Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg: 70 Years on Mountain View Road
On the west side of Lynchburg, Virginia, where Mountain View Road rises toward the Blue Ridge foothills, a single brick campus has anchored Baptist life in central Virginia for nearly seven decades. Thomas Road Baptist Church was founded in 1956 by a young pastor named Jerry Falwell, and the church he planted has grown into a regional ministry that broadcasts on television, operates two camps, runs a Spanish-language congregation, and supports missionaries on multiple continents. The motto that frames everything is short and direct: Love God, Love People.
Today the pulpit belongs to Jonathan Falwell, who became senior pastor in June of 2007 after his father's death. Around him sits a large pastoral team grouped under executive, ministry, worship, care, and missions divisions. Services run three times a week on the main campus, and a parallel Spanish-language service meets down the hall in Pate Chapel. First-time visitors are asked to do almost nothing beyond show up; the rest of the church is built to meet people where they are and walk them forward from there.
Sunday Mornings at the Worship Center
Sunday services are held at 9:15 and 11:00 a.m. in the Worship Center, with children's programming offered at both services. The order of service follows a familiar Baptist shape - a time of congregational worship led by the Worship Ministry, prayer, the reading and preaching of Scripture, and an invitation - but the music itself leans contemporary, with a band and vocal team. The choir and orchestra, described more fully below, return for special productions and the annual Christmas show. A separate Bible Center Service meets at 5:00 p.m. in Pate Chapel for those who prefer a smaller evening gathering.
For guests, the church reserves the upper parking lot and marks it with blue Welcome Home flags and a canopy. A Host Team greets arrivals at the doors and answers questions; visitors are invited to stop by the Connect wall in the main lobby afterward, where they can pick up a welcome gift, fill out a connection card, and learn about next steps. Dress is described simply as come as you are.
TRBC en Español
A Spanish-language congregation shares the same campus. TRBC en Español meets on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. in Pate Chapel, led by Spanish Ministry Pastor Jonathan Samaniego and Associate Pastor Sung Kim, with support from a worship team and a missions office that represents people from fifteen countries. Giving for the Spanish Ministry is its own designated fund, used to disciple the Spanish-speaking community in and around Lynchburg. The phone line reserved for Spanish ministry is 434.592.5477.
Thomas Road Kids: Birth Through Fifth Grade
Children's ministry, branded Thomas Road Kids, follows a single discipleship thread across three age groups and two weekly touch points. The three core truths taught at every level are that children are made by God, made for a relationship with Jesus, and made to love others.
Preschool serves children from birth through kindergarten. The nursery cares for infants and toddlers up to thirty months, and the Pre-K/K environment begins at two-and-a-half. On Sundays, preschoolers experience Bible lessons, worship, and hands-on activities led by trained volunteers. On Wednesday evenings during the school year, the Awana program runs from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. for ages two-and-a-half through fifth grade, with check-in beginning at 6:00 p.m. and a family dinner served in Bruner Hall from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. ($5 per person or $15 per immediate family).
Elementary ministry is split into two Sunday environments. Kid Central serves first through third grade, and Route 45 serves fourth and fifth grade, each combining large-group worship and teaching with small-group time organized around grade and gender. A separate Splash Baptism class is offered several times a year for first-through-fifth graders who want to explore believer's baptism.
Child safety is taken seriously. Every kids volunteer has been interviewed, trained, and background checked; hallways are monitored during services; and a secure sticker-code check-in system matches parents with their children at drop-off and pickup. If a child needs a parent during the service, the number provided at check-in is used to reach them.
Thomas Road Students: Middle and High School
Student ministry operates with its own staff and a clear weekly rhythm. Wednesdays are the flagship gathering, with age-specific environments, small groups, and a free dinner each week. Middle school meets from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. and high school from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m., both out of the TRBC Backyard. On Sunday mornings, students are encouraged to worship with their families at either service; sixth and seventh graders have the option of TR67 during the 9:15 service, a track designed to teach them how to love and serve the local church.
Spiritual formation happens in Life Groups, which meet in host homes on Sunday nights during the school year. Groups are organized by school so students walk alongside classmates, and the curriculum is structured around trust, vulnerability, and accountability. Middle school Life Groups meet 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and high school Life Groups from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. A baptism service for students is held at least twice every semester.
Thomas Road Young Adults: TRYA
Young adults are organized into two overlapping communities under the TRYA banner. The College Ministry exists to prepare college students to serve as Christ-centered leaders in their families, workplaces, and churches, doing so through Life Groups, discipleship, social gatherings, and missional outreach. The 20s & 30s Ministry gathers young professionals, singles, dating, engaged, and married individuals, and young families around the same discipleship path. The two meet together for Sunday morning gatherings at 9:15 a.m. in Bruner Hall, with midweek TRYA United nights in Pate Chapel and a baptism service at the close of each semester.
Adult Life: Men, Women, Married, and Senior
Adult ministry is built around the Life Group model - small groups that meet on Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, and in homes throughout the week to study Scripture and live out the six core values of the church: Scripture, Prayer, Worship, Community, Serving, and Sharing.
