A Gospel-Centered Community in the Heart of Bowie
Grace Baptist Church sits on Race Track Road in Bowie, Maryland, in the fast-growing Prince George's County corridor between the Beltway and Annapolis. From that single address and a second property just down the road called Jireh Place, the church has spent more than six decades shaping one consistent identity: a loving, gospel-centered community of believers whose motto is to make disciples that love God and people.
Members come from all over the world, and the church celebrates the variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that each person brings, including differences in age, race, income levels, and political views. From the outside, it may look as if they have nothing in common. The one thing that unites them is Jesus Christ, who brings them together in love, purpose, and mission.
From a Bowie Rancher to a 60-Year Ministry
The story of Grace Baptist Church began in 1964, when Pastor Jack Dean, his wife Maxine, and their daughter Jackie left a thriving ministry in Texas to pastor a small church meeting in a house in the newly planned community of Bowie, Maryland. A small rancher on Belair Drive and Shelter Lane served as the first chapel that year.
The church quickly outgrew the little rancher and purchased the house behind it as well. Soon both houses were bursting at the seams, with every available space used for classes and ministries. In 1965, the congregation broke ground on its current Race Track Road property, and just six months later, in 1966, the building was dedicated. For the next thirteen years, the church continued to thrive, and the message of Jesus Christ crucified, risen, and coming again was faithfully preached.
In December 1979, Pastor Jack Dean went home to be with the Lord, a shocking and sorrowful time for the church. God was faithful in providing Pastor David Price, who led Grace for the next twenty-seven years through a season of great influence in the community, multiple building expansion projects, and a growing passion for reaching the world through global missions.
In 2008, Pastor Steve Lane became the third senior pastor. His leadership and compassion for people helped spread the gospel in the community through various support groups that offer healing and hope. In 2012, Pastor Lane was called to serve as a full-time chaplain in Texas. Since then, a team of pastors has worked together to lead the church and establish overall ministry goals. Their vision today is to see Christ followers living a life of worship, a life on mission, a life of service, and doing life together with the family of God.
A Team Approach to Preaching and Pastoral Leadership
On Sundays, the congregation usually hears a message from either Pastor Mark or Pastor Brady. They take turns preaching, each bringing a unique style and personality, both with a deep love for the gospel at the heart of every message. Every so often, one of the other pastors or a visiting missionary preaches too.
The pastoral team includes Brady Wolcott, Pastor of Discipleship and Teaching; Mark Tanious, Pastor of Preaching and Vision; Jamie Miller, Pastor of Children and Administration; Bill Blackford, Pastor of Students; Tim Mull, Pastor in Residence; and Golden Aina, Pastoral Assistant. A board of elders, Bryce Blackford, Jim Guidry, Ray McAllister, James McCall, Ken St. Cyr, and Mike Yeager, provides spiritual oversight, while a team of deacons cares for benevolence, ordinances, the safety team, support groups, the Toolbox Ministry, and the Grace Christian School liaison. Susan Toczylowski directs the nursery, Cindy Yeager leads the music ministry, Eunice Abutan supports children's ministry, and Dorothea Harrison serves as the church's biblical counselor.
The Sunday Rhythm: Worship, Classes, and Kids
Sunday morning at Grace is built around three overlapping rhythms that run from 8:45 a.m. to noon. The first hour, 9:00 to 10:15 a.m., is filled with Sunday morning classes for all ages, the second is a corporate worship service from 10:30 to 11:50 a.m., and the third is the time after the service when people linger at the Welcome Center.
The Sunday worship service is a time when the whole church family gathers to sing, pray, and hear a sermon from the pastor. Every month the church celebrates communion, and on occasion baptisms and child dedications take place during the same gathering. After the service, anyone visiting for the first time can stop by the Welcome Center and pick up a gift.
The preaching is expository. The pastors start with a Bible passage and walk through the meaning verse by verse, providing historical context, commentary, and examples to make the passage clear. The goal is to help listeners see the meaning of the text and gain a better understanding of who God is and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The music is deliberately multi-generational. On any given Sunday, the congregation may sing a traditional hymn, a contemporary worship song, and even an original composition. The intent is for Jesus, not musical preference, to be what brings the church together.
Expository Preaching and Multi-Generational Music
The worship style reflects a congregation that intentionally wants to span generations rather than cater to one. The music is led by a team of singers, a choir, and a band that rehearse throughout the week. Lead singers rehearse Thursday evenings from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m. and again Sunday mornings from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. The choir meets Thursday evenings from 6:45 to 8:15 p.m. and sings from the platform before the service on Sunday mornings. The band rehearses Thursday evenings from 8:15 to 9:30 p.m. and plays during the 10:30 a.m. service.
