Discovering More about Triangle Baptist Church
Pastor Tom Ogburn
Tom serves as our Pastor/Church Replanter. This dual role provides pastoral leadership and care for our church family, but also offers strategic leadership as we begin a fresh season of engaging our community in new and purposeful ways. The Raleigh Baptist Association, the Baptist State Convention, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina are all partnering with Triangle Baptist Church in our efforts to help our church have a very real gospel impact on our community. Over the course of his ministry journey Tom as served as a church planter in NC, as a missionary in Southeast Asia, as collaboration and partnership focused missions leader, and as a pastor in Oklahoma, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Tom has been married to Beth for 36 years, has two children that are married to amazing spouses, and has his first grandchild. Tom loves old cowboy movies, is trying to grow his cooking skills, and is a novice fly-fisherman.
Melody Moore - Minister of Music
Melody Moore, the minister of music, has served here for the past twenty-three years. Until 2018, she had a dual role as a music educator in Wake County (Ligon Magnet Middle, 21 years) and Johnston County (SSS HS, Cleveland Middle, and Cleveland Elementary, 10 Years). Her experience in the world of music education has been helpful in shaping her ministry at Triangle. She encourages the singers that she currently works with at Triangle to be open to learning how to use their voices more effectively in order to lead the congregation in worship.
A group of singers lead in worship each Sunday, but there is always a place for new members. They meet every Wednesday from 6-7pm in the sanctuary, and anyone who has a desire to sing, play an instrument, learn, and lead in worship is welcome. The sole aim of the music ministry at Triangle is to make an encounter with God possible for each person during the worship service. There are so many styles of music that bring glory to God and resonate in the heart of the listener. At Triangle, blended worship with many musical styles is the goal, so each listener has the possibility of that holy encounter with God.
Melody has been joyously married to George for 43 years. They have two gifted children, Michael and Sarah. Sarah is married to their favorite son-in-law, Billy. Michael is the father of their two grandsons, Riley and Owen, and Sarah and Billy are the parents of their granddaughter, Mia. Melody loves being outdoors and especially enjoys gardening or walking. She also loves to cook and try new restaurants.
What We Believe
We believe that our relationship with God is through faith in Jesus Christ who is our savior and redeemer. We strive to empower persons to discover their God-given gifts and then employ those gifts to serve Christ and others. We believe in the capacity of every individual to discern God’s voice through the reading of scripture, listening to God in prayer, and interacting with fellow believers. We celebrate diversity in the church and desire to nurture the image of God in all persons.
As free and faithful Baptists we believe evangelism and Christian service belong together, and that all God’s people are called to engage in the ministry and mission of the church. The freedom of the individual as a priest before God coupled with the freedom of the church as priests to one another are at the heart of Triangle’s ministries. We cherish the marvelous heritage of Baptists as champions of religious liberty, the priesthood of believers, the authority of Scripture, and the autonomy of the local church. We invite you to join us on this journey!
Our Core Values
- Our church and our mission are Christ-centered and Biblically based.
- We are a people gathered by our shared faith in Jesus Christ as the means of our salvation, hope, and grace.
- We are deliberately Baptist; embracing the authority of the Bible, the priesthood of all believers, local church autonomy, and the separation of Church and State.
- We are congregationally led, while also valuing the spiritual leadership of the ministers called to serve among us.
- We affirm that every believer is uniquely gifted by God and is invited to fully live into their gifts and call in all expressions of congregational ministry.
- We are a Great Commission church with a heart to be the hands and feet of Christ in the midst of our community and the world.
- We are a grace-shaped church, where forgiveness and mercy define our relationships with one another and others.
- We are disciples of Jesus Christ that seek to grow in our walk with God and to disciple others in the way of Jesus.
- Our worship seeks to bring glory to God and to speak across style and generations.
- We are a people of welcome, making a place in our lives, and the life of the congregation, for those that come to join us in our faith journey with God.
Our History
Within the next two months the church acquired a temporary meeting place at the McCullers Ruritan Club on Ten-Ten Road and called Dr. Thomas Bland to serve as founding pastor. The church’s early growth was evident in the ministries it began to establish: the formation of a choir, the organization of a Sunday school, and the adoption of a constitution and bylaws. On November 12, 1995, Triangle Baptist Church had its first Sunday with both Sunday school and worship led by Dr. Bland as pastor. On November 15, 1996, the congregation was incorporated as Triangle Baptist Church of Raleigh, N.C. On the same day a 6.23-acre lot was purchased at our present address, 9713 Old Stage Road. The church was received as a member of the Raleigh Baptist Association in October of 1997. The first Sunday school and worship services were held in the new building on February 18, 2001.
The church continues to partner with the Raleigh Baptist Association, the NC Baptist State Convention, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina. They are vital partners in our church replanting story. Triangle Baptist Church strives to be an instrument of hope for God in the community and world, endeavoring to live-up to its mission statement, “We open our hearts to God and our arms to others.”