Set on the corner of Monument Avenue and Thompson Street in Richmond's near-West End, Immanuel Baptist Church has been gathering believers in north Richmond since 1885. The congregation is known for verse-by-verse expository preaching, intergenerational discipleship, a blended musical style that pairs traditional hymns with modern worship songs, and a missions program that has carried the gospel from the streets of Richmond to countries across the globe. Four generations of Richmonders have grown up under its teaching, and Immanuel continues to operate as an independent Baptist church - that is, one that is self-governing rather than affiliated with a denomination, even though it historically shared ties with the Southern Baptist Convention before stepping away in the 1940s.
Gather, Grow, Go
The life of Immanuel is organized around a simple three-word vision. Gather means coming together for worship, fellowship, and being equipped for service, a rhythm drawn from Acts 2:42-47. Grow describes the steady work of being shaped by teaching, prayer, and the daily practice of God's Word, anchored in 2 Peter 3:18. Go is the outward impulse - empowered by the Holy Spirit to share the gospel and make disciples of Jesus Christ in every nation, following the command of Matthew 28:18-20. Lead Pastor Jordan Fanara describes the aim of the church in practical terms: each week the Bible is opened together because the people of Immanuel believe God speaks through His Word, and they hope every person who visits will be strengthened, challenged, and refreshed.
Sundays at 3601 Monument Avenue
Sunday is the heart of the week at Immanuel. Sunday morning classes begin at 9:30 AM for every age, from nursery children through adults, and the morning worship gathering begins at 10:45 AM. Worship at Immanuel is joyful and centered on Scripture - the congregation hears the Word, prays the Word, and sings the Word. The music blends traditional hymns with contemporary songs, led by Director of Worship and Children's Ministry Caleb Low. Worship is intentionally without pretense; visitors are invited to come as they are.
The 10:45 gathering includes nursery care and children's classes for infants through third grade. Children are checked in by trained, caring volunteers who help each child settle into an age-appropriate class. Families receive a welcome packet with information about the children's ministry and the volunteers who serve there. The service is streamed live each Sunday for those unable to attend in person.
Sunday morning classes for adults cover a range of formats and interests. Agape is a discussion-based class open to any adults, opening with prayer and praise. Ambassadors/Disciples studies directly from God's Word. Foundations offers a topical, lecture-and-discussion format geared toward a biblical worldview for everyday life. Joint Heirs is a couples class of varied ages who work through books of the Bible section by section. Women of the Word is a women's class with a cross-section of ages and discussion-style teaching. Crossroads is geared toward young adults navigating major life decisions.
Wednesday Nights Together
Wednesday evening programming starts at 6:45 PM and runs through the weeknight in a way that lets every member of the family find a place. Word of Life Kids Clubs gives children Scripture memory, Bible lessons, small-group discipleship, and friendship. Immanuel Youth, led by Student Ministries Pastor Thomas Long, gathers middle and high school students for Bible teaching, small groups, and intentional discipleship. A women's Bible study and a men's Bible study meet at the same hour for adults, and a prayer meeting follows at 7:00 PM. The structure mirrors the church's commitment to walk through the Christian life together rather than in isolation.
A Richmond Congregation Born in 1885
Immanuel's story reaches back to 1885, when it was established as a mission outreach of First Baptist Church of Richmond. Envisioned as a way to reach the people of north Richmond, the mission was led by a succession of ministerial students and met in a small building on Fourth Street between Jackson and Duval under the name Fourth Street Mission Chapel. In early 1890 the chapel cut its formal ties with First Baptist and organized as Fourth Street Baptist Church, retaining its affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention. By July of that year the new church had recorded its first contribution to foreign missions.
Steady growth soon demanded a larger house of worship. On October 21, 1894, the congregation celebrated both a new address and a new name. Entering a facility at 601 North Fifth Street, the people voted to call themselves Immanuel Baptist because, as they unanimously agreed, "God has surely been with us." In 1915 the church moved further west, and in the early 1940s, in its building at Pine and Grace, Immanuel formally established itself as an independent Baptist church and began supporting missionaries of its own choosing.
Continued growth led to a new sanctuary at the corner of Monument and Thompson, where the cornerstone was laid in July 1958. The building was expanded in 1962 with north and south transepts, and again in 1983 with a north educational wing that added the Fellowship Hall, kitchen, classrooms, and staff offices. On February 29, 1966, the congregation dedicated a missionary home in honor of Mary Baker, who had been martyred in the Congo in 1964. The home - one of two missionary townhomes now maintained by the church - still welcomes missionaries returning to Richmond for home assignment.
Family Ministry from Nursery through High School
Immanuel describes its family ministry as Word-centered and intergenerational. The children's ministry partners with parents in the work of discipleship, offering Sunday morning classes for all ages and Junior Church through third grade. Children are taught by trained volunteers in safe, welcoming spaces and taught the Bible in age-appropriate ways. Beyond Sunday mornings, the children's ministry is led by Caleb Low, who also directs worship, and is supported on Sunday mornings by Jessica Fanara, who serves as Sunday Children's Coordinator.
For students in middle and high school, Immanuel Youth meets on Sundays and Wednesdays for Bible teaching, small groups, and intentional discipleship. Thomas Long, the Student Ministries Pastor, trains up young people to be gospel witnesses in their schools and neighborhoods and to make disciples who themselves make disciples. He holds a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies and a master's degree in Christian Leadership and Church Ministry from Liberty University, and he and his wife Jessica joined the staff after serving in the Lynchburg area.