Men's Life is led by Men's Pastor Ajay Pillai and meets on Tuesday mornings at 6:30 a.m. and Tuesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. Women's Life, directed by Jamie Bullman, runs Tuesday morning and evening Flourish studies, a Wednesday-morning Bible Study Fellowship, a Tuesday-evening Precept Inductive Bible Study, and a long list of affinity groups - Open Hearts, Mom Life, Single Women's Life, Single Mom's Life, and Hello Lynchburg. Widow Life, coordinated by Patsy Sanders, meets on the first Wednesday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Bruner Hall.
Married Life, led by Cody Mummau, offers Sunday morning and Wednesday evening groups, a separate Married Groups track, and pre-marital counseling for engaged couples. Senior Life, pastored by Bob Hart, gathers adults 50 and older on the second, third, and fourth Thursdays of each month from 10:00 a.m. to noon in Bruner Hall for worship, teaching, and fellowship. The Senior Life Choir also ministers in nursing homes and retirement communities throughout Lynchburg and the surrounding area.
Special Needs: iKids and Spectrum 139
Two ministries serve people with disabilities and their families. iKids, for children and teens, partners with parents to help every child grow in their relationship with Jesus, with the conviction that every child is a gift from God. An intake process gathers information about each child's needs before their first visit, and a dedicated Special Needs Carnival is held alongside the annual Kids Karnival for families who would prefer a smaller environment.
Spectrum 139 is the adult counterpart, designed for adults with disabilities and built around two verses that frame its philosophy: I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) and I am an essential part of the body of Christ (Romans 12:5-6). The ministry's stated goal is to build community and encourage each person to use their unique gifts to reach others for Christ. Director of Special Needs Ministries and Care Toy Hine oversees both arms of the work.
Worship Ministry
The Worship Ministry supports the life of the church through choir, orchestra, the Kids Worship Crew, a band, and a production team. Theologically the ministry describes itself this way: declaring the truth of God, with the people of God, in the presence of God. The team looks for vocalists, instrumentalists, and actors who are called and committed to serve God with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength, not merely skilled. Worship Pastor Scott Bullman leads the staff, supported by Worship Leaders Rachel and Zach Bowsher, a Worship Resident, and a wide group of volunteer musicians.
The ministry's reach extends well beyond the Sunday services. The Gift, Thomas Road's annual Christmas production, fills the Worship Center with musicians, actors, and dancers performing around the Living Christmas Tree in early December. Original worship albums are also released under the Thomas Road Worship name; recent recordings include Majesty & Glory: Hymns of the Church (2023) and Shout to the Lord: A Worship Revival (2025).
Care and Counseling
A dedicated Care and Counseling ministry walks with people through grief, hospitalization, recovery, and crisis. Care Pastor Tom Freitas leads a team that includes an Associate Care Pastor, an Associate Pastor of Congregational Care, two visitation pastors, a Recovery Ministries Director, and a clinical counseling program. The counseling program, which is free to the Lynchburg community, is staffed by students completing a Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Short-term care groups are 13-week, video-driven courses that use biblical, Christ-centered curriculum and begin a new session each fall. Freedom Ministries is the year-round, weekly gathering that hosts long-term support and recovery groups. Pastoral Care supports families who have lost a loved one and offers hospital visits during illness; the pastor on call can be reached through the main church line. Pre-marital counseling, weddings officiated by Thomas Road pastors, and use of the church facilities for weddings are coordinated through this department. The care ministry notes clearly that it is not a crisis center; emergencies are directed to 911 and the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline.
Missions: Local, National, and Global
The Missions department operates under a simple motto: love our city, touch our nation, change our world. Led by Missions Pastor Timothy Grandstaff and an associate team, the ministry organizes short-term trips, supports partnering missionaries, coordinates local outreach, and maintains a Ready Response network.
The Ready Response program maintains two trained teams. The Local Support Team meets practical needs throughout the Lynchburg community through yard work, home repairs, and moving help, showing the love of Christ in tangible ways. The Disaster Relief Team stands ready to deploy at a moment's notice, locally, statewide, or nationally, working alongside trusted relief organizations like God's Pit Crew and the Southern Baptists of Virginia.
Local outreach also flows through a Foster and Adoption Resource Center housed in the Fort Hill Shopping Center. The Resource Center is open Tuesday mornings (9:00 to 11:00 a.m.), Thursday evenings (6:00 to 8:00 p.m.), and Saturday mornings (9:00 a.m. to noon), and accepts donations, organizes supplies, and prays over the families it serves.
Foster and Adoption
The Foster and Adoption Ministry exists to encourage and support children and families by loving God and loving people. It meets tangible needs through donations and shares the love of Jesus through the gospel, partnering with organizations like Journey Home and the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center. The Resource Center is the ministry's physical hub on the Fort Hill Shopping Center campus, and volunteers are needed each week to clean donations, organize supplies, and pray over visiting families.
