David Conyers is the Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Charlottesville, VA. He graduated from Ambassador Baptist College, in Lattimore, NC, with an Associates Degree in Biblical Studies and a BA in Second-Man with a Music minor. While at A.B.C., he met his future wife, Carla. Since 1999, they have been serving together in churches, building up the music ministries, youth ministries, and also administrative duties for those churches. They are proud parents of twin sons. Since September 2019, Pastor Dave and Mrs. Carla have jumped right into ministry at Bethel Baptist Church, and are enjoying serving here, and working to impact the lives of the members as well as those in the community. Come visit us at BBC and see what God is doing here.

Our philosophy of the local church is that we are to, first of all, continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine by way of preaching and teaching the Holy Scriptures, we are to encourage fellowship among the brethren, we are to enjoy breaking bread with each other, and we are to share our burdens as we pray for each other and for God’s will in our lives. Then, we are to share our faith and fellowship with our family, friends, and fellow-man; and then the Lord will add to the church “such as should be saved”. (Acts 2:42-47) The local church also offers opportunities for its members to exercise their faith and talents through giving, singing, hospitality, caretaking, preaching, and teaching.

Our youth and family philosophy is simple and scripturally based. The Scripture tells us that the father is the head of the home, and to usurp that would mean that we are ignoring God’s design. Along with the father being the head of the home, the parents are responsible for raising their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and the church’s youth programs are only a supplement to what the parents should be teaching them at home.

Here at Bethel Baptist Church, we strive to please God. In order to do this, we believe that a Biblical philosophy of music is imperative. We strive to have a Proper Focus: the music’s message and delivery should both honor God, not self; and the minister should be a help, not a hindrance. We strive for a Proper Sound: distinctly Christian and not being conformed to what the current culture would consider to be popular. We strive for a Proper Perspective: understanding the difference between church worship music and church activity music, also always bearing in mind that all of our music should be acceptable in God’s sight. Finally, we strive for a Proper Purpose: to prepare hearts for worship, for preaching, and for invitation to draw closer to God. With this philosophy in mind, we reject the current “Christian” rock movement and encourage conservative Christian music instead. We sing congregational songs from our hymnals and enjoy encouraging special music from our church, weekly.

Coming Soon

Our “old church building” has ties to the past, dating all the way back to the late 1700s. It was in 1794 that a small, local Methodist group bought a crude log meeting house and established it as their church. The original log building was replaced by a modest structure that stood for about 100 years. The present building was erected during World War I.

Pastor Wendell Lamb and his wife, Janice, first opened the doors of Bethel Baptist on Sunday, February 2, 1992, with about 15 members. Eventually, there were 29 original charter members. After the first year, the member roster had grown to nearly 50 members and weekly offerings averaged about $200.

As Bethel Baptist continued to be blessed by God, they soon found themselves experiencing the first signs of growing pains. Lack of space prohibited them from being able to have fellowship meals or functions at the church and they had to rent space elsewhere for those functions. The nursery was overflowing with children, and on Sunday mornings the sanctuary could not contain everyone who was in attendance. The church eventually had to set up a television downstairs in the choir room, as a space for the overflow of people attending service; and begin broadcasting the service so that those downstairs could watch. To God be the glory!

In 2001, the church first began working on plans to build an addition to the existing church. After much planning, a groundbreaking finally occurred on August 3, 2003, and was officiated by Deacons Tom Shannon and Gary Shifflett. The new addition would add approximately 15,000 square feet to the existing facilities and would include: a new sanctuary (capable of holding just under 500 people, counting the choir space), 8 new classrooms, a large choir room, a pastor’s study, a secretary’s office, a sound technician’s room, new bathroom facilities, extra nursery space, a beautiful foyer, and finally, a large fellowship hall with a state-of-the-art kitchen, complete with all the necessary equipment to handle the needs of this growing church!

After much work and many setbacks, the new facility was finally approved for use and the first service was held on Sunday, November 13, 2005. What a blessing to once again have a whole church family together for service! Praise God for His many blessings!

In 2012, Pastor Wendell Lamb felt the need to retire and passed the church off to Brother Tim Whiteheart. Pastor Tim served here at Bethel Baptist Church for 7 years before moving on.

Pastor Dave Conyers was voted in as the new pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in September of 2019. He is challenging the church to refocus our attention on continuing steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And praying that the Lord will add to the church daily such as should be saved. (Acts 2:42+47). Will you pray with us for our growth?