Our Story

North Topsail Shores Baptist Church:
God’s Will – God’s Work
North Topsail Shores Baptist Church began as a vision given by God to Rev. Paul Merritts, a retired pastor, Rev. Don Horn, pastor of Surf City Baptist Church and Rev. E.J. Hines, Missions Director of New River Baptist Association. Rev. Horn in the summer of 1982 sent a team led by Mel Johnson Jr. to conduct evangelistic outreach in what is today North Topsail Beach. On August 28 of the following year, Paul and Helen Merritts, Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Green, Mrs. Bessie Mullis, Mel and Irene Johnson and their grandson Timothy Osborne constituted the West Onslow Beach Mission. Rev. Paul and Helen Merritts donated beach property on New River Inlet Rd. for the new work. From there Salem Baptist Church, Surf City Baptist Church, Bethany Baptist Church and the New River Baptist Association of churches united to support and encourage this new work.
In May of 1984, a missions committee was established and proceeded to call Rev. Mark Douglas and his wife Karen as church planters. Under the leadership and hard work of Mark, Karen and many others, North Topsail Shores Baptist Chapel was born. By November of 1987 the congregation had outgrown Rev. Merritts’ beach cottage where it started and began the construction of a building. Thanks to a loan from the North American Mission Board, the labor of members of the congregation and volunteers from Baptist Men's,  the building was completed in November of 1987. In March of 1988 Rev. Douglas was called to another church and during that summer Rev. E.J. Hines, Missions Director of The New River Baptist Association, served as interim pastor.

Moving Forward. To God Be The Glory
This chapter in the history of North Topsail Shores Baptist Church came to an abrupt conclusion in July of 1996 with the arrival of Hurricane Bertha and then her sister storm, Fran, in September of that same year. The island was devastated, but by God’s grace the church’s building was miraculously spared. The repairs took six months, but the congregation used that time for revision. Under God’s miraculous leadership, in 2000 the church took a five-year loan to purchase 24 acres of property at 808 Old Folkstone Rd. As the loan was coming due in 2005, God blessed NTSBC to not only be able to pay off the property loan, but also to pay off the loan on it's building. NTSBC was debt free. God closed that chapter of NTSBC’s history and challenged the congregation to move forward off the island and into uncharted ministry territory.
At the ministry meeting in November of 2005, the congregation voted to place the church’s beach property up for sale and to relocate to the new property on Old Folkstone Rd. Homer Prince, a vital part of the ministry of NTSBC, led the way in land clearing, preparation and the moving of the building to its’ new site. On October 7, 2007 the first worship service was held in the relocated Merritt building. A couple of weeks later at Home Coming, the congregation broke ground for a new building. The building was dedicated on October 19, 2008 beginning a new chapter in the life of NTSBC.

2009 through 2011 proved to be a transition period for NTSBC. The church moved out of building mode and began to embrace the ministry opportunities in its’ new surroundings. The Easter Sunrise service which NTSBC had conducted on the beach continued, but now the other churches of Sneads Ferry were invited and the number of people in attendance swelled to over seven hundred each year. Celebration of Light, a Halloween alternative, started at Faith Covenant Church, moved to the Sneads Ferry Community building and since then has been held on the NTSBC property. Over five hundred people each year gather to enjoy music, games, hayrides, hotdogs and to hear the gospel. The Master’s Touch ministry came into existence in 2013 as a collaborative work of the Sneads Ferry churches. A thrift store was established; staffed by amazing volunteers who poured their hearts and souls into the work. Pastors coordinated together to meet with those in need to provide both physical and spiritual support and care. This ministry expanded in 2025 by relocating and building a facility on NTSBC’s property. The Lord blessed the Master’s Touch each step of the way with wise leadership. Mrs. Ashley Williams, the current Store Manager and Mrs. Shirley Prince, the current Outreach Manager, are continuing this tradition of wisdom by leading The Master’s Touch in glorifying God and blessing all associated with it. One of the greatest blessings the Lord has given was His calling of Bradley Williams to The Gospel Ministry and to service as the Associate Pastor of NTSBC.  Bradley, his wife Ashley and their two daughter’s Kaylee and Emma have been a huge blessing to the pastor, congregation and the community as a whole.  Bradley’s leadership in teaching, discipling and work in many other areas have strengthened and grown the church.

Join us every Sunday as we gather to worship together at 8:00 am and 10:30 am.
Sunday School/ Bible Study is at 9:30 am for all Ages.