Camps: Hydaway and the Outpost
Thomas Road runs two camps that together host more than two thousand children and teenagers each summer. Camp Hydaway is led by Director Daun LaRue Rice and operates as a flagship summer camp ministry. Thomas Road Outpost (TRO), launched in 2014, extends the camp brand with year-round and seasonal events, including a fall Family Camp. A Camp Ministry giving fund provides scholarships so that every child can attend regardless of family finances.
Sister Ministries and Partner Organizations
Thomas Road's campus is the center of a larger network. Godparent Home provides a residential program for young, single, pregnant women in central Virginia. Family Life Services supports expectant mothers and adoptive families on their adoption journey. Dan River Church, located in the Danville area, functions as a partner congregation. Liberty Christian Academy and Liberty University, founded by Jerry Falwell, share historical and ministry ties. HopeNow.TV - the church's weekly broadcast, on the air since 1956 - is described as one of the longest-running weekly syndicated television programs in the country. Good News Clubs, run by volunteers from the church, take Scripture-based lessons into local elementary schools each week. Impact Sports, a sports ministry for kids in kindergarten through ninth grade, runs three seasons of team sports on TRBC facilities, with equal play time, screened coaches, and Christ-honoring devotions built into every practice and game.
What Thomas Road Believes
The church's statement of beliefs is unusually explicit and unusually comprehensive. Thomas Road affirms the Trinity - one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ was eternally begotten of the Father, conceived by the Virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit, and now lives forever as perfect God and perfect man in two distinct natures united in one person. The Holy Spirit is described as the giver of all life, the agent of the new birth, and the one who indwells and sanctifies believers.
Creation is taught as a six-historical-day event, with human beings directly created in the image of God rather than evolved. The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is described as supernaturally inspired, inerrant in the originals, and authoritative in all matters. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ, received through repentance. The church is expressed in local assemblies of baptized believers under the lordship of Christ, self-governing, led by pastors and deacons, and charged with administering the ordinances of believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper.
The church teaches a classic premillennial, pre-tribulation eschatology: the imminent rapture of the church, seven years of great tribulation, the return of Christ to establish a thousand-year earthly reign, and the final judgment of the unsaved. Marriage is defined as a lifetime covenant between one natural-born man and one natural-born woman, intended to illustrate the relationship between Christ and his church.
Core Values
The mission of the church is summarized in six values that frame everything from the pulpit to the playground.
- Commitment to Scripture. The church has taught and preached the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God since its founding and considers it the bedrock of every program.
- Culture of Prayer. Prayer is integrated into every aspect of ministry, from Main Street to the Worship Center, echoing a founding charge from Dr. Jerry Falwell: Nothing of eternal significance is ever accomplished apart from prayer.
- Lifestyle of Worship. True worship is treated as a daily lifestyle, not just a Sunday morning activity, anchored in the call to love God with all of heart, soul, and mind.
- Connection to Community. Members are encouraged to bear one another's burdens through Life Groups, which meet on Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, and in homes throughout the week.
- Heart for Serving. Members are expected to discover and deploy their spiritual gifts within the body of Christ, using the Connect class as a starting point.
- Passion for Sharing. The gospel is carried outside the walls of the church into the local community and across the world through short-term trips, missionaries, and outreach partners.
Getting Connected
Thomas Road builds its discipleship path around a few clear steps. Follow Jesus is the first step for anyone who has decided to trust Christ or has new questions; a team member reaches out to start the conversation. Baptism is presented as a believer's public proclamation of conversion and commitment, with classes for children, students, and young adults. Membership is offered through ConnectTR, a class that introduces the mission, life, and community of Thomas Road. Groups are the small-group pathway for spiritual growth, organized by age and stage of life and searchable through the church's group finder. Serve matches gifts with one of dozens of serving teams in preschool, elementary, student, worship, host, prayer, Life Group, missions, special events, Good News Club, young adult, technical production, and foster and adoption ministry.
Giving, Prayer, and Visiting
Online giving, text giving (text TRBC to 77977), mail, and in-person giving are all supported. Designated funds include Local and Global Missions, Disaster Relief, Benevolence, Spanish Ministry, Camp Ministry, Outreach, Godparent Home, and Family Life Services. Prayer requests can be submitted through a dedicated online form, and a pastoral prayer team is available at the main lobby prayer table and at altar calls on Sunday mornings. Visitors planning a first visit are encouraged to use the Plan Your Visit page on the church's site to help the host team prepare for their arrival.
Plan a Visit
Thomas Road Baptist Church is located at 1 Mountain View Road, Lynchburg, Virginia 24502. Sunday services are at 9:15 and 11:00 a.m. with children's programming at both, and a Wednesday evening service at 6:30 p.m. The main phone line is 434.239.9281 and the general inbox is info@trbc.org. Services are livestreamed on YouTube, sermons are archived for on-demand viewing, and RightNow Media is available free to members as a video library covering marriage, parenting, finances, and spiritual growth. For the Spanish-speaking congregation, the phone line is 434.592.5477 and the Spanish ministry contact is somos@trbc.org.