Three Sunday services and a Spanish-language congregation on the same campus
Sagemont Church sits on South Sam Houston Parkway East in southeast Houston, between the city and its southern suburbs. It is a large, family-oriented Baptist congregation that runs three identical English Sunday morning worship services at 9:00, 10:20, and 11:40 a.m., alongside a fully Spanish-language service that meets at 11:40 a.m. in the Hughes Road Auditorium on Hughes Road. The motto that runs through every ministry is "helping people take their next step following Jesus."
Senior Pastor Dr. Levi Skipper was called to Sagemont in December 2023. Before moving to Houston, he served as Vice President of Church Strengthening for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, part of the Georgia Baptist Convention, and he has more than 25 years of pastoral ministry experience. He holds degrees from Shorter College, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and Luther Rice University. He and his wife, Christa, have four children: Garrison, Mattie, Gavin, and Marlee.
Worship at each English service is led by the Sagemont worship team, a band with a small group of singers and a worship choir. Music draws on contemporary songs alongside older favorites. Pastor Skipper preaches in an expository style, working verse by verse through books of the Bible, with a few short topical mini-series each year. Each service runs about an hour. English services are livestreamed on the church's online platform and on the YouTube channel, and the Spanish service is streamed through a separate Sagemont Encuentro channel.
First-time guests follow orange signs to Guest Services in the Worship Center lobby. Parking in Lot F near the main entrance (with hazard lights flashing) is reserved for new visitors, and the parking team will guide cars in. The church suggests arriving 15 minutes before the service you plan to attend, or 30 minutes early if you have children to check in. Dress is "come as you are," from jeans and t-shirts to suits and dresses. Sagemont has not passed an offering plate during services since 1975; gifts are placed in boxes near the building exits or given online.
The Discipleship Pathway that organizes the whole church
Everything at Sagemont is built around a four-step Discipleship Pathway: Worship, Connect, Grow, and Go. Worship is the first step, gathering on Sundays to meet Jesus. Connect is the second, building life-giving relationships in small groups. Grow is the third, becoming more like Jesus through God's Word, biblical community, and intentional learning. Go is the fourth, serving the church, sharing the gospel, and supporting the mission at home and around the world.
The pathway runs through every ministry: the Sunday services, the more than 50 Sunday-morning Connect Groups that meet at all three hours, the fall, spring, and summer semester classes, the Grow Groups that multiply disciple-makers, and the service and mission opportunities that send members out into the community. For newcomers, the recommended next step after a worship service is a Connect Group - what the church calls finding "the little church inside the big church." With differences in size (10 to 150), Bible-study style, age, life stage, gender, and topic, there is a group for almost anyone. Four of the groups - Early Birds (taught by Stuart Rothberg), Soul Support (Charles Savelle, Denny Autrey, and Emory Gadd), Back to the Book (Chuck Cummings), and Plugged In (James Bouvier) - are livestreamed for those who want to participate online.
Sagemont Kids, with three different hours on Sunday morning
Sagemont Kids runs programming for children from birth through fifth grade at each of the three Sunday services. With nearly 400 volunteers and a dedicated staff, the children's ministry is one of the largest in the area. The aim is to make church "the best day of your child's week," and each hour offers a different experience so that children who attend all three services have a full morning of age-appropriate worship, Bible teaching, small group time, and games.
On a typical Sunday, babies through PreK 4 are assigned to classes in the Blue and Green Wings of the Children's Building. Preschoolers rotate to an indoor playground and to a worship room called "The Faith Factory" for music and their Bible story time. Kindergarten through fifth grade moves through the Yellow and Orange Wings, taking part in large group worship with music, videos, and games, then splitting into grade-specific small groups with committed leaders. Each service features different programming for grades 1 through 5, including Crosswalk, Hang Time, Kidventure, The Mix, Launchpad, and Ignite large-group experiences.
