Walnut Creek Baptist Church serves the Reno community in Azle, Texas, from 220 West Reno Road, between Azle and Springtown in the west Fort Worth area. The Southern Baptist church is known for blended worship, Bible classes and ministry for every age, and practical support for missions in the Reno-Azle-Springtown area and around the world. Its motto is 'Loving God. Loving People. Making Disciples.' Reno City Hall and the fire station are across the street, and Reno Elementary School is next door.
Sunday School at 9:30, Worship at 10:45
Sunday is organized around two weekly gatherings, Sunday School and morning worship. A nursery is available for children from birth through age three during both, and the 9:30 classes include babies, children, youth and adults.
- 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.: Sunday School and small-group Bible studies for all ages in the Education and Children's Buildings.
- 10:45 a.m. to noon: Morning worship in the Worship Center.
Guests are greeted and welcomed without embarrassment. The church understands that someone may be running late, requires no coat, tie or dress, and does not turn people away. There are no dress expectations; nice casual clothes or whatever a person has are appropriate. Most of the time, only Pastor Shane Scott wears a tie and jacket. A guest may remain anonymous, and the church will not visit a home unless the visitor requests it. Visitors are welcome at both Sunday gatherings.
The service combines hymns and modern worship songs with traditional and modern instruments. Members use the King James Bible and a variety of conservative modern translations, while Pastor Scott preaches from the English Standard Version. The 10:45 service is livestreamed on the church's Facebook account and YouTube channel. Recorded services and the sermon collection are available for those who cannot attend in person.
From the Nursery to TeamKid
WCBC gives children age-graded spaces during Sunday School. Children from birth through age two meet in the nursery in the back foyer of the Worship Center. Preschoolers from age three through kindergarten and older children in grades one through six meet in the Children's Building. During morning worship, children from birth through three remain in the nursery, while children from four years old through sixth grade attend Children's Church twice each month.
TeamKid meets from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in the Children's Building. It is designed for children ages four through sixth grade and gives families a midweek option alongside the church's other programs.
Vacation Bible School is another summer teaching ministry for children from four years old through sixth grade. Students in the youth ministry also take part in Vacation Bible School, giving older children a way to assist with the younger groups.
Mother's Day Out and Small Groups
Mother's Day Out provides weekday care during fall and spring for children one year old through prekindergarten. It runs from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Children's Building. The program is directed by Shannon Penneman, and its schedule follows the Springtown ISD calendar.
The 9:30 Sunday gathering combines Sunday School and small-group Bible study for all ages. Babies, children, youth and adults are all included, and WCBC emphasizes joining a class or group for spiritual growth, ministry and accountability.
Men's Bible Study meets at Moe's Cafe in Azle on the second and fourth Tuesday evenings of each month. A video summary of the teaching is recorded for people who cannot join the gathering in person.
Youth Camp, VBS Service, and Church Life
The youth ministry serves students in grades seven through twelve. Youth camp is one of its principal activities, and students are encouraged to participate in worship services, church activities and church ministries. Serving in Vacation Bible School gives teenagers an active role in the church's summer teaching ministry, while the all-age Sunday schedule includes youth among those attending Bible study.
A Blended Sound for Worship
Music is described as a gift from God and an important part of worship at Walnut Creek Baptist Church. The music ministry seeks to lead the congregation into 'true, genuine worship before the throne of God.' Its goal is met through a blend of contemporary and traditional worship music that reflects the congregation's blended Sunday morning service.
Minister of Music Larry Permenter leads Lisa Scott on piano, Rich Burton and Mary Lamb on keyboards, and Glenn Wade on bass. The mix of familiar hymns, modern worship songs and varied instruments gives the service a recognizable blend of traditional and contemporary elements.
What Walnut Creek Baptists Believe
The Bible is the sole authority for Christian faith and practice, and the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 is the church's adopted statement of faith. WCBC cooperates with and financially supports the Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and Parker Baptist Association. Its Baptist identity includes the conviction that the Bible is trustworthy and that forgiveness and eternal life come by God's grace through personal faith in Jesus Christ, not through good works.
A person who truly believes in Jesus as Savior and Lord is eternally secure in Jesus. Baptists also believe people may approach God directly through Jesus Christ, a distinctive described as the priesthood of the believer. People struggling with sin are welcome at WCBC services and encouraged to hear about Jesus, while the church teaches that God can and will forgive all sin when a person comes to him in genuine faith and repentance.
The church recognizes two ordinances: believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. These symbolic observances do not bring about forgiveness or salvation. Supporting missions, prayer and evangelism are major priorities. Each Baptist church remains independent, even as churches voluntarily identify and cooperate with one another to support ministries and missions.
The congregation is not limited to a single Bible translation. Members use the King James Version and a variety of conservative modern translations, while Pastor Scott preaches from the English Standard Version. The church encourages people to bring their Bibles for Sunday worship.
WCBC also teaches specific understandings of contemporary issues. It holds that sexual behavior outside a biblical marriage of a man and woman is against God's law and is sin, including premarital, homosexual and extramarital relationships and unmarried couples living together. It teaches that life begins at conception and regards abortion as sin because it ends a human life. Alongside those teachings, WCBC emphasizes that everyone has sinned, people struggling with sin are welcome at its services, and genuine faith and repentance are the path to God's forgiveness.
