Take Your Next Step
East Pickens Baptist Church exists to worship, connect, serve, and share. We gather each Sunday to meet God through worship and Scripture, build meaningful relationships, and serve our community. Whether you’re new to faith or looking to grow, we encourage everyone to take the next step — come to a worship service, join a connect group, volunteer with our Next Gen ministries, or talk with one of our leaders. Growth happens when you move from watching to participating. Find your place, take the next step, and discover how God can work through you here.
Have questions? Email us at info@eastpickens.org!
GROW
Take steps in your personal walk with Jesus.
Follow christ
Taking the next step to follow Christ means turning away from relying on your own efforts and trusting wholly in Jesus for forgiveness, healing, and new life. Salvation is God’s free, undeserved gift, received by faith rather than something we earn through good deeds or moral effort; the moment you invite Christ into your life, eternal life begins, and a new spiritual journey starts. If you’re ready to receive God’s gift, confess your need for His mercy, believe that Jesus is your Savior and Lord, and commit to following Him—then step forward into a transformed life marked by grace, peace, purpose, and an ongoing relationship with God.
Do you have questions about God or faith? Check out these videos that answer tough questions about God and life.
Baptism
Baptism is the next step for anyone who has trusted Christ as Lord and Savior — a public, obedient act that declares what God has already done in your heart. As Southern Baptists, we practice believer’s baptism by immersion because it powerfully symbolizes Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection and the believer’s identification with Him. Taking this step is not a way to earn salvation but a faithful response to it: it proclaims repentance, new life, and entrance into the community of believers. For many, baptism brings clarity, peace, and a renewed sense of belonging as family and church celebrate together. If you feel God’s calling to be baptized, we invite you to talk with a pastor or ministry leader who will walk with you through the meaning of baptism, answer questions, and help schedule a meaningful time for you to go public with your faith.
Mentoring program
Biblical mentoring is a vital practice for spiritual growth because it creates a living bridge between Scripture and everyday life, offering guidance, accountability, and encouragement rooted in Christ-centered wisdom; for someone seeking a mentor, entering into a mentoring relationship opens the door to regular, Scripture-focused discipleship where difficult questions about faith, character, and calling can be wrestled with in a safe, prayerful environment, enabling the mentee to move from theoretical knowledge to practiced obedience and Christlike maturity; for someone called to mentor, the role is a sacred responsibility to shepherd another’s heart and mind by modeling humility, listening well, teaching faithfully from God’s Word, and pointing consistently to Jesus rather than to personal opinion, recognizing that true spiritual growth depends not on human cleverness but on the Holy Spirit working through faithful presence and disciplined discipleship; both mentor and mentee benefit from the relational rhythms of consistent meetings, Scripture reading, confession, prayer, and practical application, which cultivate spiritual disciplines, reveal blind spots, and generate lasting transformation; moreover, Biblical mentoring fosters community and multiplies leadership by equipping mature believers to invest in the next generation, strengthens the local church as disciples are formed who can serve and lead with integrity, and combats isolation by providing a covenantal context for encouragement and correction; whether you are seeking guidance or sensing a call to guide, entering a mentoring relationship is an investment in eternity that honors God, builds resilience in faith, and helps produce disciples who know, love, and obey Jesus in the complexities of everyday life—Vivamus sit amet semper lacus, in mollis libero. Fusce at massa nec sapien auctor gravida in in tellus.
CONNECT
Build relationships and find your place in the church.
connect groups
Joining a connect group at East Pickens Baptist Church is a vital step in growing spiritually and building meaningful relationships within the body of Christ; these small gatherings provide a consistent place to study Scripture, pray, and encourage one another, which helps members move beyond Sunday worship into daily Christian living, accountability, and service. In a connect group, you’ll find opportunities to develop deeper friendships, share life’s burdens and joys, and discover gifts and callings that can be used to serve the church and community. Groups are intentionally designed to welcome people at every stage—new believers, long-time members, families, and students—so everyone can find a comfortable environment for honest conversation and spiritual growth. Regular participation strengthens faith through mutual discipleship, fosters a sense of belonging that combats isolation, and creates practical outlets for compassion and outreach, making the mission of worship, connect, serve, and share come alive in ordinary life.
