WHO WE ARE

Temple Baptist Church is a community shaped by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, where faith is lived out through care for one another and for the wider community. Worship and thoughtful engagement with Scripture are central to life together. People from many backgrounds come here to find a place of welcome and belonging, to grow in faith, and to care for one another in everyday, practical ways.

Mission

Temple Baptist Church follows the teachings of Jesus Christ by living faith through care. This care is expressed in the way people are welcomed, relationships are nurtured, and neighbors and communities are served.

Vision

Temple Baptist Church strives to be a caring presence in North Durham and beyond, where love and generosity shape life together and lead to deeper relationships and greater commitment to our neighbors.

Practice

At Temple Baptist Church, people practice their faith by gathering for worship, spending time listening and learning together, and building relationships marked by trust. Attention is given to real needs—within the church and in the surrounding community—with the belief that faith takes shape over time through presence, service, and everyday acts of care.

What We Believe

What a church believes shapes how it treats people. At Temple Baptist Church, beliefs are not held as abstract ideas, but as convictions that guide relationships, decisions, and life together.

  • God’s welcome stands at the center of Christian faith. In Jesus Christ, people encounter grace rather than condemnation and an invitation into new life. This understanding shapes how others are received here—with dignity, honesty, and respect—regardless of background, questions, or life experience.

  • Faith is understood as something lived with others. Growth takes place through relationships that can hold joy and struggle, certainty and doubt, at the same time. The church seeks to be a place where people are taken seriously as they are and supported as faith is shaped through shared life and conversation.

  • Temple Baptist Church affirms the freedom and responsibility of each person to seek God faithfully. Differences of experience and perspective are expected, not feared. This freedom is held alongside a shared calling to love neighbors, pursue justice, and respond compassionately to the world around us.

These beliefs shape how faith is practiced, how people are welcomed, and how the church engages both its own community and the wider world.

Beyond Our Walls

Temple Baptist Church understands faith as something lived beyond its own walls. The church is committed to a steady presence in the surrounding community through long-standing partnerships and ongoing service. This includes ministries connected to the church and relationships with local organizations working for the well-being of neighbors in North Durham and beyond.

  • Rev. Dr. Randy Carter

    Senior Pastor

  • Rev. Deitra Arrington-Cates

    Associate Pastor / Minister of Music

  • Shirley Austin

    Pianist and Organist

  • Bob Walters

    Director of Communications