Idlewild Baptist Church is at 12701 Idlewild Road in Matthews, North Carolina, under the motto “That Christ Be Known.” It is known for a gospel-centered mission to guide people of all backgrounds into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and for describing itself as a gospel-saturated church of disciples. Its weekly pattern is straightforward: Sunday Life Groups at 9:45 a.m., worship at 11:00 a.m., and Wednesday activities at 6:30 p.m. Bible-centered teaching, family ministry, discipleship, recreation, counseling, and missions all grow from that center.
A Sunday Built Around Life Groups and Worship
Sunday is organized around two connected gatherings. Life Groups begin at 9:45 a.m. and conclude at 10:45 a.m., followed by worship at 11:00 a.m. Life Groups include adults and children and use Bible study along with supplementary theological resources to help people understand the Christian life and grow as disciples. The worship gathering takes place in IBC's worship center, with the main sanctuary serving as the central gathering place for the morning.
- Arrival: First-time guests are encouraged to arrive around 10:45-10:50 a.m. to park, find the worship center and seats, and receive a welcome gift from Guest Services.
- Parking: Convenient reserved spaces near the front entrance are set aside for first-time guests.
- Welcome: A welcoming kiosk stands just inside the main entrance, while the welcome desk in the main sanctuary helps guests locate their Life Group.
- Children: Guest Services directs families to age-appropriate care and activities. Nursery and 4-Pre-K are just outside the sanctuary, and Children's Church is in the Church Activity Center.
- Bible: Guests are invited to bring a Bible if they have one. If needed, a Guest Services team member can provide one.
- Pastors and leaders: Staff and other leaders are glad to chat with visitors before or after worship as their schedules permit.
Child safety is intentional at IBC. Children and student ministries provide appropriate care and activities, and no child should ever be unattended or alone with another adult. Additional security measures and personnel are present on campus, including police presence, to protect children and other attendees. On the first Sunday of each month, Children's Church is not offered because the congregation participates in the Lord's Supper together. Families are invited to worship as a family that morning.
Clothing should be comfortable and modest. IBC has no requirement for formal “Sunday best”; many attendees, including the pastors, wear casual and comfortable clothes. The church's practical guidance is to come as you are, with clothing that is sensible and modest.
Children and Students Grow Together
IBC Kids
At IBC Kids, the goal is to reach children for Christ and help them grow in God's love. The ministry works hand in hand with families to build a strong spiritual foundation, believing that children can come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and grow into spiritual champions. Its learning approach is hands-on and active, described as teaching the way Jesus taught.
Kindergarten through fifth-grade students have a place in the Sunday-morning gospel teaching and foundational Bible lessons. On Wednesday nights, IBC Kids AWANA runs from 6:30-7:30 p.m. with time for Scripture through Bible stories, crafts, games, and fellowship. This combination gives families a regular way for children to hear biblical truth and participate with the wider church family.
Children with special healthcare needs or learning differences are welcome. IBC Kids works with families to create appropriate adaptations for individual needs rather than treating participation as a one-size-fits-all program.
IBC YTH
IBC Youth serves sixth- through twelfth-graders and seeks to see students and their families changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ and living authentic lives for Jesus. The youth ministry meets on Wednesday nights in the Church Activity Center, with doors opening at 6:00 p.m. The regular gathering provides something for students at different points in their walk with Christ and seeks to accommodate their spiritual needs.
The connection between children's ministry, student ministry, and the broader family emphasis is intentional. Life Groups include classes for children as well as adults, while the children's and student ministries give young people age-appropriate teaching during the same weeks their families are gathering at IBC.
Midweek Meals, Bible Study, and Conversation
Wednesday activities begin at 6:30 p.m. The Midweek rhythm begins with a church supper at 5:00 p.m. in Old Fellowship Hall, creating a shared meal before the evening's classes and ministry activities. Adults gather for a Midweek Bible study series, and the curriculum also has included Gospel Conversations training organized in three successive weeks.
Children's AWANA programming runs from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the same general Midweek rhythm, while IBC YTH gathers in the Church Activity Center. The structure allows several generations to arrive for the same evening and participate in separate ministries centered on Scripture, fellowship, and spiritual growth.
Small Groups for Every Stage of Life
Discipleship at IBC is described as an informal setting for growing in knowledge of God's truth, building community and trust, and learning to share Jesus with others. Sunday Life Groups run from 9:45-10:45 a.m. and offer classes for adults and children. The teaching combines God's Word with supplementary theological resources intended to deepen understanding of discipleship, walking with Jesus, and doing life together.
