A Southern Baptist Church on County Road 121
River Road Baptist Church sits on County Road 121 in Hilliard, Florida. The church gathers around three short phrases that shape everything it does: strengthening faith, serving families, following Jesus. Members describe a body committed to worshiping and serving Jesus Christ together, growing in faith and care for one another, and faithfully sharing the gospel in their community and around the world.
The congregation is intentionally intergenerational. Pastors point to nursery-aged children, AWANA clubbers, middle and high schoolers, young adults, married couples, parents, and senior adults all sharing one roof on Sundays and Wednesdays. The leadership describes the work this way: "Christ reached out to people of all ages and backgrounds and at our church we desire to do the same. That is why you will discover here ministries geared to various life stages and needs."
Pastors and Pastoral Staff
Three pastors share the shepherding work at River Road. Dr. Benjie Loyd serves as lead pastor. Hal McIntosh is the youth and associate pastor, overseeing the NET Youth Ministry. Billie Smith is the children's pastor, leading the church's work with kids from toddlers through elementary years. The team operates under the conviction that pastoral ministry is meant to equip the saints for service in their own homes and neighborhoods, and that "the Christian life is not meant to be lived as a spectator. God equips His people with different gifts to serve one another, and faithful service is one of the ordinary means He uses to shape us into the likeness of Christ."
Sundays at River Road
Sunday worship at River Road begins at 10:30 AM. The service is built around expository preaching and congregational singing, anchored in the church's confession that "all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy" and is "a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation." Age-graded Sunday School classes meet earlier in the morning, and youth in grades 6-12 gather for Sunday School at 9:15 AM before joining the larger body for worship.
Sunday School is described not as a casual option but as a primary place to be formed. A visitor could "find a place to connect, grow, and build relationships through one of our Sunday School classes." Classes are organized for every age group, so a family with infants, elementary kids, teenagers, and adults can place everyone in their own room and still share the same sanctuary door at 10:30.
Sunday evenings at 5:00 PM bring the church back together for Discipleship Training, an additional hour set aside for deeper study around the church's core teachings. It is one more way the congregation looks beyond Sunday morning worship to be formed in the Word during the rest of the week.
Wednesday Nights: AWANA, a Shared Meal, and Worship on Wednesday
Wednesdays carry a lot of weight at River Road. From 6:10 to 8:00 PM during the school year, AWANA Clubs fill the children's wing with games, Scripture memory, and Bible teaching. The program runs Puggles (2-year-olds), Cubbies (preschool), Sparks (K-2), and Truth and Training (3rd-5th grade). Before each session, a shared meal is served from 6:10 to 6:30 PM, so families can sit down at one table in the middle of a busy week.
At 7:00 PM, older students gather for W.O.W., the youth ministry's midweek meeting called Worship on Wednesday, "a night of worship, biblical teaching, fellowship, and growing together in Christ." AWANA for children and W.O.W. for teens run alongside one another, so a family with a kindergartener in Puggles and a high schooler in W.O.W. can all be under the same roof at the same time.
Children from Toddlers Through Fifth Grade
Children's ministry at River Road is treated as a serious investment now, not a future hope. Billie Smith oversees a department that partners with parents "to help children discover who Jesus is, learn God's Word, build lasting friendships, and grow in their faith." Throughout the year, children participate in Sunday School, AWANA, and a calendar of special events and activities.
The children's ministry leans on two texts from Scripture. First, Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Second, Psalm 127:3: "Children are an heritage of the Lord." The team's prayer is that the years a family spends inside these walls plant something that lasts a lifetime, and that the church's investment in children today has an eternal impact.
The NET Youth Ministry
The youth ministry at River Road reaches out to middle and high school students. On Sunday mornings, students in grades 6-12 join their own Sunday School class at 9:15 AM, then worship with the rest of the congregation at 10:30 AM. On Wednesday nights, W.O.W. brings them back together at 7:00 PM for a full hour of worship, teaching, and fellowship.
The group's five-fold mission shapes everything from retreat planning to Wednesday-night discussions. The ministry exists to REACH students who do not yet know Christ and to connect with students throughout the community; TEACH God's Word and help students understand how Scripture applies to their everyday lives; WIN schools and communities for Christ by encouraging students to live out and share their faith; DEVELOP students by equipping them to serve, lead, and use their gifts for God's purposes; and FELLOWSHIP together by building friendships and a community where students encourage, support, and challenge one another to follow Jesus.
"There's a place for you at the NET," the church invites, calling any student curious about Jesus to come connect and see what God is doing in the lives of teenagers at River Road.
Senior Adults and the Hampton Memorial Scholarship
River Road Baptist cares well for its older members. Senior Adult Luncheons take place on the second Tuesday of every other month (August, October, December), giving the church's seasoned believers a regular place to share a meal, swap stories, and stay connected to one another and to the wider church family.
The R. Niel Hampton Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in March 2004 between the Hampton family and the Florida Baptist Foundation. Its sole purpose is to provide financial assistance to people who have surrendered to an area of full-time Christian ministry and need help paying for the rising cost of college or seminary. "Out of the tragic loss of their son," the church explains, the fund "provides an avenue for the Hampton family and others to bless those who have a need and offer a fitting memorial to someone who touched so many lives." Tax-deductible contributions can be sent to the church office or to the Florida Baptist Foundation in Jacksonville, and applications are available from the church.
What We Believe
River Road Baptist Church affirms the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, the confessional statement of the Southern Baptist Convention. The full statement is taught and confessed in eighteen articles. Among them:
- Scripture. The Holy Bible was "written by men divinely inspired" and is "a perfect treasure of divine instruction." It is "totally true and trustworthy" and is "a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation."
- God. There is one living and true God, "infinite in holiness and all other perfections," who reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, "with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being."
- Salvation. Salvation is "offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour." It includes regeneration (the new birth), justification, sanctification, and glorification, and "there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord."
- The Church. A New Testament church is "an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel." Its two scriptural offices are pastor/elder/overseer and deacon, and "each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes."
- Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Christian baptism is "the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." The Lord's Supper is "a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming."
- The Family. Marriage is "the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime" and "God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church." Children, from the moment of conception, are "a blessing and heritage from the Lord."
The confession at River Road also emphasizes religious liberty: that "God alone is Lord of the conscience," that "church and state should be separate," and that "a free church in a free state is the Christian ideal." Christians exercise loyal obedience to civil government in everything that does not contradict the revealed will of God, and the gospel, the church teaches, is to be pursued through spiritual means alone.
Getting Connected and Giving
Visitors and prospective members are invited to meet with one of the pastors to learn more about who the church is, what it believes, and what membership means. The church's directory, giving platform, sermon archives, and ministry registration are available online.
Tithes and offerings support the church's ministry locally and around the world. Giving is available during in-person services through an offering trunk in the sanctuary, and electronic giving is available around the clock through Tithe.ly. Donations are tax-deductible; the church is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and an annual giving statement is mailed each January. Recurring giving can be set up at any frequency on the Tithe.ly platform.
For first-time visitors who want to come in person, the church meets at 21067 County Road 121 in Hilliard. Office hours run Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. A pastor or staff member reads every email within one business day and welcomes prayer requests, questions, and notes. Sermon recordings are available on the church's YouTube channel.