Weems Creek Baptist Church sits on a five-acre campus at 600 North Bestgate Road on the western edge of Maryland's capital city, a place it has called home since the congregation broke ground on its first permanent building in 1960. What started in 1951 as a small mission meeting in a community building has grown into a multigenerational Southern Baptist congregation that describes itself, in its own words, as "a people committed to authentic, healthy relationships that connect people with God and each other." On Saturday, September 12, 2026, the church will mark its 75th anniversary with a community celebration.
Seven Decades on Bestgate Road
Weems Creek Baptist Chapel held its first service on February 11, 1951, as a mission of College Avenue Baptist Church. Like many church plants of that era, the new body had no building of its own and met in the Garden Farms Community Building. By late 1952 the members had formed a building committee to address the crowding, and in 1953 the chapel formally became Weems Creek Baptist Church with 39 charter members.
In March 1954 the congregation purchased a property and building on Ridgely Avenue for $14,500, dedicating its first home that September after extensive repairs. Two years later the church called Pastor Roland Smith and his wife Betty, who would serve together for more than 37 years. Under Pastor Smith's leadership the church bought its current five-acre property and held its first service in the new building on Mother's Day 1960. A parsonage followed in 1961, and the church became fully self-supporting by 1963. Additions to the building came in 1964 and 1974, and a steeple was added in 1975.
Pastor David Orr was called in 1994, and by 1997 major renovations had reshaped the campus to accommodate the growing congregation. In 2011 leaders began praying about a new worship facility, and in 2013 a new worship center was completed. Four years later, in 2017, a new children's wing was finished. Today the property houses a worship center, a children's wing, the Faith@Home Center, and the youth and multipurpose spaces that hold the church's many weekly programs.
Sunday Mornings at Weems Creek
The weekly rhythm at Weems Creek is built around two Sunday morning gatherings. Bible Study Groups meet at 10:00 AM, with classes for every age from infants through high school and a wide range of adult groups organized loosely by age and life stage. Singles, couples, young adults, millennials, empty nesters, and retirees all have a place; newcomers are encouraged to step out of a row and into a circle.
At 11:00 AM the congregation gathers in the Worship Center for a service that typically runs about an hour and ten minutes. The service is a blended one: an energetic mix of Scripture-based modern worship songs and classic hymns of faith, led by a full worship band. The order includes singing, prayer, Scripture reading, testimony, and a Biblically-based sermon that the congregation describes as relevant to daily life. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are also celebrated. The service is livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube at 11:00 AM each Sunday, and recordings are posted in the Church Center app.
First-time visitors are greeted at the door, handed a worship guide that serves as a bulletin and an event preview, and seated by a friendly team. A Connect Card tucked into the seat-back lets anyone ask questions or request information without being put on a contact list. There is no dress code beyond "wear something" - "we don't really care what you wear, we just care about you." After the service, the pastors stand at the back of the worship center and near the stage to talk with anyone who would like to meet them.
Children are welcome throughout the morning. During the 11:00 service, infants through Pre-K are engaged in age-appropriate Bible lessons and activities in the Preschool Worship Hour. Kindergarteners through fifth graders join their parents for the first part of the service and then dismiss to Kids Worship, an interactive program designed to give them a firm Biblical foundation. (On the fifth Sunday of the month there is no Kids Worship, and elementary-age children stay in the service with their families.)
Sunday afternoons continue with Student Ministry Discipleship at 5:30 PM for middle and high schoolers.
Wednesday Nights: AWANA, Students, and Bible Study
Wednesday evenings keep the campus busy. AWANA runs from 6:30 to 8:00 PM, September through May, with Cubbies for preschoolers, Sparks for kindergarten through second grade, and Truth and Training for third through sixth grade. The acronym comes from 2 Timothy 2:15, "Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed," and the program is built around Scripture memory, Bible teaching, games, and high-energy large-group time. Each night begins in the Sanctuary and ends in the Multipurpose Room.
At the same time, Student Ministry Small Groups meet at 6:00 PM in the Youth Room with games, food, and Bible study for grades 6 through 12. Adult Bible Study Groups gather across the building at 6:45 PM, and the Men's Small Group meets at 6:30 PM in Room 106 for the kind of iron-sharpening-iron accountability described in Proverbs 27:17.
Weems Creek Kids and Students
Children's ministry at Weems Creek is organized around four core values: Safe@Church, with all volunteers screened and background-checked; Family@Church, treating parents as the primary faith formers; Gospel@Church, teaching the same gospel to children as to grown-ups; and the simple conviction that learning about Jesus should be fun. Sunday morning programming uses The Gospel Project, a curriculum that walks children from Genesis to Revelation through one unified story of redemption.
When families arrive, the Child Check-In Station is clearly marked at the rear of the Worship Center Atrium. Parents and children each receive a matched name tag with a unique identification code, and that code is required to pick up a child at the end of the service. Express Check-In is available through the Church Center app.
Student Ministry is led by Student Pastor Alex Streitmater and is open to all students in grades 6 through 12. The stated goal is to make disciples - men and women who glorify God, imitate Christ, and walk in the power of the Spirit while trusting the sufficiency of Scripture. Students meet for Bible Study at 9:45 AM on Sundays in the Youth Room, and for Small Groups at 6:00 PM on Wednesdays with games, food, and a Bible study at the heart of each gathering. Annual highlights range from a Chesapeake Baysox outing and a trip to Guppy Gulch to a Guppy Gulch float day, a family movie night with Prince of Egypt shown outside, and a summer pool party for young adults.
