Sterling Park Baptist Church sits on the east side of North York Road in Sterling, Virginia, a single-story building with a steady stream of ministry running through it every day of the week. The congregation is known throughout Northern Virginia for two things in particular: a steady diet of expository preaching that walks through books of the Bible one chapter at a time, and a heritage of multiplication that has sent out church planters and supported missionaries across the country and around the world. The church summarizes its purpose in a single line: Maturing and Multiplying. Maturing believers in Christ, and multiplying by reaching more people with the good news of salvation in Jesus.
A Heritage from Guilford Baptist
The current Sterling Park Baptist Church took shape in the summer of 2013, when a long-established Baptist congregation in Loudoun County merged with a younger, revitalized work that had grown out of a Washington, D.C. church planting movement.
The older of the two was Guilford Baptist Church, founded in 1857 as Lebanon Grove Baptist Church and renamed a few years later to reflect the surrounding community. For decades Guilford served as a circuit church, sharing one minister with Calvary Baptist Church and Mount Hope Baptist Church. It closed its doors for stretches in the 1940s and 1950s before reopening in 1954 and continuing on through periods of growth and decline.
By the early 2000s Guilford had dwindled to a handful of faithful members without a pastor. In June 2005, a church planting group from Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, led by pastor Mike McKinley, joined the small body, and the Lord steadily grew the work. Within a few years the congregation had outgrown its facilities, moving Sunday morning services to Sterling Middle School and then to Park View High School while continuing to worship, disciple, and serve.
During those years Guilford launched three church plants: one English-speaking congregation in Winchester, Virginia, and two Spanish-speaking churches in Sterling and Herndon, as well as a food pantry that began to serve neighbors in need. After the 2013 merger, the unified congregation chose to carry the name Sterling Park Baptist Church.
The Sunday Rhythm at 501 North York Road
A typical Sunday at Sterling Park Baptist begins before most of Loudoun County is awake. At 9:00 a.m. the doors open for the Equipping Hour, a forty-five-minute stretch of classes for adults, children, preteens, and youth. Nursery care is provided, and the classes are designed to shape believers in three directions: to educate the mind, to stir the heart toward Jesus and other people, and to motivate the hands to obey and serve.
At 10:00 a.m. the congregation gathers for the morning service, the central weekly worship gathering. Preaching is expository, working through books of the Bible over many weeks at a time. Recent series have included multi-year journeys through Romans and Mark, 17 sermons through Numbers, and detailed passages through Exodus, Leviticus, Ecclesiastes, Galatians, Ephesians, 1 Thessalonians, 1 John, 1 and 2 Corinthians, the Gospel of Matthew, and many others. The morning service also includes congregational singing and usually runs to around 11:45 a.m.
At 6:00 p.m. the building fills again for an evening prayer service and Bible study, currently working through Philippians. The evening service is not held on the first Sunday of the month, when members are encouraged to spend the evening practicing hospitality with neighbors and one another. Small G4 counseling groups continue to meet on those Sundays.
Children eight and under are dismissed from the morning service before the sermon for a separate teaching time that uses The Biggest Story curriculum from Crossway, walking them from the Garden of Eden to the return of Christ and helping them grasp the Bible's overarching story of redemption. Children learn a new song each week from the New City Catechism.
Office hours run Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The building is closed to the office on Fridays and Saturdays, with the exception of scheduled gatherings, and is open Sunday from 9:00 a.m. through the conclusion of evening activities.
Children's Ministry
Sterling Park Baptist takes seriously its responsibility to the children of the congregation. The children's ministry names three goals: serve parents by freeing them to attentively hear the preaching of the word, provide a safe environment for children while parents are in the service, and systematically teach the children the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Nursery care is provided for babies and toddlers during the Equipping Hour from 9:00 to 9:45 a.m., during the morning service from 10:00 to 11:45 a.m., and during the evening service from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
During the Equipping Hour, preschoolers and grade-schoolers gather by age for the Gospel Project curriculum, with separate classes for 3- to 5-year-olds, 6- to 8-year-olds, and 9- to 10-year-olds. During the main service, children eight and under are dismissed before the sermon and gather in the Fellowship Hall for a combined large-group time of videos, songs from the New City Catechism, Bible teaching, and Bible memorization, lasting 30 to 40 minutes. After the large-group time, a teacher escorts them to age-appropriate classrooms for further teaching and activities. Children are picked up from those classrooms after the service. Evening service classes are offered for preschoolers and 4- to 10-year-olds from 6 to 7 p.m.
Check-in is straightforward. New families can stop at the Welcome Desk and let a volunteer know they are new, or head into the Children's Wing and use one of the self-service computers to print a name sticker for the child.