Women's Ministry and Men's Ministry
The women's ministry at Immanuel offers weekly Bible studies designed as welcoming spaces to ask questions, build friendships, and explore faith at one's own pace. Studies meet Friday mornings at 9:30 AM and Wednesday evenings at 6:45 PM. Louise Turton directs the women's ministry. The men's ministry, directed by Kevin Carter, gathers for a Wednesday evening Bible study at 6:45 PM.
Community Groups Across Metro Richmond
Beyond Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, Immanuel's small-group ministry - called Community Groups - meets in homes across the greater Richmond area on the first and third Sundays of each month. The groups are intentionally cross-generational, bringing together people from different life stages and perspectives. Current groups gather in neighborhoods including the Museum District, Northside and Ashland, the Southside and Bon Air, Midlothian, the West End's Sleepy Hollow, and Mechanicsville. Group leaders and hosts include longtime members who have built friendships through years of shared church life. Prospective members can browse the group directory and fill out a placement form to be matched with a group near them.
Sending and Supporting Missionaries
Missions are woven into Immanuel's identity in a way that goes well beyond budget lines. The church partners with missionaries across the United States and around the world, supporting families and singles who serve with organizations including Baptist Mid-Missions, Christar, ENTRUST, 20schemes, Word of Life, My Father's House International, TEAM, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Great Oaks International, ACTION International, Village Missions, Good News Jail and Prison Ministry, Capitol Commission, and Capitol Ministries. Five additional missionary families serve in creative-access countries across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, supported through prayer and practical care.
Immanuel's Missionary Support Ministry (MSM) is the personal, hands-on expression of this commitment. Through small groups that meet monthly around the Richmond area - the Hannah Group at Immanuel, the Miriam Group in Midlothian and North Chesterfield, the Elizabeth Group in the West End, the Lydia Group in Mechanicsville, and the Naomi Group in South Chesterfield - members pray for their assigned missionaries, communicate regularly, and meet practical needs. MSM also oversees the two missionary townhomes named in honor of Mary Elizabeth Baker, preparing them with groceries and a warm, ready space for missionaries on home assignment. The church also maintains an annual Missions Conference; the most recent edition, "Counting the Cost: Preparing To Be Well Sent," brought in speakers from organizations such as the International Mission Board, Wycliffe, Christar, and Pioneers.
To ground this commitment in careful biblical thinking, the church has developed a Missions Primer that walks members through questions of calling, the local church's sending role, character qualifications for missionaries, and the task remaining among the world's least-reached people groups.
What Immanuel Believes
Immanuel's doctrinal statement affirms one God in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - eternal, identical in nature, and equal in power and glory. The Holy Scriptures are received as the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God and the guide for faith and practice. The church teaches that human life begins at conception, that humanity is created as male or female in the image of God, and that by willful transgression Adam sinned, leaving all mankind separated from God and justly subject to His judgment. Salvation is taught as a sovereign gift from God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, received by grace through faith apart from works.
The church confesses the full deity and true humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, who accomplished redemption through His death on the cross and secured it forever by His literal resurrection from the dead. Christ is now exalted at the right hand of God as the believer's Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer, unites all to Christ in one body, and serves as the source of power for worship and service.
Immanuel believes in the imminent, personal return of Christ for His own and His subsequent premillennial return to the earth, and in the eternal blessedness of the redeemed and the conscious, everlasting separation from God of those who have rejected Christ. The church recognizes two ordinances for this age: water baptism by immersion of a believer in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Lord's Supper as a commemoration of Christ's death until He comes. Marriage is taught as a covenant between one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union.
Church Beyond the Walls
Immanuel encourages its members to take their faith into the wider Richmond community through partnerships with local organizations. These include East End Pregnancy Center, which serves women and men facing pregnancy decisions; Patty's Hope, supporting biological moms of children in foster care; Youth Life Foundation, a faith-based after-school program in under-resourced parts of the city; Chesterfield Food Bank, working to overcome food insecurity; and Good Samaritan Ministries, which serves people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and addiction. Members can also serve through the church's own Serve Teams - opportunities that include children's ministry, the church library, food pantry and clothes closet work, the welcome team, music and worship, prayer, member care, media, and many more.
The Church Library and Practical Details
A volunteer-staffed church library serves everyone from young readers to adults looking for encouragement or insight. The library is open Sundays - twenty minutes before Sunday School and forty minutes after the morning gathering - and additional hours, often Monday 11-4, are available by appointment. The library holds books on missions, theology, parenting, devotional life, and more, and it includes copies of the booklet Should I Be a Missionary? for those exploring cross-cultural service.
The church offices are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Visitors are greeted at the Welcome Center on Sunday mornings, where staff and volunteers can help with class placement and answer questions about Children's Ministry, baptism, church membership, or any next step. Parking is available in the small lot on Monument Avenue and the larger lot off Thompson Street. Those interested in connecting can fill out a Connect Card, send an email, or call the church office during the week.
A Family on Monument Avenue
From its beginnings as a small mission chapel on Fourth Street in 1885 to its present home at Monument and Thompson, Immanuel Baptist Church has been marked by a steady refrain: "God has surely been with us." The congregation that gathered around that conviction more than a century and a quarter ago continues to open the Bible verse by verse, sing a blend of old and new, walk with its children and youth, care for its missionaries, and reach out to a city in need of hope - all under the same name and at the same fundamental work, week after week, year after year.