A Multisite Family Across Hampton Roads
From a worship center off Big Bethel Road in Hampton, Liberty Live Church runs what it calls one church in many locations. Eight physical campuses stretch across Hampton Roads, from the streets of Hampton and Portsmouth east through Chesapeake, Suffolk, Smithfield, Gloucester, and Williamsburg, and a ninth gathering meets online every Sunday through LibertyLive.Online. The church's tagline sums up the ambition: "It's not just church, it's life."
Liberty exists to change lives, communities, and the world for Jesus Christ. That mission statement drives everything from the music heard on a Sunday morning in Chesapeake to the medical clinic staffed by church members in Senegal. The Senior Pastor, Dr. Grant Ethridge, has led the church since 2006, and in the two decades since, the congregation has been recognized as one of the Top 100 fastest-growing and largest churches in the United States.
Eight Locations and an Online Campus
Each Liberty campus has its own address, its own team of pastors, and its own schedule, but all share the same teaching and the same mission. The Hampton campus at 1021 Big Bethel Road is the original location and serves as the hub. From there, the church has spread into neighboring communities in step with the growth of the region.
- Hampton - 1021 Big Bethel Road, Hampton, VA 23666. Sunday services at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM.
- The Chapel at Hampton - same address, with traditional services at 9:00 AM and 10:45 AM.
- Liberty Live en Español - same address, Sunday service at 11:00 AM in Spanish.
- Fairview Heights - 4704 Deep Creek Boulevard, Portsmouth, VA 23702. Sunday services at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM.
- Gloucester - 5198 TC Walker Road, Gloucester, VA 23061. Sunday services at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM.
- Greenbrier - 1801 Sara Drive, Chesapeake, VA 23320. Sunday services at 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM, and 11:00 AM.
- Harbour View - 7025 Harbour View Boulevard #115, Suffolk, VA 23435. Sunday services at 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM, and 11:00 AM, plus Wednesday groups at 6:30 PM.
- Smithfield - 204 Wimbledon Lane, Smithfield, VA 23430. Sunday services at 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM, and 11:00 AM.
- York River - 8201 Croaker Road, Williamsburg, VA 23188. Sunday services at 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM, and 11:00 AM.
- Online - LibertyLive.Online, with services at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM.
Every campus keeps regular Monday-through-Thursday office hours from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The main office line, 757-826-2110, rings through to whichever campus a caller needs. A Plan a Visit form saves a guest parking spot, assigns a personal guide for a first visit, and lets families pre-register their children.
The Chapel and the Modern Worship Center
Liberty offers two worship styles under the same roof at Hampton. The main worship center is contemporary, beginning with a set of congregational songs, then moving to a Bible-based message that the church describes as practical and encouraging. Services run about an hour.
The Chapel, also at 1021 Big Bethel Road, is for those who love hymns and a more traditional worship setting. Family-friendly and warm, the space offers a reverent atmosphere with familiar hymns and biblical teaching. The Chapel hosts two Sunday gatherings, at 9:00 AM and 10:45 AM, so families who want a more traditional style have plenty of room to attend together.
Spanish translation headsets are available in the main worship center for the morning services at Hampton. Visitors pick up devices and headphones in the Event Center before the service begins.
Liberty Live en Español
On the same Hampton campus, Liberty Live en Español meets at 11:00 AM every Sunday for a service held entirely in Spanish. Liberty Live en Español is a Christ-centered, family-friendly church where people of all ages and stages of life gather to worship God, grow in their faith, and serve others.
Parents who attend the Spanish service can send their children to Liberty Kids, where classes are conducted in English with translators on hand for children who do not yet speak English. Middle and high school students attend Group Life alongside the worship service in the main building rather than a separate Spanish-language program. The campus recommends that families park in Lot A for the closest entrance. A launch team, called the Equipo Central, is being assembled to build out hospitality, children's ministry, worship, and production teams.
What a First-Time Guest Will Find
Liberty has thought carefully about the first-visit experience. Guest parking spots are reserved at every campus, and the parking team guides newcomers in from the lot. Inside, a Life Team greeter welcomes each visitor at the door and points the way to the Next Steps Center, where a free gift waits and team members serve as personal guides to the Worship Center, Liberty Kids, Liberty Students, the restrooms, and the Café.
