Tucked along Silver Spring Road in the Perry Hall area of Baltimore County, White Marsh Baptist Church has built its identity around a simple phrase: a place to be known, to belong, and to become. The congregation gathers each Sunday for two morning Celebration Services, classes between them, and a long calendar of midweek groups that fill the building with study, sewing, fellowship, and prayer. People describe it as a warm, Christ-centered community that seeks both to deepen its members and to extend itself into the surrounding region.
Sunday Mornings on Silver Spring Road
The weekly rhythm at White Marsh centers on two Sunday Celebration Services held at 8:30 am and 11:00 am. The purpose of those gatherings, the church explains, is worship. As the congregation sings together, prays together, and listens to the Word, the gathering is designed to honor God, strengthen Christ-followers, and offer a safe place where seekers can explore the claims of Christ. Communion is observed on the first Sunday of every month during both services. The Lord's Supper table is open: all believers are invited to participate. Worshipers come forward to receive a single cup that contains both bread and juice, eat the bread together after a prayer, and then drink the juice together as a sign of unity in Christ.
At 9:40 am, between the two services, Sunday School meets for every age. The church describes this ministry as a Bible-based education program with classes for babies and preschoolers, school-age children, youth, and adults. Participation forms are requested for children and students so they can take part in any of the regular church activities, including off-site events associated with the ministry.
Each Sunday service and a Wednesday prayer time are livestreamed, and the 11:00 am worship broadcast is featured prominently. Visitors are welcomed to come as they are. The church's own language about its services emphasizes that the gatherings are meant to be approachable regardless of a person's religious background.
What White Marsh Believes
The church holds to a traditional Baptist confession. It teaches that the Bible is the uniquely inspired, inerrant Word of God and the supreme authority for faith and life. God has made himself known as one eternal Being in three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each fully God and each involved in creating the world and in its redemption. The church confesses that Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life, died as a substitutionary sacrifice for sin, rose bodily from the grave, ascended to heaven, and will return personally to judge the living and the dead. The Holy Spirit is described as a fully divine, personal being who convicts of sin, regenerates, sanctifies, and empowers every believer, giving spiritual gifts for the benefit of the church.
Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ. Those who trust him are born again and become children of God. The church looks forward to the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting joy of the saved, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost. Scripture is understood to command believers to gather for worship, prayer, teaching, baptism and the Supper, fellowship, ministry, tithes and offerings, and outreach. All Christians are charged with sharing the gospel in every people group. White Marsh also affirms the Baptist Faith and Message (2001) of the Southern Baptist Convention, identifying itself with that broader fellowship of churches.
Midweek Bible Study for Men and Women
On the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 6:00 pm, the church hosts two adult Bible studies running in separate rooms. The men's class meets in Room C4 and has been working through studies such as Living Victoriously in Difficult Times. The women's class meets in Room B10 with a study titled The Promise of Heaven. No childcare is available during the Wednesday studies, an important note for parents planning to attend.
The Wednesday calendar expands further around those studies. On the second Wednesday, a fellowship dinner begins at 5:30 pm and trivia follows at about 6:05 pm. On the fourth Wednesday, another dinner is served at 5:30 pm without the trivia. Dinner is $6 per person, with a sign-up sheet at the Welcome Desk and RSVPs taken by the church office. When a month contains a fifth Wednesday, the church gathers in the Sanctuary at 6:00 pm for a Prayer Meeting - a simple hour of prayer and discussion.
Sew the Word
One of the most distinctive ministries at White Marsh is Sew the Word, a monthly sewing group that meets from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and blends craft, fellowship, and Bible study. Stitchers of every skill level gather to study God's Word, pray together, and create handmade items that are donated to people in need. The group's flagship projects are comfort quilts, given to those suffering illness or personal crisis, and child-sized comfort pillows distributed to the pediatric emergency department at Franklin Square Hospital, where they are offered to children from birth through the teen years during stressful visits. The sewers have also produced fleece hats and scarves for homeless shelters, and baby blankets and bibs for crisis pregnancy centers.
