Our Story
In 1947, a United States postal worker, J.D. Ballance, became burdened for the families on his postal route. Through that burden, a small group of believers began to meet for weekly Bible study in the home of J.D. Ballance. On June 4, 1948, Beacon Baptist Church was born with ten charter members, and they called their first pastor, Herman Hersey. Over a period of time, plans were made, and the church moved from the home of J.D. Ballance to a building on the corner of Franklin and Bloodworth Streets. The church began to grow, and they were in need of a larger building, so the church moved to 501 East Lane Street.
In 1959, the church realized that they were in need of more land for future growth, and God led them to purchase 21 acres on Trawick Road. In 1966, the church erected its first building on this property, and they began to hold their worship services on the outskirts of town. Today, God has blessed Beacon Baptist Church in miraculous ways, and we have seen Him do many wonderful things.
Through the years, Beacon Baptist Church has been blessed with five pastors: Herman Hersey, Billy Walker, Robert Woodard, Randy Cox, and our present pastor, Tim Rabon. God has continued to bless our church, and we praise God for the journey He has led us on. We believe the greatest days of Beacon Baptist Church are in the future, and we are excited to watch how God will use us to reach Raleigh and the world for Jesus Christ.
Our Purpose
The mission of Beacon Baptist Church is to help you:
KNOW GOD
Through corportate weekly worship and expository preaching
FIND CONNECTION
Through Small Group weekly meetings as the starting point for relationships, spiritual growth, & service
MAKE DISCIPLES
Through gender-specific groups of 3-5 people meeting weekly for accountability and Bible engagement
MULTIPLY
By intentionally engaging non-believers with the Gospel in the workplace, neighborhood, & community
Our Beliefs
We believe that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God. It is the supreme and final authority in faith and practice. We believe the Word of God has been preserved for the English speaking language in the King James Version.
II Peter 1:20,21 / II Timothy 3:16,17
We believe in one true and living God revealed in the Scriptures as eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19,20 / Mark 12:29 / John 14:26 / II Corinthians 13:14/I John 5:7
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary; that He was true God and true man; that He lived a sinless life upon this earth; that He died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all mankind; that He rose bodily from the grave on the third day; that He ascended bodily into Heaven where He continues His ministry at the right hand of God as our Advocate and High Priest; and that He is personally, visibly and imminently returning to this earth to set up His Kingdom.
Matthew 1:18-25 / John 1:1,14 / I John 5:20 / Hebrews 4:15 / I Corinthians 15:3,4 / II Corinthians 5:21 / I Peter 2:24 / Luke 24:36-48 / Acts 1:9-11 / I John 2:1,2 / Ephesians 1:20 / Hebrews 4:14-16 / Matthew 25:31,32 / Revelation 20:6
We believe that the Scriptures assign to the Holy Spirit all the attributes of God; that this present era of the church is, in a special way, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit; and that His ministry in the world includes reproving, regeneration, indwelling, guiding and empowering men.
Acts 5:3,4 / John 16:7-11 / John 3:3-5 / I Corinthians 6:19 / Romans 8:14 / Acts 1:8
We believe that man was created by the direct act of God; that he was made in the image of God; that in his original state he was innocent; that by exercise of his own free will he disobeyed God and, thereby, fell into a state of sin and condemnation; and that his descendants, inheriting a fallen, sinful nature, are under the condemnation of God at the age of accountability, and are in need of a new birth.
Genesis 1:26,27 / Genesis 2:16,17 / Genesis 3 / Romans 5:12-19 / Ephesians 2:1-3 / John 3:3
We believe that salvation is a gift of God’s grace; that it is received by: repentance, the renouncing and forsaking of one’s sins; and faith, the personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, trusting in His atoning sacrifice at the cross; and that there is no other means of being saved.
Luke 13:3 / Isaiah 55:7 / Ephesians 2:8,9 / John 3:16 / John 14:6 / John 1:12,13 Acts 4:12 / John 5:46,47
We believe that God desires to let all people everywhere be saved; but since man has the freedom to choose, God saves only those who repent of their sins and trust Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, permitting him to yield to the influence of the truth and the Spirit and live, or to resist them and perish.
Romans 8:29,30 / I Peter 1:2 / I Timothy 2:3, 4 / Titus 2:11 / II Peter 3:9 / Revelation 22:17
We believe that every believer is sanctified in Christ at conversion; that this sanctification continues during the Christian life as the believer grows in the grace and knowledge of Jesus; and that it is completed when the believer stands in the presence of Christ, either at death or at the rapture.
I Corinthians 1:30 / Hebrews 10:10 / II Peter 3:18 / Philippians 3:12-15 / I Corinthians 13:10 / Hebrews 12:23 / I John 3:2
We believe that God has given to the believer Scriptural grounds for knowing positively that he is saved; that God has promised and provided to keep His children even in times of failure, when they fall out of fellowship with Him; that God has assured His followers that as believers they are secure in Christ. Sin does not affect our relationship with the Lord, sin affects our fellowship with the Lord.
I John / John 10:28,29 / Romans 8:35-39 / Philippians 1:6 / John 15:1-7 / Colossians 1:21-23 / Hebrews 3:14
We believe that God has given His Church the ordinances of Baptism, which is to be administered only to believers, by immersion and in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and the Lord’s Supper, which is to be open to all born-again believers present.
Matthew 28:19,20 / Romans 6:3,4 / I Corinthians 11:23-26 / John 13:1-17
We believe that the Christian is to live a righteous, pure and holy life; that he is called to be a witness for Christ; that he is to be faithful in attending his church; and that he is to support his church by his tithes and offerings.
Romans 12:1,2 / II Corinthians 6:14-18 / II Corinthians 5:17-20 / Acts 1:8 / Hebrews 10:25 / Malachi 3:10 / Matthew 23:23 / I Corinthians 16:1,2 / Titus 2:11,12
We believe that all men will stand before God in judgment – the righteous before the Judgment Seat of Christ, when Jesus returns for His Bride, the Church, just prior to the period of tribulation and the thousand year reign of Christ on the earth; and the unrighteous before the Great White Throne Judgment at the close of the Millennial Kingdom; and that the wicked will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Hebrews 9:27 / John 5:29 / I Thessalonians 4:13-18 / II Corinthians 5:10 / Revelation 20:1-15 / Matthew 25:4