Rapid Valley Baptist Church

Welcome to Rapid Valley Baptist Church!!!

     On our website you will find information concerning our church and its ministries.  We hope you find your time spent here a real blessing.  Our church is a warm and loving church, and we want you to feel comfortable while here with us.  Furthermore, we pray that during the time you are here with us that  you will also feel the presence of God's Holy Spirit.  If at any time there is some need that you have that maybe we can help with, please do not hesitate to let us know.   We will do the best we can, with God's Help, to provide help to you.  Feel free to browse through the various areas of our website, and learn about our fellowship and the many things we have to offer here at Rapid Valley Baptist Church.

      We here at Rapid Valley Baptist Church want to take this opportunity to wish for you many blessings during the remaining part of  2013!   May God continue to bless you richly,  AND  we pray that during this year you will not only get to know Jesus more Personally than ever before,  BUT that you will follow the teachings of Jesus more closely during this year than you did at any time in the past! 

     Whether you already live in this area  OR  you are considering relocating to this area, we would love to have you be our "guest"  for Sunday School, for Worship Services, and for all the other activities we have here at God's House...   Regardless of whether or not you have worshipped with us before, if you are seeking a "Church Home", we definitely ask that you seriously consider this church.  We are so thankful how God is really blessing His work here, and how that we are growing in numbers, as well as in wisdom and understanding.  So if you join with us here, then you can be a part of this growth.  May God bless each of you, and may He guide you as you make decisions.  Again, WELCOME!!!

     When you visit our church, you will find:

• A caring congregation that will gladly welcome you;
• Preaching / teaching that is centered on the Word of God;
• Ministries to meet the spiritual needs of every age;
• A corporate outlet for truth-filled and moving praise and worship;

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow..."

     We here at Rapid Valley Baptist Church are so thrilled to be a part of the Lord's Work here in the Rapid City area.  And He really has been blessing the efforts, that is for sure.  Before we even begin to list things that He has done, let us make sure to say that "for each and every thing that is done, ALL honor, glory and priase goes to God, Himself."   We are just servants of His, but we are continually trying to seek and follow His Will for our lives and for our church.  Therefore, it is for that reason only, yet with great joy, that we state the following facts.

     Since the beginning of the month of June 2012, when Bro. O. C. Summers came to be with us as Interim Pastor, we have had many folks come forward to make decision for Christ.  Here is some information about some of these who came forward during the time of Invitation.  Just recently, we voted as a church to extend a "call" to Bro. Summers to become our pastor, and following the Lord's leading he did accept.  We are so thrilled to have he and his lovely wife, Ms. Rhoda, with us in this area.  We have had great attendance numbers in the Worship Service, sometimes averaging as many as 15 or 20 more folks than we had just a few months back.  And this is important not for "numbers sake", but for the fact that each of these are created by Almighty God and are present in His House to worship Him and learn from His Word.

     There have been several folks who came forward to re-commit their lives to Jesus Christ, and promise to be more faithful in His work here.  Some have come forward with a special request for prayer, or to share with us some particular praise or burden. 

     Three other folks who came forward have stated that they have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  So each of these were presented to the church as candidates for Baptism and for Church Membership.  Each of these have already gone through the Baptismal waters demonstrating publicly their faith in Christ, and the fact that they are following the example set by Jesus Himself.  Each was also voted into the membership of the church. 

     Finally, we have had a good number who have come forward to express their desire to "move their membership" from another church into our church.  Some of these already have years and years of experience in the Lord's Work, so these have already began to work for the Lord here.  We thank the Lord for their willingness and desire to serve Him!!!

     There have been many, many folks who after hearing God's Word expounded upon in Sunday School, Children's Worship Service or Adult Worship Service have learned many important things God wanted them to learn, and they have told us about their renewed commitment to God and His Work here in this area.

     For each of these who have made a decision for the Lord, we pray the richest blessings upon them, and we are so thrilled to have them working with us!!!   Again, may God's Name be praised for all that He is doing in our midst!!!

More Information about Activities

     Here at Rapid Valley Baptist Church we have several different activities each week that may be of interest to you and your family.  So we decided to give you a bit more information about at least some of these activities.

     Each Sunday morning from 9:30 to about 10:30 we have our Sunday School during which time we gather in age-appropriate classes to study God's Word and even to share with each other things that God has done for us, as well as any special needs for prayer that we may have.  The Lord has bless our church with lots of great, faithful teachers who really take seriously their tasks involved in leading/teaching a class.  So we encourage you to come be a part of Sunday School.  We feel that once you do, you will be be like so many others have been - excited and thrilled to come again and again.

     Following our Sunday School each Sunday morning, we have a short time of fellowship in the Fellowship Hall with donuts and coffee for everyone.  Several dozen folks take part in this each week.  This is a great time for you to come and meet folks you do not yet know, and to share quality time with those you do know.  This begins at about 10:30 and goes until time for Morning Worship Service which begins at 11:00.

     Our Worship Services are informal to a certain extent.  Yet, during this time we realize that we have gathered to worship God, to pay respect to Him and to learn from His Word.  So we certainly make sure that this is a time of reverence and praise.  We believe that God expects us to teach His Word exactly as printed, so we try very hard to do just that!!!  Since we as a church believe that God's Word is "Truth without Error", we certainly present it this way.

     Each Sunday evening we have a wonderful Evening Worship Service with lots of folks attending.  Beginning several weeks ago we started a "Verse-by-Verse"  study of the  Gospel Of John.  Since the Apostle John was so close to Jesus while He was here on earth, and since John was the one who Jesus addressed from the Cross when He told John to take His mother, Mary, and to care for her for the rest of her life, we feel that this person should be able to reveal to us many, many things that even other writers may not have known.  This has proven to be a very interesting study.  We invite you to come join with us for this Bible Study as soon as you can.

    Then on Wednesday evening we have several activities.  Beginning at about 6:00 each week there is a nice meal prepared and served to everyone who wishes to come and be a part of this activity.  There is NO charge for this meal, but those who wish to do so are welcome to make a small donation toward the purchase of the things that are to be served.  This is also a great time of Christian fellowship.

     Then each Wednesday evening we have Prayer Meeting & Bible Study during which time we study things from God's Word, but we devote lots of this time to "prayer" which is so needed in our lives.  At present, Bro. Waylon Holbrook, who is a retired minister of this area and is currently filling in as Associational Director of Missions, is doing a study of the "Gifts of the Holy Spirit."  This study just began on March 13th and will continue for probably the next 10-12 weeks.  Bro. Holbrook credits much of his understanding about the Holy Spirit to the teachings of Bro. Charles Stanley, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta, GA and seen weekly on TV with the "In Touch Ministries."  Bro.. Holbrook is a member of our local church here at Rapid Valley Baptist Church so he knows everyone here, and he truly is a blessing to us and a faithful servant of Jesus Christ.  We cordially invite you come join us for this service, and you definitely will learn things that will be very helpful in your life and in your service for the Lord.

     I have not mentioned anything so far about our wonderful folk who are involved in Children's Ministry both on Sunday and Wednesday.  But these folks are AMAZING...  And the children who are able to participate really get a blessing by doing so, and they also learn lots of scripture and other lessons for them to use in life.

     We have already scheduled our Vacation Bible School which will held July 28th - August 2.  During this time we will reach out to scores of youth and children in this area.  If you have youngsters in your family, please mark your calender and make plans to come bring them to VBS.  This is always an exciting and meaningful experience!!!

     So we invite you to come join with us and find out for yourself what each of these things involved.  We look forward to seeing you real soon!!!    May God continue to bless you richly!