Anyone with a Life Team lanyard is ready to help. The dress code is whatever the visitor is comfortable wearing. Most people come in casual attire, although some dress up a little more. Liberty is multigenerational, multiethnic, and multisite, and whether someone grew up in church, has never been to church, considers themselves a follower of Jesus, or is simply asking questions, they are welcome.
Services last about an hour. The format is consistent from campus to campus: congregational worship at the start, followed by a Bible-based message from a Liberty pastor.
Life Track: The Path From Visitor to Member
The discipleship pathway at Liberty follows a four-step rhythm. Newcomers who plan a visit are introduced first to the church's Next Steps, then to Baptism as a public profession of faith, then to Life Track, and finally to serving on the Life Team.
Life Track is a set of classes designed to help people discover their purpose and the life God created for them. The Spanish-language campus holds its own Life Track class periodically so that Spanish-speaking attenders can move through the same steps in their own language.
Baptism at Liberty is an outward expression of an inward change. The church practices baptism by immersion because believers in the New Testament were immersed following conversion. Anyone who has put their trust in Jesus is encouraged to be baptized; Liberty waits until children are old enough to understand and believe what baptism means.
Once someone has been baptized and completed Life Track, the next step is joining the Life Team, the volunteer army that runs guest services, children's ministry, production, café, and dozens of other roles on every campus.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper
Liberty's full doctrinal statement sets out the church's teaching in line with the Southern Baptist confession of faith known as the Baptist Faith and Message. Christian baptism, the statement reads, is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It symbolizes the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life.
The Lord's Supper is observed as a symbolic act in which members remember the death of the Redeemer through the bread and the cup. Baptism is a prerequisite for both church membership and the Lord's Supper.
Liberty Kids From Birth Through Fifth Grade
Liberty Kids partners with parents to raise up children who desire to love God, love people, pursue excellence, and choose joy. The ministry runs from nursery through fifth grade.
Babies and toddlers are cared for in nursery rooms with attentive volunteers and age-appropriate toys. Parents fill out a simple form at check-in to share feeding, sleeping, and changing needs. Preschoolers begin engaging more deeply with the church experience through Bible stories, crafts, and songs. Elementary-age children are organized into smaller groups with a consistent leader who walks alongside them each week. On the Hampton campus, the Liberty Kids ministries also includes AWANA, a Scripture memory and discipleship program for ages 3 to 18.
Midweek programming adds another layer. During the week, kids gather for games, worship, Bible stories, and Scripture memorization. Parents are supported through the Liberty Kids At Home Family Worship guide, a 10- to 15-minute weekly rhythm built around The Gospel Project. The guide includes family prayer time, family activities, and a resource for talking through the Gospel with children.
Liberty Students (Grades 6-12) and the 2414 Program
The student ministry, called Liberty Students or LS, has a presence at every campus. Students meet every Sunday morning for Group Life, a time to connect with others in the same grade, study God's Word, and build lasting friendships. A dedicated team of Student Pastors and Life Team volunteers creates what the church describes as an exciting and safe space where students can take their next step.
Midweek programming called LS Midweek adds a second touchpoint each week. Students gather for worship, a message from a student pastor, and small group discussions. The leadership team consists of:
- Mason Askew - Student Pastor, Hampton Campus, High School
- Jeremy Bulles - Student Pastor, Hampton Campus, Middle School
- Alex Randolph - Student Pastor, Harbour View Campus
- Brant Ryan - Student Pastor, Gloucester Campus
- Morgan Ragsdale - Student Pastor, Greenbrier Campus
- Grayson Ragsdale - Student Pastor, Smithfield Campus
- Chris Page - Student Pastor, York River Campus
For high school juniors and seniors, the 2414 Discipleship Program trains students to share the gospel across cultures. Ten months of training covers apologetics, storying, orality, and cross-cultural witness, and the program ends with a trip to Africa. Students are taught how to fundraise, and Liberty covers 60% of trip costs while the student raises 40%.
Young Adults, Small Groups, and Senior Adults
Young Adults, branded as Liberty Young Adults (LYA), gathers in three locations for weekly worship, teaching, and small groups. LYA at Greenbrier meets on Tuesdays at 7:00 PM in Chesapeake; LYA at Hampton meets every Tuesday at 7:00 PM in the Student Building at the Hampton Campus; LYA at Harbour View meets Tuesday nights at 6:30 PM in the Student Room. The young-adult community describes itself as a group of people seeking a thriving relationship with Jesus and gathering to know God, find community, serve people, and leave a legacy.