The ministry is always looking for donations of Poly-Fil stuffing for the pediatric pillows; the church notes that a particular brand has proven to work best. Cash gifts may be placed in a pew envelope marked Sew the Word.
55+ Senior Ministry
What longtime members call the Angels, and what the church now officially calls 55+ Senior Ministry, gathers on the second Wednesday of each month from September through May at 10:00 am in the Fellowship Hall. The morning includes fellowship, a short business time for birthdays and announcements, a devotion or topic of learning, prayer, and lunch served by the church. In June and December, the group eats out at a local restaurant, and other field trips are added throughout the year. The blog notes that several area churches participate alongside White Marsh members, and guests are welcome even if they do not belong to the church.
Men's and Women's Breakfasts
Two regular breakfast gatherings keep the fellowship going outside the building. The Women's Breakfast meets at 9:00 am on the first Saturday of the month at the First Watch on Belair Road. The Men's Breakfast meets at 9:00 am on the third Saturday of the month at IHOP on Fullerton. Men are encouraged to bring a son, friend, or neighbor, and the church asks that attendees give Pastor Dave a quick call so he can plan accordingly. Each group pays for its own meal.
Mission and Outreach
White Marsh frames its mission in three connections: with God, with other believers, and with the world. Locally, the church seeks to be a positive, Christ-like influence in the greater community, and the congregation's giving supports what it describes as God's work in Perry Hall, the broader Baltimore region, and around the world. The Rev. Conrado Ibay serves as Missions Associate and as the point person for the church's Nursing Home, Prison, and Immigration Ministries. Members sew and donate comfort items through Sew the Word and partner with hospitals, crisis pregnancy centers, and homeless shelters. The preaching calendar, which works through books of the Bible from week to week, regularly returns to themes of leadership, courage, grief, hope, and the trustworthiness of God, reinforcing the church's teaching that Scripture is the supreme guide for life.
Preaching and Teaching
Pastor Dave Tierney leads the preaching, working through extended series on individual books of the Bible. Recent and current series include 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Song of Songs, Jonah, the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of Mark, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, James, and Revelation. Each book-by-book series is supplemented by occasional topical series, including the apologetics series A Reasonable Faith. Audio recordings of recent sermons are available on the church's online sermon archive.
Leadership
Pastor Dave Tierney has been in full-time pastoral ministry since 1985 and has served churches in Maryland, Texas, and Minnesota. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Education from Washington Bible College, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and additional studies from Bethel Theological Seminary. He and his wife Lisa have four children. Lisa Tierney leads music and worship. She is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University with a Bachelor of Arts in Classroom Vocal Music and has taught music in New York, Texas, Minnesota, and Maryland, with further studies at the University of Minnesota, Loyola University, and the Peabody Institute. The Rev. Conrado Ibay serves as Missions Associate and oversees the Nursing Home, Prison, and Immigration Ministries. He and his wife Susana, who have two daughters, moved to the United States from the Philippines in 2008 and he has been on staff since 2013.
Giving
White Marsh frames giving as an act of worship, an affirmation that all that members are and have belongs to God. Tithes and offerings support the church's ministry in Perry Hall, the greater Baltimore region, and beyond. Online giving is available through the church's giving page for those who wish to give electronically.
Visiting White Marsh
The church is located at 4226 Silver Spring Road in Perry Hall, Maryland, with the office reachable at 410-529-9411. Sunday services are at 8:30 am and 11:00 am, with Sunday School for all ages at 9:40 am between them. The 11:00 am worship service and a Wednesday evening prayer time are livestreamed online. Communion is served on the first Sunday of each month, and all believers are welcome at the table. Children are welcomed in the services and have dedicated Sunday School classes during the 9:40 am hour; participation forms help the church keep every child safe in regular activities. No childcare is provided for the Wednesday night Bible studies, an important detail for parents planning to attend. Visitors with questions can reach out through the church's online contact form or by phone during office hours.