Additional discipleship groups meet throughout the week:
- Ladies Bible Study and Prayer Group: Meets Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to noon and is open for enrollment.
- Trendsetters: Meets Mondays from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and is open to everyone.
- Young Adults: Designed for high-school graduates through age 29, the group meets on Sundays at 9:40 a.m. and Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m., with room to divide into smaller groups.
Young at Heart serves people age 50 and above. Its activities include fellowship, meals, trips, and outreach, with a small annual contribution used to offset the cost of the ministry. This ministry gives older adults a distinct place within the wider congregational life rather than treating them only as occasional guests at church events.
The church connects discipleship to family life. Its stated conviction is that making disciples begins at home, where families teach and model following Jesus together. Small groups, Life Groups, children's ministry, student ministry, and Young at Heart then extend that family emphasis across different ages and schedules.
The Mission House Has Served Since 1977
Idlewild Baptist Church participates in Baptists on Mission, an organization devoted to involving churches and Christians in meeting human needs in Jesus' name. Baptists on Mission has 19 ministries and is an auxiliary of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Its statement that all Christians are called, gifted, and sent reflects IBC's conviction that missions should be part of the life of every believer.
The Mission House is a particularly concrete expression of that commitment. In 1977, a generous church member donated a home for missionaries to use as a place of rest and renewal. It remains primarily for missionaries serving elsewhere who are back in the United States on stateside assignment, whether they stay for six months or make a shorter visit. The house provides a peaceful, welcoming place during that time and operates entirely through donor support.
A dedicated Mission House Team manages the ministry and its hospitality. The home has become part of IBC's identity as a church that not only sends people into mission but also receives and supports those returning from mission assignment.
Women on Mission is another part of this outward-facing life. The organization serves women 18 and above and helps them grow in relationship with Christ and mission involvement. It meets at 6:30 p.m. in the Church Activity Center on the first Thursday of each month. Its service has included preparing a meal for the Union County Community Shelter, with church members supplying barbecue meat, baked beans, coleslaw, rolls, and dessert.
Baseball, Barbecue, and Service to Neighbors
IBC's recreation ministry uses sports to introduce Christ, apply biblical teaching, and serve children and families. In partnership with area churches through 316 Sports and First Baptist Indian Trail, the church hosts spring and fall tee-ball and baseball for boys and girls ages 5 to 15. Younger teams practice and play on IBC's fields, while older baseball teams use Ebenezer Baptist. Coaches and team chaplains work together, and each practice and game includes devotion and prayer. Church members also walk the fields in prayer for the teams and players.
Other community rhythms are equally family-centered. IBC's annual barbecue uses the church's pits for slow-smoked meat and brings together pit crews, kitchen crews, and volunteers. The annual Fall Fair and Trunk-or-Treat evening includes inflatables, games, hayrides, free hot dogs, decorated trunks, candy, and activities for children. The food, games, and activities are offered free to the surrounding community as a way to welcome families and neighbors.
Community care is also available through biblical counseling. The pastoral team offers counseling by appointment to anyone who desires it. This service reflects IBC's stated aim of equipping Christians for service that reaches beyond the congregation and into the surrounding community.
The common thread across these activities is a desire to love and serve people because every human being bears the image of God. IBC describes ministry as serving others first, seeking mercy for people with heavy burdens, praying for those who oppose the church, and speaking for people who are marginalized or voiceless.
Five Convictions at the Heart of IBC
IBC describes itself as a Bible-centered church committed to doctrinally sound teaching under the authority of God and his Word. Its doctrinal commitments are summarized in five affirmations often called the five solas:
- Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone is the guide, and the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the church's central authority.
- Sola Fide: Salvation is by faith alone, through trust in Jesus Christ rather than human effort.
- Sola Gratia: The church is called according to grace because God saves people by his mercy, not because they have earned it.
- Solo Christo: Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and humanity.
- Soli Deo Gloria: Salvation exists for God's glory alone, and those whom he has made in Christ are enabled to do good works.
The Gospel at the Center
IBC's account of the gospel begins with God's love expressed through Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross for sin, rose on the third day, and secured forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. These gifts of grace are received by faith, meaning trust in God's Word, and the church desires to live by everything the gospel means for individuals, families, and the future of creation.
Jesus Christ is acknowledged as Lord over personal life, family life, and church life. The Bible is treated as truth and authority, offering instruction, protection, comfort, joy, and hope. These convictions lead IBC toward its mission of making disciples, beginning in homes, and extending outward through the local community and the wider world.