Adult connection runs through Small Groups. Groups meet in semesters, with the fall semester running August 30 through November 21. Each group is organized around a shared interest, a topic of study, or a stage of life. All of them are built on the same four pillars - Encouragement, Scripture, Prayer, Next Steps. Groups meet both on campuses and in homes across the region. Childcare reimbursement is available. There is also an Online Life Team for those who join through the online campus.
Senior Adults are served through a trio of ministries coordinated through the church's main number. The Angel Army meets Mondays at 9:00 AM to pack Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes from February through November each year. The Liberty Crocheters meet Thursdays at 9:00 AM to make and donate items to the homeless, cancer patients, NICU babies, and nursing home residents. Soul Survivors gathers on the second Tuesday of each month at 2:00 PM in the Liberty Café for widows and widowers looking to enjoy life again through fellowship with others. The church also offers GriefShare, a 13-week grief-support cycle in the winter and spring.
Wednesday Nights Around the Table
Harbour View is the only campus listed with weekly Wednesday programming in addition to its Sunday services. Wednesday Groups meet at 6:30 PM at Harbour View for kids, students, adults, men, and women.
At the Hampton campus, the week is anchored by Wednesday Night Dinners. The Café serves dinner from 4:00 to 5:45 PM. Adults pay $8, kids pay $5, and immediate families are capped at $32. Menus change weekly - poppyseed chicken and wild rice one week, pulled pork and macaroni and cheese the next, country fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy the next. The Café is open Sunday mornings from 8:00 to 11:15 AM and Monday through Thursday from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
Liberty Live Worship: A Recording Worship Team
Worship at Liberty is led by an in-house collective called Liberty Live Worship, a team of pastors, musicians, worship leaders, and songwriters who serve at the church every week and record for a broader audience. The team's debut project is a 15-song album called Still Waters, described as an invitation to slow down, draw near to Jesus, and make room for His presence. A current single, Nothing Too Hard, is also available.
The team's stated passion matches the church's core values: love God, love people, pursue excellence, and choose joy.
Local and Global Missions
Liberty's mission department is divided into local and global tracks. Local Missions sends small groups, families, and individuals into the community to care for widows, orphans, the hungry, the homeless, those in prison, foster children, the elderly, and single moms. The ministry partners with community organizations across Hampton Roads. During race season, the church fields a Life Team at Langley Speedway, where volunteers pray for drivers, race fans, and the community and share the love of Jesus in practical ways.
Global Missions aims to reach the world's least-reached people groups. Liberty's partners include the Grand Yoff Baptist Center in Dakar, Senegal, where the church hosts an annual medical clinic. The team partners with national believers to share the gospel while working alongside local doctors and nurses. Three mission trips are scheduled in the year ahead:
- Liberty Students Canada Mission Trip - Toronto, Canada, focused on evangelism among Muslim and Hindu communities. Cost $1,500. Students only.
- West Africa Medical Missions Trip - Grand Yoff, Dakar. Cost $2,500. Medical experience not required.
- North Africa Dental Mission Trip - North Africa. Cost $2,300. Dental experience not required.
Ken McLemore serves as the Global Missions Pastor. The church also runs an online class, Reaching Your Community, that explores ways to share Jesus using storying, orality, modular speaking, and apologetics.
Prison Ministry
Liberty's Prison Ministry assists and leads the incarcerated, those released from incarceration, and their families and friends to know God, find community, serve people, and leave a legacy. The work is rooted in Isaiah 61:1 - the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord anointing the messenger to proclaim freedom for the captives.
Small groups of men and women facilitate Bible study and mentoring using Liberty's pre-recorded services at various times during the week. Active Liberty members interested in serving can sign up online, and family members with a loved one in custody can also notify the ministry through the same form. Pastor Grant offers a weekly devotional and pastors work with the ministry team to support incarcerated believers across Hampton Roads.