Children with special needs are welcomed through PromiseLand, a dedicated ministry for ages 4 through 17 located downstairs in the Children's Building. PromiseLand offers sensory-friendly classrooms with smaller groups and more structure. The ministry meets at 10:20 and 11:40 a.m. and is not offered at 9:00 a.m. Parents complete a PromiseLand Child Packet before the first visit and are paired with a coordinator who walks them through the process.
Security is taken seriously. Every volunteer working with children is screened through an application, a background check, and training. Every classroom and common area is monitored by security cameras. Check-in uses a computerized system that prints three matching stickers - a name badge for the child, a matching "ticket" handed to the teacher at the classroom door, and a security receipt kept by the parent and presented at pickup. Only the adult holding the receipt can collect a child.
On Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., birth through fifth graders are invited to a free midweek evening of worship, Bible study, games, snacks, and fellowship in the Children's Building, following the same fall, spring, and summer semester schedule as the adult midweek classes.
Sagemont Students, with their own building and two weekly rhythms
Middle and high school students have their own building on the main campus near Hughes Road. Sagemont Students is the church's ministry for sixth through twelfth graders, with a Sunday program that runs alongside the adult services and a Wednesday evening that runs alongside the midweek studies.
On Sunday mornings, students can drop in for an 8:00 a.m. hangout, then join The 9:00, a service with mixed-grade, mixed-gender groups for games, Bible study, and conversation. At 10:20 a.m., the program shifts to Grow Groups, smaller single-grade, single-gender groups that pursue spiritual maturity with committed leaders. At 11:40 a.m., students attend the main worship service in the Worship Center with the rest of the church.
Wednesday nights begin with a 5:00 p.m. hangout, followed at 6:25 p.m. by coed Connect Groups organized by grade, and at 7:15 p.m. by a time of live worship and a message from the Student Ministry team. Wednesday activities end at 8:00 p.m. and follow the same semester calendar as adult classes. Directing the ministry is Miguel Reyes, Director of Student Ministry, with Hailey Haynes as Associate Director of Girls Ministry, Daniel Martinez as Associate Director of Junior High Ministry, and Sandy Enriquez as Student Ministry Associate.
Sagemont U for the college years
College-aged young adults (18 to 22) gather as Sagemont U. The ministry meets on Sunday mornings at 11:40 a.m. in Room 1315 and on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the Student Building, with a focus on transparency, accountability, and discipleship. The Tuesday night Bible study and community group is the heartbeat of the week, providing a faith-based community during a season of life when, as the church puts it, "love and community is not always easy to see." Pastor Chuck Davenport, Executive Director of Discipleship and Leadership Development, oversees Sagemont U along with Elijah Martinez, Director of College Ministry, and Rylie Cooper, Associate Director of Young Adults and Sagemont U.
Midweek studies, support groups, and White Flag men
Between Sundays, Sagemont runs a broad schedule of fall, spring, and summer semester classes, support groups, and Bible studies. Offerings include biblical studies for adults, practical classes, marriage preparation, parenting classes, and support groups such as Grief Share and Divorce Care run by the Counseling Center, with most groups meeting on Wednesday evenings.
White Flag is the church's men's ministry, a growing network of small groups that meet at various times and places to walk verse by verse through the Bible. The aim, in the church's words, is "a place where men lay down pride and pick up purpose." Groups currently meet at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesdays at the church (Room 1313), 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at a Subway in League City, 6:00 a.m. on Wednesdays at Pearland Coffee Roasters in Friendswood, 7:00 a.m. on Thursdays at McDonalds in Friendswood, 6:30 a.m. on Fridays at First Cup in Pearland, 6:00 a.m. on Saturdays at Denny's on the Gulf Freeway, and 8:00 a.m. on Saturdays at Panera Bread locations in League City and Webster.
For those who cannot meet in person, Online Groups led by Jason Ryan, Director of Digital Engagement, connect people around the world for Bible study and conversation. Grow Groups, led by Allison Hipps, are small groups of four to eight people who learn a simple devotional tool together and multiply by starting new groups; joining a Grow Group is open to non-members. White Flag and Grow Group contacts are listed through Ginger Downey, the Discipleship Ministry Assistant.
