Frances W. McClenney Elementary School, formerly Ginter Park Elementary School. In the first year, the church provided backpacks of food for three students for the school year. The number grew to 15 the next year, doubled to 30 the third, and by the 2022-2023 school year the program supported 36 students. The rhythm of the work has stayed simple: volunteers from the church shop for supplies and keep the shelves stocked, members of all ages pack the food each Wednesday evening, and a driver takes the bags of food to the school each week. The church raises money through fundraisers at local restaurants, donations for brown paper grocery bags, and direct contributions.
The Backpack Ministry is rooted in a community of relationships rather than a transaction. Members have written about their own childhood experiences of reduced lunch programs, about teachers who quietly identified which children were going hungry over the weekend, and about the way the church has been welcomed by the school staff. The work has been built "because there is an us"; the money collected a year in advance determines how many children will receive food each weekend.
A Network of Partners Near and Far
Although Ginter Park Baptist is an autonomous Baptist congregation, it cooperates with a wide network of Baptist, ecumenical, and interfaith partners. The congregation's yearly budget supports twelve named ministry partners, and the relationships are not just financial. Several members serve on boards, several staff and laypeople volunteer alongside the organizations, and many of the partners host the church for retreats, occasions, or shared advocacy.
The Baptist partners include the River City Faith Network, the church's local Baptist association. In 1951 the Richmond Baptist Association was organized in the sanctuary of Ginter Park Baptist Church; in 2014 the association was renamed the River City Faith Network. Other Baptist partners are the Alliance of Baptists, a progressive movement valuing ecumenism, racial reconciliation, full inclusion and affirmation of differing sexual orientation, affirming men and women in ministry, peacemaking, and ecological and social justice; the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, both nationally and in Virginia, a network helping people put their faith to practice through ministry efforts, missions, and a community of support; Baptist Women in Ministry, which the church supports by participating in the BWIM Month of Preaching; the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, Bautistas por la paz, the largest network of Baptist peacemakers in the world; the Baptist World Alliance, which the church supports after the SBC withdrew funding from it; and Sophia Seminary, an embodied community of learners committed to God as revealed in Jesus Christ. The congregation's own Weekend Backpack Ministry is also listed as a ministry partner.
The non-Baptist partners include JourneyPartners, an ecumenical and interfaith not-for-profit working in education, clean water, and health in Zimbabwe; Richmond Hill, an ecumenical Christian residential community and retreat center that has hosted the church for several church-wide retreats; Richmond Public Schools Education Foundation, which supports music and arts, college readiness, teacher training, after-school programming, and more; Side by Side, a Richmond-based non-profit dedicated to creating supportive communities where Virginia's LGBTQ+ youth can define themselves, belong, and flourish, with whom the church has a long-running relationship that began with volunteers providing a monthly meal for a support group and grew into ongoing financial support; and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, a non-partisan coalition of 700 faith communities and 1,000 clergy working to advocate for economic, racial, and social justice in Virginia through education, prayer, and action. Each year during the General Assembly in January, VICPP sponsors Days for All People, an advocacy week engaging people of faith and goodwill.
The church has also joined in prayer with other churches across Metro Richmond through Richmond Hill's Metro Richmond at Prayer initiative, praying together weekly for the people of the metropolitan city. Additional service opportunities include providing meals monthly for the LGBTQ youth support groups at Side by Side, providing meals quarterly for the homeless men and women at the Oregon Hill Baptist Center, and supporting ACTS, Area Churches Together in Service, a non-profit providing emergency financial assistance as a way of "closing the door on homelessness."
Spiritual Formation During the Week
Spiritual formation at Ginter Park Baptist is built around the conviction that "spiritual disciplines are vital if we wish to live in such a way that our individual lives and our shared life together reflect the life of Christ in the world." Drawing on Richard J. Foster's framework in Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, the congregation names inward disciplines such as prayer and study, outward disciplines such as simplicity and service, and corporate disciplines such as confession and worship. These are not about earning favor with God or impressing others but about equipping the congregation to live into the highest ideals of the faith as taught by Jesus.
The church supports spiritual formation through daily and weekly prayer resources, service opportunities, discipleship small groups, weekly worship, and regular opportunities for exploring the teachings of scripture throughout the week. Sunday mornings from 9 to 10 AM, a discussion-based class meets before worship. On Thursday mornings from 10 to 11:30 AM, Don Polaski, Associate Professor at Randolph-Macon College and Hebrew and Old Testament scholar, leads a class that also spends time enjoying coffee, snacks, fellowship, and prayer. Both classes can be joined in person or via Zoom. Weeknight studies are also offered, with time, location, and topics changing frequently.
In a special summer Zoom series on Wednesdays from 7 to 8 PM, the church has invited a diverse group of scholars to share different perspectives on the Lord's Prayer to help the community approach it with new intention. Past special emphases have included the New York Times bestseller White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, which the congregation read together starting in June 2020 as part of an ongoing conversation about race and racial justice.
From the Brook Road Sanctuary to a New Home on Hilliard Road
The Ginter Park Baptist Church most long-time neighbors knew for a century stood at the corner of Brook Road and Laburnum Avenue. That building is no longer the church's. On June 5, 2016, the members of Ginter Park Baptist Church made the difficult decision to list for sale the property on the corner of Brook Road and Laburnum Avenue. The building had served the congregation well for most of its hundred-year history, but the cost of upkeep and the changing shape of the surrounding neighborhood pointed the church toward new possibilities.
The centennial itself arrived in October 2016, marked by a service titled "Honoring Our Heritage" and a season of "Living into Our Future." The anniversary team organized a weekend of events, including a 100 for 100 Mission Collection of 100 school supplies to give to Frances W. McClenney Elementary School (then still Ginter Park Elementary), connecting the celebration to the school's neighborhood children the next in a partnership that continues to this day.
For several years, the church used a temporary space at the Early Center of Union Presbyterian Seminary at 3401 Brook Road in Richmond. In April 2026, the congregation announced that the first worship service in a new permanent home would be held on May 3, and the new address is 2301 Hilliard Road, Suite 8, in Richmond's 23228 zip code. The decision was framed as "putting down new roots and looking forward to what comes next." Hybrid worship continued through the transition; masks were optional for those physically present, and virtual participants continued to be welcomed as active participants in the service. The mailing address for the church remains PO Box 26546, Richmond, VA 23261-6546.
A Hundred Years and Counting
The Weekend Backpack Ministry has grown by leaps and bounds since it first began. The church has cooperated with Brookings, the Alliance of Baptists, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship for decades. Members have begun wearing new stoles, singing new songs, and packing new backpacks. The Rule of Life has begun its second generation of members who can recite it from memory. And the church has begun "living into our future" in a new space at 2301 Hilliard Road. Through every chapter of the church's life, the same words recur, that all of you are welcome here, and all of you is welcome here.