Youth Ministry
Mike Jones, the assistant pastor, oversees youth ministry along with his other teaching and discipleship responsibilities. The youth of the church gather in three rhythms. On Sunday mornings they meet for the Equipping Class from 9:00 to 9:45 a.m. to study God's word before the main service. On Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. they gather for Youth Group to apply the morning sermon to their lives, complete with pizza. Once a month the youth get together for outings and social events, including things like trips to King's Dominion, hiking, and river tubing.
The youth ministry exists, in the church's words, to be a source of instruction, encouragement, and challenge: a healthy environment for young people to mature spiritually as they move into adulthood.
Equipping Classes and Through the Bible
Sterling Park Baptist places a high value on Christian education. The Sunday morning Equipping Hour is the regular rhythm for this, but the church also offers short courses during the year and a four-week introductory course for newcomers.
The Fall 2026 Equipping class focuses on Discipleship, exploring how God uses believers to help one another grow in Christ. Past courses have included complementary studies on individual growth and spiritual disciplines.
Through the Bible is a four-session course designed to introduce the Bible to those who don't yet follow Jesus, who aren't sure what they believe, who are wrestling with doubts, who simply want to learn more about the Bible, or who are interested in knowing God but aren't sure what that looks like. Each evening includes pizza, snacks, and drinks, and walks participants through how Jesus is present, pictured, and promised from the very first book of the Bible.
G4 Groups: Gospel-Centered Counseling
Beyond the more familiar ministries, Sterling Park Baptist runs a structured counseling ministry called G4 Groups. The G stands for gospel-centered, and the 4 stands for the four things provided in these groups: support, process, recovery, and therapeutic education.
G4 groups are peer-led, subject-specific groups that walk participants through a curriculum. Rather than relying on a single trained counselor, members are paired with others who have relevant experience with the same struggle and have dealt with it in a God-honoring way. Currently in progress, topics include Navigating Destructive Relationships, Cultivating a Healthy Relationship with Food (for women), Emotions, and Depression and Anxiety. Each group is built on the conviction that the gospel reframes every struggle and that identity is found in Christ rather than in any particular hardship.
Groups meet on Sunday evenings from 5:45 to 7:15 p.m. at the church building, with childcare available when the evening service is held. Groups are open, so participants can join at any point and stay as long as needed.
Biblical Counseling
For those who need one-on-one attention, the church offers a Biblical Counseling ministry led by Brenda Pauken, a certified Christian trauma care provider who holds an MA in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and completed an internship at the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF).
The ministry holds that real and lasting change comes through understanding oneself in light of what God has done in Christ, and that help and hope are found not in any particular therapeutic technique but in the person of Jesus. Counseling is offered free of charge to members and is also available to people in the community without a church home who are exploring how faith in Christ can make a difference in every aspect of their lives.
Men's and Women's Ministries
The Women's Ministry centers the group's life around three Bible study groups studying the same passage each week but meeting at different times. Groups meet on Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m. (with childcare provided), Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m., and Sunday mornings during the Equipping Hour at 9:00 a.m. Studies follow an inductive approach of careful observation, interpretation, and application. A women's retreat is held each spring at a retreat center outside the area.
The Men's Ministry gathers around a Reading and Accountability Group that meets every couple of weeks on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:00 a.m. The first hour is spent in a large group discussing an assigned reading, with the second half-hour broken into smaller groups for prayer and accountability. Books in progress have included classic pieces of Christian literature. A men's retreat is held each fall at a retreat center outside the area.
Small Groups Across Northern Virginia
Small groups are central to life at Sterling Park Baptist. A small group is a group of 8 to 15 members who gather regularly outside the main weekly meetings of the church, organized primarily by geography so that members can do life together with neighbors. Groups are intentionally multigenerational and meet at least every other week.
Current groups meet in Chantilly (Friday evenings), Fairfax (Saturday afternoons), Herndon North (Wednesday evenings and Tuesday evenings), Herndon South (Sunday and Saturday), Sterling (Wednesday evenings and Friday evenings), and Reston (Tuesday evenings and Saturdays).
Missions: South Africa and Beyond
The missions heart of Sterling Park Baptist runs far beyond Northern Virginia. The church's primary mission focus is on South Africa, where missionaries Sipho and Lungi Mfusi serve with Zion Evangelical Bible Schools (ZEBS), a network of informal four-year Bible colleges designed for amaZioni church leaders. Many of these leaders have limited access to theological education and inherit their roles without formal training. ZEBS provides accessible, affordable training in Bible, theology, and church administration.
The church is also a member of the Radstock Network, a global network of churches connected for mission. Through Radstock, Sterling Park Baptist helps equip mission-driven churches and develop inter-church partnerships around the world.
