ABOUT
Rays Chapel
At Ray's Chapel Baptist Church, we openly admit we are imperfect people, but we serve a perfect Savior! We are thankful for all who have come to be apart of our church family, and we truly can say we are "Together by Faith." We would love for you to join us! Come as you are, and our aim is to equip and encourage all age groups to be the hands and feet of Jesus from the youngest to the oldest. At Rays, we are striving to build a church that is based on what the Bible teaches about the church. To that end, we hope and pray that Ray's Chapel will be known throughout our community, Northwest Escambia, and even beyond by our aim to be faithful to the Gospel.
OUR VISION
1. CLEAR GOSPEL - One of the most important challenges facing the church in our generation is a loss of clarity about what precisely is the Good News of Jesus Christ. As a church and as individual Christians, our desire is to not water down the gospel, but be known for being clear about what the Gospel is!
2. FAITHFUL PREACHING - We want to be known as a church where God's Word, the Bible, is faithfully and forcefully preached every week. We want to have the standard that God's word is being preached every Sunday morning from the pulpit. Through the preaching of the word, we hope to grow in love for God and for His people.
3. DEEP DISCIPLESHIP - We never want to be a church where our members can be anonymous. You are more than a seat on a pew. You are more than an attendance number. In fact, we believe the Bible teaches us that we as Christians are to be deeply involved in each others' lives. Through our public services, Sunday School groups, bible studies and individual discipling, we strive to be always spurring one another on to follow Jesus more faithfully.
4. PASSIONATE WORSHIP - Worship is what we owe to God in every particular of our lives, and it is the overflow of our hearts directed towards our God. As we go to our jobs, attend our classes, shepherd our families, gather to hear God's Word, and yes, raise our voices in song, we want to be driven by a passion to glorify Jesus Christ.
5. BOLD PRAYER - We believe that our God delights to hear the prayers of his people and that he delights to answer them. As a church that has encountered the power of prayer, we make aim to pray individually and corporately often. We trust God is at work. He hears. He delights in his children's prayer.
6. INTENTIONAL EVANGELISM - Speaking the good news of Jesus Christ to friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors is a call to all Christians, and we want to teach and equip you to how to sow evangelism into all these relationships! We believe the church goes beyond the walls of a building, and want to be defined as a church without walls.
7. GLORIOUS MISSION - the Lord Jesus has called us to make disciples of all nations. Because of that, we want to be urgently engaged in the great work of international of local, state, and international missions. As we continue to build partnerships with missionaries in countries all around, we want to keep the urgent task of missions at the forefront of our minds and hearts.
OUR HISTORY
GET TO KNOW US
In 1886, the Florida State And Business Directory stated that McDavid had a population of 20. It was first settled in 1882, on the line of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, thirty-four miles north-west of Pensacola, which is the county seat and nearest banking point.
McDavid had one store, a hotel and a Methodist Church.
Produce hauled in by the local farmers remains the principle shipment.
Land sold for a mere dollar twenty-five to three dollar's an acre.
Later known as "the little white church on Bogia Road," Ray's Chapel was planted in 1890 and was named after it's pastor, Henry Green Berry Ray, where he pastored ten charter members.
Joint worship service's were held for the Methodist and the Baptist, and Ray's Chapel was organized on the second Sunday of November 1890. It continued to grow for the next eighteen year’s, and It was then on October 22, 1908, that the church applied for and received membership into the Pensacola Bay Baptist Association.
Ray’s Chapel has a rich history, and over the last century we are honored that Christ has held our church together. Ray’s Chapel is a testament of God’s faithfulness to sustain a local church, as we solely look to spread his glory and champion the gospel. As much as we grow and change over the years, one thing will remain the same: we seek to gather around God's holy word and spread the beauty of His name.
MEET OUR PASTOR
Pastor Grant is originally from Frisco City, Alabama. Grant grew up under faithful preaching his whole life, but remained hard to the gospel. During the summer of 2011, the Lord saved Grant from himself, and Jesus changed his life. Grant went on to graduate with a broadcast journalism degree from Troy University in 2015. During his time in Troy, Pastor Grant felt a call to ministry. He later pursued a Master of Divinity in Christian ministry in 2019 from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. He met his wife Birdie during his last semester of seminary on a blind date, and they never looked back! Grant is an avid Alabama Crimson Tide fan, and in his spare time you can find him slicing a golf ball, in the gym, watching a sports game, or spending time with his wife and children
(Cav & Lottie).
WHO WE ARE
MEET OUR CHURCH LEADERSHIP