Wake Forest Baptist Church

Wake Forest Baptist Church is located on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The church was organized in 1956 when Wake Forest College moved from Wake Forest, NC, to Winston-Salem, perpetuating a 125-year-old tradition of having a Baptist church at the center of the campus.

Wake Forest Baptist Church "believes in and dedicates itself to preserving and practicing historic Baptist principles, freedoms, and traditions," though its membership has become increasingly ecumenical.

Since its beginning, the church has enjoyed a unique relationship with the university. Though it operates as an autonomous congregation—electing its ministers, raising its budget, conducting its business and operating its programs—the church is housed in Wingate Hall, which also houses the Wake Forest University School of Divinity and the Department of Religion. The congregation worships in Wait Chapel, the university auditorium.

When the church was founded, most of the student body, faculty and administration was Baptist. Over the years the percentage of Baptists on campus has decreased significantly, and the church has looked increasingly to the community for its membership. Currently, Wake Forest Baptist Church has approximately 300 resident members, most of whom come from the community.

Wake Forest Baptist Church has been an innovator in local ministry. With the North Carolina Baptist Hospital the church founded the local Meals on Wheels ministry and it helped to establish the Association for the Betterment of Children (Imprints) Imprints. More recently, its members have played a leading role in establishing C.H.A.N.G.E., a grassroots interfaith organization that currently involves more than 40 congregations and neighborhood associations.

The church, is an inclusive Christian community, accepts into membership any person who professes faith in Jesus Christ and comes on profession of that faith, by transfer of letter, or by statement. They have an open membership policy that honors the baptism of all who have professed faith in Jesus Christ, and baptize by immersion those who first make this profession in their midst.

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