MEMBERSHIP
Becoming a member of a church is a meaningful step that connects faith with community, committing you to worship, service, and spiritual growth alongside others who share your convictions. Membership offers a clear way to participate in the life and mission of the congregation — it grants opportunities for teaching, leadership, pastoral care, and accountability while also inviting you into regular worship, small groups, and service teams. Joining typically involves conversations with church leaders, learning about the congregation’s beliefs and practices, and publicly affirming your trust in Christ and willingness to support the church through prayer, presence, gifts, and service. It is not merely signing a roster but entering into relationships: the church promises pastoral oversight, fellowship, and mutual support, and members promise to encourage one another, care for the vulnerable, and work together to share the gospel. For many, membership deepens spiritual formation because it creates consistent rhythms of discipleship—study, prayer, worship, and mission—rooted in a particular community that helps shape and sustain faith over time. Whether you’re assessing a first step of commitment or renewing a long-standing pledge, membership invites you to invest your gifts in something larger than yourself and to grow spiritually as you serve with others.
LIVE
Live out your faith through generosity, service, and mission.
Serving
Serving the church is not merely a program to join or a duty to check off; it is a vital expression of the Christian's gratitude, obedience, and spiritual growth that sustains the body of Christ and advances its mission. When believers invest their time, talents, and resources in serving—whether by teaching children, leading worship, caring for the elderly, maintaining facilities, or greeting newcomers—they are participating in the practical outworking of the gospel: building up one another in faith, strengthening community, and creating an environment where people can encounter God. Service shapes character, teaching humility, patience, and reliance on the Holy Spirit as we work alongside fellow sinners and saints; it disciplines us to put others’ needs above our own and to exercise spiritual gifts for the common good rather than personal recognition. The Christian’s role in service is both privilege and responsibility: privilege because we are entrusted to steward God’s household and witness to a watching world, and responsibility because faith without works is incomplete—true faith moves outward in concrete acts of love. Moreover, consistent service fosters continuity and stability in ministry, allowing vision to be carried forward across seasons and leaders; it equips the next generation by modeling sacrificial commitment and provides practical discipleship opportunities where faith is tested and matured. Ultimately, serving the church is an act of worship that aligns our daily living with Christ’s mission, demonstrates the reality of his love, and advances the gospel both within our congregation and into the community we are called to reach.
Missions
At East Pickens Baptist Church, we believe in the importance of missions, as referenced in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We strive to follow in the footsteps of the early apostles, spreading the love and word of God not only in our local community, but also throughout our state, nation, and even globally. We believe it is our calling to share the good news with those who may not have heard it, and to show them the love of Christ through our actions. By participating in missions, we are able to not only fulfill our duty as believers but also grow in our own faith and understanding of God’s plan for us.
giving
Giving to the church is an essential expression of gratitude and stewardship that sustains the ministries, outreach, and care that allow faith to be lived out in our community; through consistent giving we support worship services, children’s and youth programs, pastoral care, missions, and the upkeep of spaces where people gather to be encouraged and equipped. Financial gifts enable long-term planning and responsiveness—meeting immediate needs like benevolence for struggling families, funding discipleship and outreach efforts that share the gospel, and investing in facilities and technology that make worship accessible to all. Giving also shapes the spiritual life of the giver: it cultivates trust in God’s provision, aligns priorities with Kingdom values, and fosters sacrificial generosity that models Christ’s love. When members give faithfully, the church can serve more effectively, welcome more warmly, and reach farther into Pickens and beyond, turning resources into tangible acts of worship, connection, service, and sharing.