Tucked along Moseley Road in the southern corner of Chesterfield County, Virginia, Skinquarter Baptist Church has stood as a steady Baptist witness for nearly two and a half centuries. Founded in 1778 by the minister William Hickman near a spring that gave the surrounding community its name, it is the second oldest continuous Baptist congregation in Chesterfield County. The church that meets here today is small and friendly, with a typical Sunday worship attendance in the range of fifty to sixty people, and its members describe themselves plainly as a body of believers from different backgrounds and stories joined together because of the gospel of Christ.
Sunday Morning at Skinquarter
The pattern of the week centers on the Lord's Day. Sunday School begins at 9:45 AM, with two adult classes (led by Lowell Scott and Ray Trainham) and three children's classes covering preschool through sixth grade. The morning worship service follows at 11:00 AM in the sanctuary and follows a familiar Baptist shape: prayer, a greeting time, congregational singing, and verse-by-verse preaching. Members of the worship team say the music is currently traditional but they are upgrading audio and visual equipment so that the service can move toward a blend of traditional hymns and contemporary praise songs.
Children are welcomed in the service at the start. After the music portion of the morning, children between the ages of two and twelve are dismissed for Children's Church in the fellowship hall, where volunteers teach a Bible lesson and lead a craft or activity for about thirty-five to forty minutes. Parents who prefer to keep their children with them throughout the service may do so, and any child who becomes restless can be taken to a back room where the sermon can still be heard through an FM radio provided for that purpose. The church offers the same FM broadcast to anyone who would like to listen to the service from the parking lot on 98.3 FM.
Most Sunday evenings from 5:30 to 7:00 PM, the church hosts a separate children's ministry in the Social Hall for ages three through sixth grade, with a Bible lesson, a snack, and activities. Communion is observed monthly on the first Sunday, immediately after the worship service.
A Congregation Older Than the Nation
Skinquarter's story begins in 1778, the same year William Hickman was ordained a Baptist minister. About thirty people gathered to form the church, and the first meetinghouse was a rectangular frame structure built on Hickman's farm, measuring thirty-six by forty-eight feet, with a recessed pulpit, eight large windows, and two front doors - one for the men and one for the women. Within the next twenty-five years the fellowship had grown enough that a second meetinghouse was likely built between 1799 and 1801 on a hill north of what is now the cemetery.
The third meetinghouse, raised by the Goode family on land they deeded to the congregation, stood inside the bounds of the present cemetery. That building burned on Christmas Day in 1890. On New Year's Day 1891, Dr. C. F. Bagby preached a dedicatory sermon titled "Occupy Till I Come," and the congregation voted to rebuild at once. The Skinquarter Baptist Church building erected in 1891 is the same one the congregation worships in today. Remodeling in 1952 added classrooms, a baptistry, and central heating. In 1975 the facade was changed, with new classrooms, a front portico, a vestibule, and a steepled belfry. The entire sanctuary was refurbished in 1986, the fellowship hall was added in 2000, and the playground went in in 2007. Many of the church's historical artifacts are displayed in the foyer between the sanctuary and fellowship hall, and the adjoining cemetery, with grave markers dating back to at least 1852, remains part of the property.
Skinquarter served as a kind of mother church for at least seven ministers and several daughter congregations over the years, including Liberty Baptist Church in Powhatan County, Zoar Church in Chesterfield, Beulah Church, and Mt. Hermon.
What the Church Believes
Skinquarter Baptist Church describes itself as a Bible-centered, Christ-exalting fellowship whose simple mission is to lead people to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Its core beliefs reflect historic Baptist convictions:
- The Bible is the complete, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, with full authority in all matters of faith and life.
- There is one God, Creator and sustainer of all things, eternal, all-powerful, everywhere present, all-knowing, and unchanging, who exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for sin, was buried, and rose again on the third day.
- The Holy Spirit dwells in every believer and guides the Christian walk.
- Mankind was created by God in His image, as male and female; marriage is the union of one man and one woman; life begins at conception.
- Salvation is a gift of God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone and cannot be earned by works or ritual.
