Wick Road Baptist Church has stood on a quiet corner of Taylor, Michigan since the spring of 1943. The congregation, which today describes itself as a family of "sinners saved by grace," is known in the downriver suburbs of Detroit for its old-fashioned, King James Bible preaching, its large missions program, and a steady stream of children and teens passing through Awana, Junior Church, and summer camps.
Eight Decades on Wick Road
On March 18, 1943, seventeen worshipers gathered in the basement of a member's home for the first service, led by Pastor Donald Fraser. Within months the young group had rented a store building across from the present property, purchased a one-acre lot at the southeast corner of Wick and Mortenview for $2,200 (with a $10 down payment), and by October 29, 1943 had filed a charter and incorporation papers with twenty-six charter members.
Until the first sanctuary was constructed in 1956, services and Sunday School classes met in a renovated riding stable that already sat on the lot. Seven pastors have shepherded the church over the decades: Donald Fraser, Leland Kennedy, Bernie Rodgers, Homer Furr, William Sears, Dan C. Broaddus, and the current pastor, Lanny Phillips, who has served since 2019. Justin Edwards joined in 2024 as music and youth pastor.
Beliefs Built on the King James Bible
Wick Road Baptist takes an old-fashioned, Bible-teaching approach and uses the 1611 King James Version as its official and only text for preaching, teaching, and every church activity. Its doctrinal statement affirms that Scripture is verbally and plenary inspired, preserved, inerrant, and the final authority for faith and life.
The church confesses one Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - co-equal in power and glory. Members believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, was crucified, and rose again; and that He now sits exalted at the right hand of God. Salvation is described as a gift received by grace through personal faith in Christ's shed blood, with eternal security kept by God's power. The church teaches a personal, imminent, visible return of Christ prior to a seven-year tribulation, followed by a thousand-year reign on earth.
Two ordinances are observed: water baptism by immersion for believers only, and the Lord's Supper. The statement also affirms the total depravity of man, the existence and final defeat of Satan, a literal six-day creation, and the autonomy of the local church, which it says is free of any external authority or control.
A Full Sunday and Wednesday Schedule
Wick Road Baptist keeps a busy weekly rhythm. Sundays begin with a 9:00 a.m. prayer meeting, followed by Sunday School for all ages at 10:00 a.m., morning worship at 11:00 a.m., and an evening service at 6:00 p.m. The evening hour also hosts the Impact Teen Class.
Midweek, three programs run side by side at 7:00 p.m.: Awana Clubs for preschool through sixth grade, the Impact Teen Class, and the Adult Bible Study and Prayer Meeting in the chapel. Services are also livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel for those joining from home.
What First-Time Visitors Find
Guests are welcomed at the door by ushers and staff who direct families to the right classrooms. The church does not enforce a dress code; many members wear traditional Sunday dress, but comfort is the priority, and visitors are not asked to put anything in the offering plate. The church describes its services as a gift to guests.
The What to Expect page makes clear that a Baptist background is not required. Anyone with a desire to know God, the church says, is invited to attend, since the Bible is regarded as sufficient to point any sincere person to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Children from Nursery Through Sixth Grade
The children's wing meets kids where they are, starting with a staffed nursery for ages zero to three during every adult service. Sunday School classes for preschool through sixth grade meet at 10:00 a.m. with age-appropriate Bible lessons and activities. During the 11:00 a.m. worship hour, Beginner Church serves four- and five-year-olds with Bible songs, stories, crafts, and verses, while Junior Church gathers K-6 students for teaching and games.
Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m. belong to Awana Clubs, a Scripture-memory program for preschool through sixth grade that runs through the school year. Clubbers rotate through handbook time, council time, and game time. Bus service is available within the City of Taylor, and parents are encouraged to attend the Adult Bible Study in the chapel during the same hour. The church also runs a summer children's class on Wednesdays, a children's choir, summer camps, and a "Kid's Day" event.
Impact Teens and Camp CoBeAc
Junior and senior high students meet as Impact Teens three times a week: Sundays at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., and Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. The group combines Bible study and fellowship, then adds frequent activities that put teens in ministry to one another and to the wider community. Each summer the youth group heads north to Camp CoBeAc in Michigan for a week of camp games, worship, and faith-building.
Three Sunday School Classes for Adults
Three adult Sunday School classes meet at 10:00 a.m. The Seekers Class, led by Don and Marie Morris, reaches college-age and young adults with fellowship and activities throughout the year. The Homebuilders Class, taught by Randy Howard and Lanny Phillips, addresses young and middle-age adults with a mix of Bible subjects and practical teaching on building a godly home. The Chapel Class gathers upper-middle-age and senior adults in the WRBC chapel each week for a slower-paced Bible lesson.
Beyond the classroom, the church supports a Women's Ministry, a Men's Ministry, and a Widow's Ministry.
A Heartbeat for Worldwide Missions
Missions is described as the heartbeat of Wick Road Baptist. The church supports more than fifty missionaries through regular prayer and financial backing, covering fields in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Ivory Coast, Japan, Korea, Liberia, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, New Zealand, Nigeria, the Philippines, Scotland, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, and Uruguay, along with workers in restricted-access nations and home-mission efforts including Camp CoBeAc. Each March the church devotes a full week to its Faith Promise Missions Conference, and members join short-term mission trips as the Lord leads.
Printing Bibles for the Nations
On a weekly basis the church gathers as a Bible-printing team partnered with Bearing Precious Seed of First Baptist Church in Milford, Ohio. Volunteers assemble Bibles that are then distributed to readers around the world, turning the congregation's KJV conviction into a hands-on ministry that reaches well beyond the corner of Wick and Mortenview.