The service is also shaped by the prayers of the church family, the celebration of baptism when new believers share their testimonies, and child dedication services for parents who want to publicly commit to raising their children in the Christian faith.
Two Campuses: The Main Building and Jireh Place
Grace Baptist Church operates out of two connected properties in Bowie, both within a few minutes of each other. The main campus at 7210 Race Track Road holds the sanctuary, offices, classrooms, libraries, resource rooms, gym, and kitchen. Most Sunday ministries, classes, and events meet here.
The second building, Jireh Place, sits at 3121 Trinity Drive. It is the home base for many small groups, the U-Turn middle school ministry, the 24/7 high school ministry, the Moms of Grace gatherings, the Precept Bible studies, and the Grace Gives Food Ministry distribution center. Special events such as the Community Christmas Celebration, the Grace Gives Car Wash, and the Block Party also happen at Jireh Place.
Children and Students: From Nursery to High School
Grace is committed to partnering with parents to make disciples, and the church has built a layered environment that walks a child from the newborn nursery all the way through senior year of high school.
For infants and toddlers, the Newborn, Crawler, and Toddler nurseries are open Sundays from 8:45 a.m. to noon in Rooms 107, 108, and 109. Parents sign their children in and receive a numbered pager; volunteers text or buzz the pager if any issue needs attention.
Children ages two through kindergarten gather for Children's Church during the 10:30 a.m. service, with classes for 2-3 year olds in Room 120, 4 year olds in Room 125, and kindergartners in Room 121. Sunday School classes for the same age group meet from 9:00 to 10:15 a.m.
Grace Kids, for 1st through 5th graders, has its own worship service in the gym during the 10:30 a.m. hour, with songs, group activities, and a lesson from God's Word. The Kids Choir rehearses on Sundays from 5:00 to 5:45 p.m. and occasionally performs in the adult worship service.
Awana Clubs meet Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m. during the school year for children ages 2 through 5th grade. The Puggles (age 2), Cubbies (ages 3-4), Sparks (K-2nd), and T&T (3rd-5th) clubs rotate through game time, handbook time, council time, and awards.
Middle schoolers (grades 6-8) meet at Jireh Place for U-Turn on Sundays from 6:00 to 7:45 p.m. U-Turn is a discipleship environment with games, food, Bible study, community groups, and worship. Small groups are created by gender and grade level, giving leaders the chance to really connect with each student.
High schoolers (grades 9-12) meet at Jireh Place for 24/7 on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. The program encourages students to get connected to a caring group that will disciple, train, and challenge them to live for God around the clock. Students also participate in fun events throughout the year and summer mission trips.
Special Needs Ministry: Fifteen Years and Counting
Grace has reached out to families with special needs for more than fifteen years, building what the church describes as a holistic ministry that provides spiritual, physical, and emotional care. A staff of passionate leaders and a core group of volunteers work together to make the gospel message of Jesus Christ accessible to people of all abilities and to equip individuals with disabilities and their families to become full participants in the body of Christ.
The Special Needs Ministry is active on Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to noon. First-time guests are met at the Welcome Center and connected with a ministry leader who can assist throughout the morning. Caregivers serve alongside participants during the Sunday school hour, during the worship service, and through the week. Three core leaders - Don Jillson, Emily Kendall, and Jeanne Williams - coordinate volunteers, serve one-on-one, and help families with special needs feel welcomed and cared for.
Sunday Morning Classes and the TLIC Discipleship Path
Every Sunday at 9:00 a.m., the church offers a range of adult classes that rotate by semester. Offerings include The Gospel Project, a three-year chronological journey through Scripture; a marriage class using Paul Tripp's book; studies in Isaiah, 2 Corinthians, and the Minor Prophets; a women's class called Women in the Word; and a young adult class on enjoying life with God. Middle and high school students meet together in Room 116 with Pastor Bill Blackford.
For those who want to go deeper, the To Live Is Christ (TLIC) Discipleship Class offers a four-book sequence that walks through identity in Christ, the lordship of Christ, the process of spiritual formation, and the grand narrative of redemption. Book 1 is ideal for new believers, new members, and those still seeking to understand the Christian faith. The series also feeds a blog, TLIC, that extends the teaching throughout the week.