Children and Youth
Children's ministry is woven through the week. Sunday School begins at 9:45 AM with three classes for preschool through sixth grade. Children's Church is dismissed during the worship service for ages two through twelve. On most Sunday evenings from 5:30 to 7:00 PM, a separate children's ministry gathers in the Social Hall for ages three through sixth grade. One week each summer is set aside for Vacation Bible School, which fills the church with Bible lessons, singing, crafts, recreation, and snacks, and makes full use of the church playground, an outdoor space the congregation also enjoys at its annual Fall Festival and Easter events. The church also plans to reintroduce a nursery for infants through age two.
Bible Study and Small Groups Through the Week
Sunday School at 9:45 AM, Wednesday Prayer and Bible Study at 7:00 PM, and the Positive Connection Bible Study on most Saturday evenings at 6:00 PM make up the rhythm of the church's discipleship life. Wednesday evenings typically draw fifteen to twenty people into the sanctuary for a time of shared prayer concerns followed by teaching, with the pastor leading. The Saturday Positive Connection Bible Study is led by Deacon Ray (Bubba) Trainham and is open to anyone from new believers to longtime students of Scripture. On the first and third Saturdays of each month, the Living Hope Prayer Meeting gathers in the sanctuary at 8:00 AM.
A Choir, a Music Director, and a Sound
Music ministry at Skinquarter is built around congregational singing, a volunteer choir, and the longtime leadership of Music Director Angie Cahoon. The choir opens the service with a call to worship and offers special music one or two Sundays each month, presenting both Easter and Christmas cantatas in recent seasons. Choir rehearsals are held on most Wednesdays from 8:00 to 9:00 PM in the choir loft, accompanied either by volunteer pianist Marcelle Tyler or by professional sound tracks. Several soloists and small groups round out the special music in worship. Cahoon also sings as a lead vocalist with the True Spirit Gospel Band. Church membership is not required to sing in the choir.
Men, Women, and Seniors
The men's ministry centers on a regional prayer breakfast hosted by Deacon Ray Trainham on the last Saturday of each month at 8:00 AM at a barn-style meeting space on Patrick Henry Highway in Amelia Court House. Thirty to fifty men typically gather for breakfast, a hymn, Bible teaching, and a time of prayer, with a free-will offering collected to cover the meal. Women are served by the Women's Missionary Union, which meets on the second Tuesday of each month (except July and August) at 1:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall for prayer, devotions, a simple craft, snacks, and mission projects. Past projects have included collections for the McGuire VA Medical Center, On Faith Ministries, L. C. Bird High School youth at risk, the Amelia Nursing Home, and the Grange Hall Christmas Children. From time to time the women's leadership plans special programs featuring a meal, special music, and a guest speaker.
Senior adults are invited to the Prime Timers, a monthly lunch outing held on the first Thursday of the month at the Cracker Barrel on Route 360 in Midlothian. The pastor and his wife typically attend, and guests are welcome.
Missions and the Wider World
Skinquarter Baptist Church supports Southern Baptist missionaries through prayer and mission offerings, including Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong, and State Missions offerings, and has also supported independent missionaries and church planters. The Women's Missionary Union invites the whole congregation into seasonal mission projects, and each year the church partners with Hope for Appalachia. Periodically the church opens its doors for a free community dinner, a fellowship meal that draws friends and neighbors around a shared table.
Becoming a Member
Membership at Skinquarter is open to anyone who confesses Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, presented to the church by statement of faith and baptism by immersion, or by letter from another church of like faith. If a letter cannot be obtained, a conference with the pastor is required so that he can verify the candidate understands and accepts Baptist doctrine. The congregation votes to receive new members, typically at the close of a worship service, and welcomes them into the family the same day.
Visiting Skinquarter Baptist Church
The church sits at 6900 Moseley Road in Moseley, Virginia, with parking on both sides of the building and two designated visitor spots near the front of the lot. Visitors may enter through the side entrance, which is wheelchair accessible and leads past the restrooms, or through the front entrance where an usher will hand them a bulletin. Dress runs the range from casual to traditional Sunday best, and the only concern is that guests feel at ease. Worship attendance is small enough that visitors are easy to notice and quick to be welcomed. The service is also broadcast on 98.3 FM for anyone who would like to listen from the parking lot. For more information, the church can be reached at 804-739-2039.