About Us

A Description of Agape Baptist Church

Established as Agape Baptist Fellowship on June 26, 2005.
On September 11, 2005, the congregation began Sunday morning Bible study classes for all ages and a morning worship service at the former Westcliff United Methodist Church facility.
The congregation voted to constitute as a church on November 6, 2005 and started receiving members. Eighty-nine people joined on the first Sunday.
The new church held a Celebration Weekend on January 13-15, 2006, led by Dr. Russell Dilday. At that time, 156 members were recognized as charter members.
The church held its first baptism at Southcliff Baptist Church on February 5, 2006. Ten persons were baptized.
The church called Dr. Paul Sands as Interim Pastor on April 19, 2006.
The Westcliff church was purchased by Southcliff Baptist Church in early Spring, 2007. Agape vacated this property and moved to the property occupied by the former Ridglea West Baptist Church.
Jeff Bankhead called as Pastor of Education and Administration in 2008.
James Hassell called as Pastor of Preaching and Pastoral Care in 2010.
Shena Smith called as Minister to Children in 2011.
Luke Cunningham called as full time Minister to Youth in 2011.
As of January 2011, the church has approximately 380 members.

The church has a full time Pastor of Preaching and Pastoral Care (James Hassell), Pastor of Education and Administration (Jeff Bankhead), Minister to Children (Shena Smith), and Minister to Youth (Luke Cunningham). The music ministry is led by volunteers, Dr. C.L. Bass and Dr. Cheri Jordan, along with gifted accompanists and organists. A large number of faithful volunteers assist in many areas of ministry.
The church has a Ministry Council whose purpose is to assist the staff and the church in a shepherd role, giving guidance and counsel when appropriate. It consists of three ordained Baptist ministers with pastoral experience in addition to the church’s full-time staff.
Agape considers itself to be a regional church in Fort Worth, ministering and being involved not only in the neighborhood but also throughout the Fort Worth community. We have weekly ESL, GED, Literacy, and Computer classes. We host BSM lunches at Texas Wesleyan University. We partner with Luella Merritt Elementary School. We minister closely alongside Karen refugees from Burma and Buton, partnering with missionaries in Thailand. We are also developing Korean, Chinese, and Hispanic congregations.
Agape is a missional church, attempting to meet needs locally and around the world. We support CBF Global Missions Offering as well as State Missions Offerings.
The church values traditional worship using music of enduring quality.
You can read a special article about Agape by the Baptist World Alliance here.