The Counseling Center on Hughes Road
The Sagemont Counseling Center occupies a tan two-story building at 11339 Hughes Road, set apart from the main campus for confidentiality. It provides professional, Christ-centered counseling for individuals, couples, and families from the church and the wider community. Bilingual counseling in Spanish is available, and virtual sessions are offered Monday through Saturday.
The team is led by Kendra Sullivan, Clinical Director, and includes licensed professional counselors, a licensed marriage and family therapist (Virginia Lara, who serves in the Spanish-speaking Encuentro ministry), a personal coach, intake coordinators, and graduate-level interns. Each counselor holds a master's degree and Texas licensure and integrates biblical truth with clinically sound practice. Sessions are offered at rates below typical community rates, with further reductions for active members of Sagemont.
The center hosts support groups that are open to clients and to the wider community, including Grief Share and Divorce Care, which meet on Wednesday evenings. Engaged couples who want to be married at Sagemont or by a Sagemont minister are asked to complete the four-to-six-session Marriage Preparation Program, which uses the SYMBIS (Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts) assessment. Members pay a subsidized rate per session plus a one-time SYMBIS fee; non-members pay the standard rate. Appointments can be scheduled at 281-481-7133.
Helping Hands, food boxes, and emergency help
Helping Hands is the church's mercy ministry for families and individuals within about 10 miles of the campus. The ministry runs two main avenues of help. The first is a food pantry that distributes roughly 1,560 boxes of food each year. The second is limited emergency financial assistance with rent or utilities, with appointments available on Thursdays only from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. A valid federal or state ID and a matching utility bill or lease are required to apply for assistance.
The Helping Hands office is at the main campus, with parking in Lot J. Donations of unexpired food are accepted in grocery baskets around the church. A standard food box includes canned vegetables, beans, fruit, soup, meat, and meals, plus spaghetti sauce, hamburger helper, rice, beans, pasta, ramen, cereal, peanut butter, and jelly.
A separate Willing Hands Quilting Ministry creates quilts for families served by the church's Clothes Closet, women served by the local crisis pregnancy center, and members of the homeless community. Brannon Revel serves as Executive Director of Missional Strategies, and Marilyn Bass is the Local Missions Assistant.
Mother's Day Out, Pastoral Care, and the Lodge at Danbury
Sagemont runs a two-day-a-week Mother's Day Out program for children from six weeks through four years old (as of September 1). The program meets on Mondays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with a Bible-based curriculum, themed units, and an early-literacy focus. Preschoolers attend a weekly Chapel for a Bible story, songs, and puppet shows. A non-refundable registration fee is required, and monthly tuition is set each year. The program also offers a multi-week summer program for ages six weeks through fifth grade. Lisa Andrews is the manager.
The Pastoral Care Ministry sends ministers and trained volunteers to Sagemont members who are hospitalized, confined in an adult care facility, in hospice, or in bereavement. The office, led by Pastor Charles Casteel, Director of Pastoral Care, can be reached at 281-481-7146. Parent-Baby Dedication is offered twice a year for families with infants, presented by a pastor in one of the Sunday morning services.
About an hour south of Houston, The Lodge at Danbury is the church's retreat and conference center. The 23-room lodge hosts up to 100 guests in a 2,400-square-foot dining hall, a 3,000-square-foot Great Room with a 28-foot vaulted ceiling and a grand stone fireplace, and a 600-square-foot kitchen facility. Six guest rooms meet ADA requirements, and the grounds include a wrap-around porch, hundred-year-old oak trees, and three stocked fishing lakes - a catfish lake, a perch lake, and a trophy bass lake. Day rates for business or corporate meetings run by exclusive use, and overnight rooms are available. Nelda Taylor manages the property.
Iglesia Sagemont, the Spanish ministry at the Hughes Road Auditorium
The Spanish-language ministry of Sagemont, known as Iglesia Sagemont or Sagemont Encuentro, meets every Sunday at 11:40 a.m. in the Hughes Road Auditorium (HRA) at 11323 Hughes Road. The service is fully in Spanish, with contemporary worship and culturally relevant preaching by Pastor Lázaro Riesgo, Director of Spanish Ministries. Julio Garcia serves as Associate Director of Spanish Ministries, Walter Orocio directs the Hispanic worship team, and Lili Ramirez-Poveda is the assistant.