Small Groups: The Heart of the Church's Discipleship
The Christian life is meant to be done together, and the small group ministry is the primary way the church lives that conviction. Groups meet in homes, at the church, in public places, and on Zoom, and they typically follow the weekly sermon questions. Some groups focus on specific studies relevant to their members.
More than thirty small groups meet across the week. Monday offers a women's group led by Cindy Yeager, a men's group led by Pastor Jamie Miller, a married couples' group led by Mike and Donna Burr, a women's group led by Regina Hanson, and several others across the area. Tuesday includes a men's group led by Pastor Mark Tanious and a women's group led by Joy Wolcott. Wednesday and Thursday host morning and evening groups for women and men, including a Thursday men's group led by Pastor Brady Wolcott. Saturday features a 7:00 a.m. men's group at Jireh Place, and Sunday includes a 5:00 p.m. women's group and a 6:00 p.m. married couples' group.
For those who want to start a group of their own, the church runs an online Leadership Training with six lessons, each with a short quiz, on mission, values, structure, group life, and reading and interpreting the Bible. Potential leaders can also contact Pastor Brady at bwolcott@gbcbowie.org.
Other Community Groups and Support Ministries
Beyond the weekly small groups, the church hosts several ministries that meet at specific rhythms throughout the year. Moms of Grace gathers every other Friday at 9:30 a.m. at Jireh Place during the school year for breakfast, games, speakers, workshops, and social events, with childcare available for infants through age five and homeschoolers. There is also a private Moms of Grace Facebook group where moms ask questions, share resources, and find babysitters.
Precept Bible Study meets on Thursdays in the fall and winter to walk through Genesis (and later books of the Bible) using an inductive method built on observation, interpretation, and application. Thursday morning classes meet at Jireh Place with nursery available; Thursday evening classes meet in Room 100 at the main campus.
Ambassador's Bible Study is a Tuesday morning gathering at 10:30 a.m. for seniors who want to enjoy breakfast and dig into Scripture together.
Support groups include Divorce Care and GriefShare, both meeting on Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m.; Single and Parenting and Heart of the Caregiver, both on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m.; and Empty Cradle, a scheduled counseling ministry for parents who have suffered pregnancy or infant loss.
Grace Gives Food Ministry: Meeting Physical Needs
The Grace Gives Food Ministry is one of the most visible ways the church serves Bowie and the surrounding community. Each Saturday from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m., the ministry recovers food from local stores that would otherwise go to waste and distributes it to people in the local community and within the church. Distribution happens at Jireh Place by appointment, and people can register for a time slot, then come and shop for milk, bread, vegetables, fruits, canned goods, and pre-made dinners, all for free.
Volunteers are needed to sort and prep food, greet and pray for guests, pick up donations, and handle administrative duties. A storage box outside the front doors of Jireh Place collects shelf-stable donations, and the ministry partners with regional food banks in its work.
Pastoral Internship: Preparing Men to Plant and Revitalize Churches
Grace runs a Pastoral Internship Program designed to help men grow in character, competence, and commitment to spread the fame of Jesus among the nations. The internship is a part-time ministry position targeting about twenty hours per week, with a stipend of $800 per month.
Interns must be members of the church. They take part in major church events, attend all-day Wednesday staff meetings each week, work through an assigned reading list with reflective reports, engage in pastoral care such as visitation and counseling, develop their preaching and teaching gifts with a supervising pastor, meet weekly with an assigned pastor, assist with administrative tasks, participate in a ministry area, meet with new and existing members, attend a Leadership Training class, and observe at least one support group during the internship. The goal at the end is to send interns out to plant new churches, revitalize dying churches, serve in global missions, or go on staff at an existing church - possibly even Grace itself.
Sending: A Quarter of the Budget to Missionaries
Grace is committed to more than what happens within its own walls. Nearly a quarter of the church's annual budget goes directly to supporting missionaries around the world. More than twenty individual missionaries and their families are supported, including workers in Mexico, Spain, East Africa, Romania, Estonia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Cleveland, Baltimore, and across Maryland and Virginia.
Mission partners include church planting networks in the United States and overseas, an addiction recovery and retreat center in New Jersey, a prison and jail chaplaincy organization, a pregnancy resource center serving Annapolis, Bowie, and Crofton, and a refugee and disaster response agency serving the Middle East. The church also walks alongside its missionaries through short-term mission trips, with a structured application, interview, and support-letter process overseen by a Short Term Missions Trip Committee.