Church Plants
The church-planting impulse that defined Guilford Baptist's renewal has continued at Sterling Park Baptist. Three church plants have grown out of the work.
Iglesia Bautista Hispana Guilford was planted in June 2006 to reach Spanish speakers for the gospel through a focus on God's word, discipleship, and prayer. The congregation meets at the Sterling Park Baptist building, with a prayer meeting at 12:00 p.m. on Sundays, discipleship groups at 1:00 p.m. for men, women, and youth, and a main worship service at 2:30 p.m. Two Bible studies meet on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m., with another on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. Spanish-speaking middle and high school youth meet at 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays. The Spanish-speaking church leads a monthly food pantry on the last Saturday of the month.
Winchester Baptist Church was planted in September 2012 in Winchester, Virginia, and meets at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings. The congregation partners with the Southern Baptist Convention of Virginia (SBCV).
The Food Pantry
Since the Guilford era, the food pantry has been a tangible expression of the church's care for the surrounding community. The Sterling Park Baptist Food Pantry distributes food in a drive-thru format most Saturday afternoons from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m., except when a fifth Saturday falls in a month. No documentation is required, and delivery may be possible for those without transportation.
The pantry welcomes donations of non-perishable grocery items and financial gifts, and provides a year-end statement for tax purposes. The pantry does not accept clothing, furniture, or toys.
A separate Spanish-language food pantry operates on the first Saturday of each month from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
The Pastoral Team, Elders, and Deacons
Mike McKinley is the senior pastor. A native of suburban Philadelphia, he studied religion and classics at The George Washington University and earned his MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary. He joined the pastoral staff at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in 2004 as a church planter, led the Guilford revitalization in 2005, and has served as senior pastor since the 2013 merger. He and his wife Karen have five children.
Seth Wachtel serves as associate pastor. A graduate of North Carolina State University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, he came to Sterling Park Baptist from a pastoral residency at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. He and his wife Jill have four children.
Mike Jones is the assistant pastor, originally from Liverpool, and a graduate of Capernwray Bible School and Reformed Theological Seminary. He oversees teaching God's word, discipling men, and the youth and children's ministries. He and his wife Heidi have two children.
Brenda Pauken is the biblical counselor, holding degrees from Towson University and Westminster Theological Seminary and an internship certificate from CCEF. Karen McKinley serves as administrator and outreach coordinator.
The elder team also includes four non-staff elders: Marty Clock, Tarun Nallabelli, Scott Welch, and Will Glaser (currently on scheduled sabbatical). The deacon team consists of Michael Collins (technology), Samuel Potter (ushers and ordinances), Rich Meyers (member care), and Tammy Meyers (member care).
Statement of Faith
Sterling Park Baptist's statement of faith is a summary of what the Bible teaches about foundational Christian doctrines and is based on the New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith (1853).
The church affirms that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction, with God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter. There is one God, infinite and intelligent, in whom three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are equal in every divine perfection.
Salvation is by faith in the Redeemer's work alone, and repentance and faith are inseparable graces worked in the soul by the regenerating Spirit of God. Election is the eternal purpose of God, by which He graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners. Sanctification is a progressive work carried on by the Holy Spirit through the word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer.
A visible church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His word. The only scriptural officers are elders or or pastors and deacons, whose qualifications are defined in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus.
Baptism is the immersion of a professing believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper, in which members commemorate together the dying love of Christ. Civil government is of divine appointment and is to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed, except where obedience would require opposing the will of Christ as expressed in Scripture.
Giving and Member Care
Sterling Park Baptist offers several ways to give to the ministry. Members can use the bill-pay feature at their bank to send checks on a schedule they choose, free of charge to both giver and church, with checks mailed to P.O. Box 2743, Sterling, VA 20164. Two offering boxes are placed in the main hall on Sunday mornings. Online giving is available through the church's giving partner, with an ACH bank transfer option that has the lowest processing fees, or by debit or credit card.
For practical needs, the Member Care team stands ready to assist. Requests can be submitted through a form or by emailing Rich Meyers directly. Whether the need is a hospital visit, a meal, or a hand during a move, the deacons of member care coordinate the congregation's response.
A Church Built for the Long Haul
Sterling Park Baptist Church is not the fastest-growing church in Northern Virginia, but it is one of the most steady. The congregation has now spanned four centuries of Loudoun County Baptist life, from the days when Guilford shared a circuit minister with neighboring congregations to the present, when expository preaching through books of the Bible remains the steady diet and the New City's growing community of believers gathers in the same neighborhood. The church's motto, Maturing and Multiplying, captures the heartbeat of a body that takes seriously both the depth of discipleship and the spread of the gospel.