The Spanish ministry follows the same Discipleship Pathway as the English ministry - Alabar (Worship), Conectar (Connect), Crecer (Grow), and Ir (Go) - and offers a parallel set of ministries. Five Spanish-language Connect Groups meet on Sunday mornings at 10:20 a.m. Spanish-speaking families can enroll children in Sagemont Kids at 9:00, 10:20, and 11:40 a.m. and students in Sagemont Students at 9:00 and 10:20 a.m. Helping Hands, counseling in Spanish, Mother's Day Out, and the Discover Sagemont (Clase Descubre Sagemont) newcomer class are all available in Spanish. First-time guests to the Spanish service are invited to park in Lot K, in front of the HRA.
The Next Step Project, a campus being renewed
Sagemont has launched a multi-phase capital project called The Next Step Project, designed to renew and expand facilities to keep pace with growth. With a projected cost across phases 1 through 3 of about $17.7 million, the project addresses aging HVAC and other critical systems and adds space for ministry and community engagement.
Phase 1, an update of the Worship Center and lobby, was fully funded and completed in 2026 with new carpet, paint, and technology. Phase 2, the remodel of the Annex at the corner of Hughes Road and Beltway 8, is funded and under construction, with completion expected by spring 2027. Planned uses include recreational space for adults of all ages, expanded Helping Hands facilities, and a place to welcome community events. Phase 3, the redesign of the Hughes Road Auditorium, would gut the interior to create a new floor plan for the Spanish ministry, events, classrooms, and a unified staff office configuration. Phase 4, contingent on future funding, would demolish the aging gym and adjacent offices (located in a flood plain) and build a new three-story ministry hub with a gym and additional Sagemont Kids space.
Beliefs, baptism, and membership
Sagemont's stated beliefs center on the Bible as the inspired Word of God, on salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and on baptism as the public act of obedience that follows a personal profession of faith. In the church's own words, baptism "by full immersion in water pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, as well as the believer's own death to sin and new life in Him." The church does not baptize infants.
Membership is open to those who have placed their faith in Jesus, have been baptized by immersion, and have attended a Discover Sagemont Class, which meets on the second and fourth Sundays at 9:00 a.m. in Room WC1127. The three-step process leads a guest through salvation, baptism, and the class, with the Director of Hospitality and Membership, Dan Nowalk, walking each person through. A parallel Clase Descubre Sagemont is offered in Spanish.
How to connect and what to expect
The church office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 11300 S. Sam Houston Pkwy E., Houston, Texas 77089, and can be reached at 281-481-8770. General contact is through communications@sagemontchurch.org.
Giving can be done online, through the Sagemont Church app (available for iOS and Android), in memory of a loved one, by mail, by stock transfer through Wells Fargo Advisors, or by qualified charitable distribution from an IRA. The church partners with PhilanthroCorp to offer free estate planning services.
On-demand messages, including Sunday worship services and the four livestreamed Connect Groups, are available on the church's online platform and the YouTube channel. A weekly sermon podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The Sagemont app delivers messages, study resources, news, and events to a phone, along with a Ministry Imprint Assessment for members who want to discover their gifts and find a place to serve. Members interested in serving attend a "Next Step to Serve" class on the third Sunday of each month at 9:00 a.m.; a background check is required for all volunteers.
Pastor Skipper and his team lead a church that is autonomous, Baptist in conviction, and intentional about walking the Discipleship Pathway together. The main phone line rings in the same building that holds the worship services, the children's wing, the student building, and the Helping Hands office, while the Hughes Road Auditorium hosts the Spanish ministry, the Counseling Center offers hope and healing in a quieter setting a few blocks away, and The Lodge at Danbury opens its wrap-around porch to guests coming south for a retreat.