God, Human dignity, and salvation
The church confesses one living and true God, revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Its fuller doctrinal description presents the Father as providential and loving, Jesus as the eternal Son who became fully human without sin, and the Holy Spirit as fully divine, who illuminates Scripture, convicts people of sin, regenerates believers, and empowers the church for worship, evangelism, and service.
Human beings are described as a special creation in God's image, male and female, with every person possessing full dignity and worthy of respect and Christian love. Salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God, faith is acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment to him as Lord and Savior, and growth in grace is expected to continue throughout life.
Baptist convictions about the church
IBC's Baptist understanding describes a local church as an autonomous congregation of baptized believers associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. The church is governed under the lordship of Christ through democratic processes, with pastors and deacons serving as its scriptural officers. Both men and women are regarded as gifted for service, while the office of pastor is limited to men as the church understands Scripture to require.
Christian baptism is held to be immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It represents death to sin, burial of the old life, and resurrection in new life through Christ. The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience in which church members remember the Redeemer's death and anticipate his return. The first day of the week is affirmed as the Lord's Day for worship and spiritual devotion.
Mission has a central place in this description of the church. Making disciples of all nations is described as both the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ. Christian education, regular and generous stewardship of time, talents, and possessions, voluntary cooperation among churches, and religious liberty are also part of IBC's doctrinal commitments.
Family and social responsibility
The church's family conviction defines marriage as a lifetime covenant between one man and one woman. It affirms the equal worth of husband and wife before God, assigns the husband responsibility to provide, protect, and lead the family, and describes the wife's responsibility to respect her husband and serve as his helper. Children are described as a blessing and heritage from the Lord, with parents responsible for teaching spiritual and moral values and leading by example.
Christian social responsibility includes opposing racism, greed, selfishness, and sexual immorality while caring for orphaned, needy, abused, aged, helpless, and sick people. IBC also affirms the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. These teachings are presented not as optional additions to faith but as the outward expression of Christ's love in society.
Teaching Rooted in the Whole Bible
IBC's sermon archive begins in December 2021 and preserves monthly teaching across biblical books and central Christian subjects. Recorded series include Acts: Foundations, The Book of Acts, Family Matters, God's Church, Heaven and Hell, The End Times, The Gospel of John, and The Lord is My Shepherd. The subjects range from church life and family faith to biblical prophecy, the gospel of John, and the Psalms.
The archive features messages from Pastor Hayden Pezzoni, Pastor Ryan Michaud, Dr. Jason Hughes, Dr. Bob Lowman, Dr. Doug Carver, Ben LaPiana, and other contributors. Selected messages and church video resources are available through the church's YouTube channel, while the broader collection is organized through IBC's sermon archive.
Pastors and Ministry Leaders
Pastor Hayden Pezzoni has served as Pastor to Youth and Families since October 2021. He came to IBC from First Baptist Church in Uptown Charlotte, where his work included youth, college, and young-adult ministries. He graduated from Western Carolina University with a degree in public health and a minor in religious studies.
Pastor Ryan Michaud appears in the church's preaching history both as a pastor and ministry associate. He is also closely involved with IBC's student ministry, helping students and families pursue authentic lives for Jesus through the gospel.
Dr. Jason Hughes is a pastor whose preaching forms a substantial part of IBC's recorded ministry. Annie Beth Donahue and Brad Donahue serve together as Directors of Children's Ministry. Annie Beth is a graduate of Queens University of Charlotte with degrees in music therapy and psychology, while Brad is a North Carolina State University graduate with a degree in horticulture. Their shared role connects IBC's children's teaching, family partnerships, and Wednesday AWANA ministry.
Together, these pastors and ministry leaders support a church whose strongest themes are the authority of Scripture, the centrality of the gospel, the forming of disciples, and the active care of families and neighbors.
Ways to Support and Follow IBC
IBC supports ministry through four financial giving methods. Online gifts can be designated for regular tithes and offerings or a specific ministry through the church's secure online giving service. Contributions are tax deductible and reflected on year-end statements. Other methods include placing cash or a check in an offering envelope during Sunday worship, arranging automatic payments through a personal bank account, and using text giving.
The visit form allows guests to share their expected arrival, indicate whether children will need nursery or Children's Church, and identify additional visitors. A Guest Services team member connects with guests by email within 48 hours.
At the center of IBC's worship, discipleship, family life, recreation, counseling, and missions remains the same mission: to guide people of all backgrounds into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Idlewild Baptist Church carries that mission from its Life Groups and worship center to the Mission House, the recreation fields, the shelter table, and homes throughout Matthews.