Baptism and Child Dedication
Baptism at Grace is by immersion and is reserved for those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. The church teaches that baptism is a sign of salvation and an act of obedience that follows salvation, not a means of receiving grace. It pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, as well as the spiritual reality of a believer's death to sin and resurrection to new life. Baptism is also required for membership.
Child dedication is a public commitment before God, the church, and the family, expressing the parents' desire to lead and spiritually nurture their child in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. Parents who want to dedicate a child must be current members of Grace, and the church encourages the dedication service as a partner to believer's baptism for older children and adults who come to faith later in life.
Membership: Covenanting with a Local Body
Church membership at Grace is a covenant commitment, not a name on a list. The church teaches that the local church is the manifestation of the Kingdom of God on earth and that members commit to one another in a spiritual family that provides support, encouragement, accountability, service, and sacrifice.
Becoming a member involves completing a Membership Class, meeting with a pastor for a membership interview to share a testimony and discuss baptism, and signing the Membership Covenant. The church then affirms new Covenant Members during the next quarterly Members Meeting.
Beliefs Centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Everything at Grace flows from the gospel - the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the new identity believers have through him. The church accepts the Old and New Testaments as the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and wholly without error as originally given, altogether sufficient as the only infallible and authoritative rule of faith and practice.
Grace affirms one triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as the second Person of the Trinity, the eternal Word and only begotten Son, who without any change in his divine person became man by the miracle of the virgin birth, lived a sinless life, gave himself in death upon the cross as the sin of the world, rose bodily from the grave, and ascended into heaven as the great High Priest and Advocate for his people. The Holy Spirit is the divine agent in nature, revelation, and redemption, who convicts, regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals, and anoints all who become children of God through Christ.
The church holds that all people are by nature and choice sinful and lost, and that salvation is the free gift of God, received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Good works are the fruit and evidence of salvation, not a means of earning it. Grace also teaches the existence and defeat of Satan, the personal and visible return of Christ, future life with bodily resurrection and eternal judgment, the separation of church and state, the priesthood of all believers, the lordship of Jesus over the life of the believer, the importance and autonomy of the local church, baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper as the two ordinances of the church, and that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male and female, with marriage designed as a spiritual covenant between one man and one woman.
Grace Christian School: K-8 on the Same Campus
Grace Christian School, a private K-8 school, shares the Grace Baptist Church campus and integrates faith and learning. The school is a separate organization, and families interested in enrollment can find more information through the school.
Planning a First Visit
Anyone planning a first visit can start with the Plan Your Visit page, which walks through what to expect, where to park, where the kids go, what to wear, and how to get connected. Sunday morning classes for all ages start at 9:00 a.m., and the main worship service begins at 10:30 a.m. and runs until about 11:50 a.m. Dress ranges from jeans to suits to business casual; the desire is to see people in all different styles gathering in one place to worship God.
Guest parking is on the left once you turn into the property, with additional parking at the back of the building and across the street at Yorktown Elementary. Two main entrances sit toward the front of the building on either side; an overhead sign points the way to the Welcome Center. After the service, the Welcome Center is also the place to learn about small groups, support groups, service opportunities, and children's and student programs.
Children from newborn through 5th grade are welcome. The Newborn, Crawler, and Toddler nurseries cover the entire morning from 8:45 a.m. to noon. Children's Church for ages 2 through kindergarten and Grace Kids for 1st through 5th grade both run during the 10:30 worship service. Sunday School classes for all ages meet from 9:00 to 10:15 a.m. Children with special needs are paired with a caregiver; the church encourages first-time families with a child who has special needs to contact the church office in advance so volunteers can be prepared.
Weekly Service and the Pulse of the Week
Beyond Sunday morning, the church's weekly pulse includes the Awana Clubs on Sunday evenings, the U-Turn middle school gathering, the 24/7 high school program on Tuesday evenings, the Wednesday evening worship service (with a once-a-month homemade dinner beforehand at 6:00 p.m.), the Thursday Precept Bible studies, the Saturday morning Grace Gives Food Ministry, and the daily rhythms of small groups across homes, the main campus, Jireh Place, and Zoom.
Sermon questions are posted each week, and the church livestreams the Sunday morning service and maintains a sermon archive on YouTube that goes back several years. Giving is available online and through the offering boxes in the main hall and outside the main office.
Grace Baptist Church has been making disciples of Jesus Christ since 1964. Many things have changed over those sixty years - new leadership, new buildings, growing diversity in the congregation - but one thing has stayed the same: preaching the Lord Jesus Christ crucified, risen, and coming again.