Pastor Shane Scott's Expository Pulpit
Shane A. Scott has served as WCBC's full-time pastor since August 2007. Before coming to Reno, he held staff positions at First Baptist Church of Copperas Cove, Fellowship Baptist Church in Morgan's Point Resort, Canyon Creek Baptist Church in Temple and Bell Baptist Association in Belton.
Scott earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in 1993, a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2001 and a Master of Divinity from Southwestern in 2026. His path toward ministry took shape at First Baptist Church in Lake Jackson, where a youth revival led him to become a Christian at age 13. He later answered God's call to ministry while in high school.
Scott describes his preaching style as expository, uncompromising, passionate and redemptive. He also enjoys preaching, visiting, personal evangelism and teaching Bible studies. He and his wife, Lisa, have two adult married children, Grace and Ethan.
Giving That Extends Beyond WCBC
The ministries and missions of Walnut Creek Baptist Church depend on the tithes and offerings of its members and friends. People can give by mail, through online bill pay or through secure online giving. WCBC recommends that 10 percent be given to the General Fund before additional designated gifts. Offering envelopes are available in the pew racks and Sunday School classrooms, and contributions can be placed in the offering plate, turned in during Sunday School or brought to the church office.
Guests are not expected to give, and contributions are never required to participate in worship or church programs. The church stresses that it does not make a big deal out of giving or regularly place pressure on guests.
WCBC sends 8 to 9 percent of general offerings beyond the church each month. Support flows through Parker Baptist Association for missions and ministries in Parker County, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention for state missions and ministries, and the Southern Baptist Convention for national and international missions. The church participates in the Cooperative Program and collects special offerings for missions, mission projects and benevolence ministry.
Local support includes Azle Community Caring Center, Springtown Neighbor to Neighbor and Eagle Mountain Pregnancy Help Center. The Budget and Finance Committee, financial secretary, pastor and staff prepare and follow an annual budget. Financial reports are reviewed monthly by the committee and approved by the church body in quarterly business meetings. Giving records are confidential and limited to the people who count contributions and process those records.
Online debit or credit card donations carry a transaction fee of 30 cents plus 2.85 percent of the donation. The eCheck option costs 30 cents per contribution. Online gifts can also be designated for a particular mission or ministry by notifying the church office.
Becoming a Christian and Joining the Church Family
WCBC presents becoming a Christian as a personal decision to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Its teaching centers on three actions:
- Realize that you have sinned against God and are subject to God's judgment.
- Believe that Jesus Christ literally died on a cross to pay the penalty for your sins and rose from the dead.
- Ask God to forgive your sins and be willing, with God's help, to turn away from sin and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord.
After receiving Christ, the church encourages a person to share the decision with a pastor and local church, be baptized, join a Sunday School class or Bible study group, begin regular personal Bible reading, study and prayer, and discover spiritual gifts for service.
Membership may be presented during the invitation time at the conclusion of each worship service. WCBC offers three routes into membership:
- Profession of faith and baptism.
- Transfer of membership from a similar Baptist church.
- A statement that the person was once a member of a similar Baptist church but cannot transfer, or that the person received Jesus as Savior and Lord and was baptized by immersion in a non-Baptist church. This route requires a pastoral interview.
Members are expected to agree with and promote the church's beliefs, support its vision, mission and leadership, participate regularly in worship and other programs, use their spiritual gifts and skills in service, seek to live out biblical teachings and support church ministries through regular tithes and offerings.
Recorded Lessons for Sunday School and Midweek
WCBC extends its teaching beyond the sanctuary. Sunday morning worship is livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube, with past services available through the church's video collection. Pastor Scott also livestreams the Wednesday Prayer and Church Update at 7:00 p.m., including a devotional, prayer suggestions and announcements.
Carolyn Weston records a video of herself teaching the weekly Explore the Bible Sunday School lesson and uploads it to her Rumble and YouTube channels. The Men's Bible Study at Moe's Cafe also produces a video summary. These resources allow families and individuals to follow the church's teaching when they cannot attend in person, while the congregation continues to gather for Sunday School, worship and midweek programs.
The sermon collection includes messages from Shane Scott and Glenn Wade, along with speakers Bodie Beaman and John Thielepapes. Messages cover biblical books such as Acts, Romans, Psalms and 1 John, as well as topics including Christian living, missions and giving. The collection makes WCBC's expository teaching available for personal listening and group study.
A Six-Step Practice of Spiritual Growth
WCBC's Spiritual Growth Challenge gives congregants six concrete practices for Christian discipleship:
- Read the entire New Testament.
- Spend time in prayer every day.
- Serve in a ministry or mission work.
- Help one person participate in church or become a Christian.
- Attend church every Sunday.
- Put God first in finances by tithing 10 percent.
Rooted in Reno, Welcoming Guests
Walnut Creek Baptist Church combines Bible-centered teaching with a blended worship service, a long-serving pastor, age-graded children's ministry, Mother's Day Out and gatherings for students and adults. Its life in Reno is marked by a guest-friendly welcome and a willingness to connect worship, discipleship and giving with support for local ministries and missions through the Southern Baptist Convention, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and Parker Baptist Association.