A Church on Poovey's Chapel Church Road
Poovey's Chapel Baptist Church sits along Poovey's Chapel Church Road in Hudson, North Carolina, a small community in the foothills of Caldwell County. The congregation's tagline, "You Matter and You Belong," sums up how it introduces itself to neighbors and visitors. Sunday mornings, midweek evenings, and a full calendar of children's and youth activities keep the church grounds busy throughout the week.
Sunday Mornings and Wednesday Nights
The weekly rhythm at Poovey's Chapel is built around two anchors. Sunday School meets for all ages at 9:00 AM, followed by Morning Worship at 10:00 AM. Wednesday evenings layer three gatherings at once: Awana (called King's Kids on the church calendar) for children from age two through fifth grade runs from 6:30 to 8:00 PM, with the church-wide Bible Study and Prayer meeting at 7:00 PM and the youth group also meeting at 7:00 PM. Services are livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person, and a sermon archive is available on the church's YouTube channel and Subsplash pages.
Visitors can plan their first visit through the church's online form, which walks them through what to expect on a Sunday morning. The address, 2822 Poovey's Chapel Church Road, sits a short drive from downtown Hudson.
Poovey's Kids and Poovey's Youth
The children's ministry, branded Poovey's Kids, partners with parents to make disciples. On Sunday mornings, Children's Church is offered for ages two through five during worship, while older children join the adult congregation. The mission statement is simple: help children learn more about Jesus, grow in His Word, and share God's love with others.
Wednesday nights belong to King's Kids, the church's Awana-style program. Each Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:00 PM, children ages two through fifth grade take part in games, Bible lessons, and time building friendships around what the church calls "Real Kids. Real Love. Real Jesus." The fall schedule includes a King's Kids Fall Festival at Johnny Wilson's, and the Wednesday gathering carries through the year.
Poovey's Youth exists to guide students to love, follow, and serve Jesus Christ with their whole hearts. In a culture of peer pressure, social media, and shifting friendships, the church teaches that real answers, direction, and happiness are found only in Christ. Teens gather Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM, and the youth calendar adds gym nights, bowling, summer camps, a youth rally, and trips to destinations such as Carowinds and Garden City Chapel.
The Pastoral Team
Pastor Nicky Waters has led Poovey's Chapel since June 1996, when he came to the church after pastoring Green Valley Baptist Church for three years. A Caldwell County native, he graduated from West Caldwell High School in 1986, surrendered to preach at nineteen, and earned a Bachelor of Divinity in Christian Education from West Lenoir School of Ministry in 1991. He later earned a Master's Degree in Christian Education. He and his wife Traci have been married since 1991 and have two sons, Isaac and Adrik. Beyond the church, Pastor Nicky serves as a chaplain and chairman of the board of directors with the Hudson Fire Department.
Pastor Mark Dula serves as Associate and Youth Pastor. A Caldwell County native, he received Christ in 1984 and surrendered to preach in 1997. He earned a Bachelor of Divinity in 2001 and a Master of Divinity in 2003, both from West Lenoir School of Ministry. He previously served as associate/youth pastor at Poovey's Chapel from 1999 to 2003, pastored Harris Chapel Baptist Church and Rocky Face Baptist Church, and returned to Poovey's Chapel in August 2016. He and his wife Jennifer have one son, two daughters, and grandchildren.
The pastoral staff also includes Bud Jernigan as Senior Adult Pastor and Todd Sigmon as Music Director, rounding out a team that cares for every generation of the church family.
What the Church Believes
Poovey's Chapel holds to a conservative, Bible-centered doctrinal statement. The church teaches that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the verbally and plenary inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, and that the Authorized King James Version is the preserved, infallible Word of God for English-speaking people. The Godhead is one God eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Jesus Christ is confessed as the eternal Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, who became the divinely provided sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the world. He rose from the dead in a glorified body, ascended to the Father, and now serves as head of the church, interceding for believers. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer at the moment of salvation and grants spiritual gifts for ministry.
Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ's substitutionary sacrifice; no amount of human effort can earn it. The church looks for the rapture of the saints before a future tribulation, followed by the Second Coming of Christ to establish His millennial kingdom. Local churches like Poovey's Chapel exist, in the church's own words, "for practical instruction in the scriptures, for fellowship with God and with other believers, and for corporate witness to the unsaved world," with the shared spiritual goal of becoming like Christ and fulfilling the Great Commission.
Reaching Out from Caldwell County
Poovey's Chapel takes seriously the call to share Christ beyond its own walls. The church runs a Food Pantry, hosts King's Kids Fall Festival, and engages in missions work that has included trips to Peru and other ministry projects across the United States. Pastor Nicky has led Tent Meetings and Crusades, and the church offers a Connect Card for newcomers to take a next step, whether that means committing their life to Christ, being baptized, joining a ministry, or simply asking a question. Free RightNow Media Bible studies are available to the congregation, and the church's building can be reserved for community events.
At the heart of it all is the same message: a church that wants every person who walks through the doors to know that they matter and they belong.