The Baptist Faith and Message
Liberty holds to the Baptist Faith and Message, the confession of faith shared by Southern Baptist churches. The eighteen articles of the Baptist Faith and Message, in order, begin with the full trustworthiness of Scripture and continue through the doctrine of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the nature of man, salvation by grace through faith, God's purpose of grace, the nature and mission of the church, baptism and the Lord's Supper, the Lord's Day, the Kingdom, last things, evangelism and missions, education, stewardship, cooperation, the Christian and the social order, peace and war, religious liberty, and the family.
On marriage and family, the statement teaches that marriage is the union of one man and one woman in a lifetime covenant and that children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing from the Lord. On the Church, the statement teaches that a New Testament church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, governed under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes, with pastors and deacons as scriptural officers.
Core Values That Shape Everything
Four values run through every ministry at Liberty. Love God is rooted in Jesus' command to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. Love People flows from Christ's new commandment to love one another as He has loved us. Pursue Excellence comes from 1 Corinthians 10:31 - whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Choose Joy is rooted in Psalm 100 - serving the Lord with gladness and coming before Him with joyful songs.
Senior Pastor Grant Ethridge and the Leadership Team
Dr. Grant Ethridge became Senior Pastor of Liberty in 2006. He holds seven academic degrees, including a Doctor of Ministry and a Doctor of Divinity, and has served as President of the National SBC Pastors' Conference, President of the Arkansas Baptist Convention, and President of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. He has served on many other state and national boards and agencies.
Since 2006, the church has baptized more than 9,775 people and grown into a multiethnic, multigenerational, multisite church with campuses across Hampton Roads. In 2017, the church launched LibertyLive.Online, an interactive, online worship experience that streams services every Sunday at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM.
Dr. Ethridge and his wife, Tammy, have four children and twelve grandchildren. They live in the Hampton Roads area and lead the church together.
It's Life Podcast and Online Reach
Beyond sermons and Sunday services, the pastoral team records the It's Life Podcast, hosted by Jenny and produced in regular conversation with Pastor Grant. Episodes cover topics across culture, theology, marriage, parenting, and Scripture, with the hope of meeting people wherever they are. The podcast is available on Spotify and other major platforms, and an associated YouTube channel features full teaching content.
Online attenders can watch live, ask for prayer, and join the Online Life Team. People who want to be baptized or take a next step can fill out the same forms that campus attenders use, and they can join groups online.
Giving, the Legacy Team, and the Leadership Institute
Liberty offers a range of giving options, including online giving, stocks and mutual funds, cryptocurrency (processed through Engiven), and vehicles or other valuables (processed through iDonate). The church is accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and annual audits are conducted by Capin Crouse LLP. The most recent audit, dated April 24, 2025, covered Liberty Baptist Church and Subsidiary for the periods ending December 31, 2024 and 2023.
For members who want to give above the tithe, the Legacy Team is a community of Kingdom Builders who give over and above and receive a weekly devotional from Pastor Grant and an exclusive report on how their giving is changing lives across the church's five ministry areas. Each year, Legacy Team members are invited to a special event with Pastor Grant to hear updated vision.
For marketplace leaders and Kingdom Builders, the Liberty Leadership Institute offers monthly workshops on topics like change management and adaptability. Workshops alternate between the Hampton Campus (Peninsula) and Greenbrier Campus (Southside) and are open to anyone inside or outside the church.
Weddings, Funerals, and Community Events
The church opens its campuses to community events. An event request form handles graduations, concerts, baby showers, memorial services, community meetings, and ministry gatherings. Wedding requests go through a separate Wedding Request Form.
Wedding spaces include the Chapel, gathering area, worship center, and dressing rooms. Available décor includes three arch styles - a square light pine arch, a square dark pine arch, and a hexagon wood arch - and the choice of black or white chapel chairs. The Event Services Director, reachable through the form, walks each request through approval within three to five business days.
Text Updates and the App
Liberty Live Church sends text announcements to anyone who texts the word LIBERTY to 40371. A dedicated Liberty Live Church app is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play, giving attenders another way to follow along, manage giving, sign up for events, and access the church directory through the member portal.
From the busy Big Bethel Road campus in Hampton to the smaller gatherings in Gloucester and Smithfield, Liberty Live Church runs as one church in many places. Sundays bring worship in English and in Spanish, in contemporary and traditional styles. Midweeks bring small groups, café dinners, and student ministry. Year-round, mission teams travel across the region and the world to show the love of Christ. The pull through it all is the same phrase: "It's not just church, it's life."