Women's, Men's, and SonShiners Ministries
The Women's Ministry at Weems Creek is built around relationships and Bible study. Three women's Bible studies run each semester - Tuesday mornings at 10:00 AM, Wednesday evenings at 6:30 PM, and Saturday mornings at 9:30 AM - using Priscilla Shirer's "The Armor of God." MomCo (formerly MOPS) gathers mothers of infants through kindergarten, and the ministry hosts an annual Women's Retreat at Camp Wabanna in Edgewater, Maryland. Recent retreats have focused on "A Praying Life" with Julie Courtney of SeeJesus Ministries. Other gatherings include Cookies & Cocoa, Cooking with Jenny, and Creativity Workshops.
The Men's Ministry centers on the Wednesday night small group that meets at 6:30 PM in Room 106 and the annual Men's Retreat at Camp Wabanna. The retreat is open to men in 9th grade and up and brings in speakers from across the Baptist Convention of Maryland and Delaware.
Seniors are a vibrant part of the church through the SonShiners, a 55-and-older group that gathers for fellowship, inspiration, and ministry. Activities include crab feasts, game nights, shopping outings, and trips to Sight and Sound Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Recent gatherings have included a SonShiners Baysox Game, a potluck fellowship with the church providing the burgers and hot dogs, and a Christmas-season "12 Games of Christmas" afternoon that pairs seniors with the youth ministry. The SonShiners are coordinated by Roger and Sarina Lynham.
Faith@Home: Equipping the Family
Faith@Home is the church's flagship family-equipping initiative, built on the conviction that the home is the primary context for spiritual formation. A physical Faith@Home Center in the Worship Center Atrium, open before and after services, makes resources available in print and online. The center is staffed by trained volunteer hosts.
The Faith Path is a milestone-based framework that walks parents through age-specific steps from Parent Dedication at birth through Launch at age 18, with kits for each stage covering topics such as preparing a child to trust Christ, worship, purity, blessing, prayer, giving and serving, family time, the Bible, preparing for adolescence, and rite of passage. Marriage and parenting resources include It Starts at Home, Rekindled at Home, Meals@Home, Movies@Home, and Connected 3D, the church's resource on using technology in a God-honoring way. Recipe cards give families one practical idea each month for date nights, family nights, mealtime discussions, or movie-night chats.
Serving Annapolis and Beyond
Weems Creek describes itself as a church both in the city and for the city. The Serve umbrella has three branches. Serve at Weems Creek connects members to on-campus teams including First Impressions, Faith@Home Hosts, Weems Creek Kids, the Worship Team, and the A/V Team. Serve the City focuses on local outreach; current opportunities include volunteering at the Lighthouse Homeless Shelter and helping children at the Ben Carson Reading Room at Tyler Heights Elementary School from Tuesday through Friday, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Serve Globally supports the church's commitment to the Great Commission and partnerships beyond Annapolis.
Each fall the church hosts Harvest Fest, a community outreach with a chili cookoff, a Cake Walk, games, crafts, face painting, and music. Other city-focused traditions include Christmas caroling through Annapolis and an annual Easter Egg Hunt on the hill behind the church with two timed hunts for toddlers through fifth graders. The Lighthouse Homeless Shelter and other local ministries are supported as part of the church's ongoing benevolence.
What Weems Creek Believes
The church's doctrinal foundation is the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. Core convictions include the divine inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture; the triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the deity, virgin birth, atoning death, bodily resurrection, and promised return of Jesus Christ; salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone; and the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. The church affirms unity in essentials, liberty in non-essentials, and clarity in all things, summarized in passages from Ephesians 4, Romans 14, and 1 Corinthians 13.
Six core values shape how the church lives out these beliefs: Live Biblically, Worship Authentically, Grow Spiritually, Share Courageously, Pray Faithfully, and Serve Passionately. Together they frame everything from the Sunday worship service to the Wednesday night small groups to the family discipleship resources that line the Faith@Home Center.
Leadership, Deacons, and Giving
The pastoral team is led by Senior Pastor Bryan Sims. Andy Hallmark directs worship, Scott Allred serves as Pastor of Families and Outreach, Alex Streitmater is the Student Pastor, and Melissa Gardner is the Children's Director. The office is run by Church Administrator Tracey Hawkins. A board of deacons - Roger Lynham, Ryan Bedell, Charles Grigg, Michael Gardner, Jon Francis, Nate Lewnes, and Vernon Warnecke - serves alongside the pastors.
Giving is possible online through the church's electronic giving portal, by mail to the Bestgate Road address with checks made out to "Weems Creek Church," or by designating gifts to the "Foundations for the Future" capital campaign. Weems Creek is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and a Finance Committee presents an annual budget to the congregation for approval. Regular financial updates are shared at monthly church ministry meetings, and annual giving statements are mailed in January.
Past, present, and future meet on Bestgate Road. From a Garden Farms mission in 1951 to a multigenerational congregation preparing to celebrate its diamond jubilee, Weems Creek Baptist Church has spent 75 years pointing the people of Annapolis to the hope of the gospel and to one another.