By Miles Layton

Ballard’s Bridge Baptist focuses on the power of prayer during Sunday service

TYNER — I pass this church often when traveling between Gatesville and Edenton – so it seemed fitting to pay tribute to this faithful congregation by writing a story about their Sunday service. Our goal with these stories is to get more people in the pews, no matter where they choose to worship.

Located near Chowan County’s border with Gates County on NC 32, Ballard’s Bridge is that nice-looking brick church, with a white steeple, and has a giant well-lit Christmas tree – see a short history at the end of the story. Thought I had a photo of that church, particularly that Christmas tree, but I don’t. That said, rather than wait until sunrise to try and get a photo, when I will be traveling that way again, Anna Spruill deserves credit for this feature photo of the church’s exterior.

• Sundays
• Classes for all ages at 9:30 am
• Worship at 10:30 am
• staff@ballardsbridge.com
• 3025 Virginia Road

For more information about the church — click here.

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OUR STORY — The power, purpose and persistence of prayer took center stage Sunday morning at Ballard’s Bridge Baptist Church, where Senior Pastor Josh Engen delivered a message from James 5:13–20 calling believers to pray faithfully in both suffering and joy, and to rely on the church community rather than walking through hardship alone.

Engen, who holds a PhD in Biblical Studies, opened his sermon by sharing a personal story from a previous pastorate, setting the tone for a message that blended theology, pastoral care and lived experience.

“As you’re turning there and we’re looking at the power of prayer today in James 5:13–20, I’m going to tell you about a time at my previous church when there was a faithful man of God by the name of Ronald,” Engen said. “He had a lot of sickness and health issues during the three years I was there. In my second year, he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. There wasn’t much hope. The doctors said there really wasn’t much they could do.”

Engen said Ronald reached out with a specific request rooted in Scripture.

“He called me and some of the deacons and asked, ‘In James chapter 5 it talks about calling the elders of the church and asking them to pray for you and anointing your head with oil. Can you do that?’” Engen said.

He acknowledged that the practice was unfamiliar to him.

“Growing up in a Baptist church, I’d never anointed anybody with oil. I’d read the passage before, but I decided I was really going to study it,” he said. “At the end of my study I said, ‘I think this is a good practice. I think it’s good symbolism. There’s nothing magical in the oil, but it sets him apart and reminds us we’re dedicating him to the Lord.’”

Engen said he and the church’s deacons gathered at Ronald’s home to pray.

“We prayed earnestly for him. We prayed that he would be healed of this illness. We prayed that he would have faith in the midst of the pain,” he said. “We prayed for his wife, Miss Betty, that she would have strength and faith. And at the end of the prayer, I anointed his head with oil.”

He paused, telling the congregation he would return to the outcome later in the sermon.

Turning to the biblical text, Engen outlined what he called the first truth from James: “Suffering calls for prayer; joy calls for praise.”

“It says this in James chapter 5, verse 13: ‘Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises,’” Engen said. “The Christian life has many ups and downs. You should not be shocked as a Christian if you go through suffering.”

Engen explained that suffering can take many forms.

“It could be sickness, persecution, physical, mental or emotional. Anything harmful,” he said. “If you’re dealing with anything like that, pray. In the simplest terms, prayer is talking to God.”

He described different forms prayer can take.

“Prayer can be praise, recounting who God is and what He’s done,” Engen said. “Prayer can be lament, crying out and saying, ‘This is where I’m at.’ Prayer can be petition, asking God for healing and help.”

Engen said prayer remains appropriate even in the darkest circumstances.

“You can still praise the Lord despite bad circumstances,” he said. “A prayer of lament unburdens yourself before God. A prayer of petition shows dependence, saying, ‘You are the ultimate physician.’”

He also warned against forgetting God during good times.

“When things are going well, we’re tempted to forget God,” Engen said. “But the reason we have joy, the reason we have anything good, is because He gave it to us. It’s a gift.”

Engen urged congregants to turn to God consistently.

“Run to God in suffering and in joy,” he said. “Often those moments exist in the same day.”

Moving to verse 14, Engen introduced his second theme: “Don’t suffer alone; call the church.”

“‘Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him,’” Engen quoted. “Yes, even Christians get sick. Don’t think God has abandoned you.”

He emphasized the communal nature of Christianity.

“It is outside the realm of possibility to be a lone-ranger Christian,” Engen said. “The New Testament assumes believers have pastors, elders and a church family.”

Engen said pastors exist to pray for their congregations.

“You’re not burdening me if you ask for prayer,” he said. “That’s what God calls pastors to do. I want you to tell me what’s going on so I can pray specifically.”

He acknowledged that asking for prayer can feel uncomfortable.

“There’s an element of pride we have to get over,” Engen said. “I don’t want to worry people. I don’t want to be a burden. Those are bad reasons not to ask for prayer.”

Turning back to the passage, Engen explained the symbolism of anointing with oil.

“The power is not in the oil,” he said. “It’s ‘in the name of the Lord.’ The oil is a visual representation that we’re dedicating this person to God.”

He compared the practice to other Christian ordinances.

“It’s similar to the Lord’s Supper or baptism,” Engen said. “It’s a physical act that points to a spiritual reality.”

Engen then moved to verse 15, outlining what he called the third truth: “God heals bodies, forgives souls, and strengthens faith.”

“‘The prayer of faith will save the sick person and the Lord will raise him up,’” he said. “It’s not the power of the person. It’s not the power of the oil. The Lord raises him up.”

Engen stressed that prayer must be rooted in proper motives.

“A prayer of faith is dependent on God and aligned with His will,” he said. “Sometimes we don’t receive because we ask with wrong motives.”

He said physical suffering can prompt spiritual reflection.

“James makes a connection between sin and sickness, not always, but sometimes,” Engen said. “A time of sickness can be a time of self-examination.”

Ultimately, he said, forgiveness is the greater healing.

“Our sins need to be forgiven,” Engen said. “God has the power to heal and forgive.”

Engen highlighted verse 16 as a call to accountability.

“‘Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed,’” he quoted. “We’re not meant to battle alone.”

He acknowledged cultural resistance to confession.

“We don’t want anyone to know our weakness,” Engen said. “But confession is admitting we want to turn away from sin and need help.”

Trust, he said, is essential.

“That kind of trust takes time,” Engen said. “But past hurt doesn’t make God’s Word null and void.”

Engen then shared what he called his fourth truth: “Live right, pray bold, expect God to work.”

“‘The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect,’” he quoted. “A righteous person isn’t perfect. It’s someone who trusts in Jesus and seeks to follow Him.”

He cited Elijah as an example.

“‘Elijah was a human being as we are,’” Engen said. “If God could answer his prayers, He can answer yours.”

Engen acknowledged prayer’s unseen nature.

“Prayer is trusting, waiting, hoping,” he said. “When our lives are caught up in sin, we don’t pray as we ought.”

He then announced a new initiative at Ballard’s Bridge Baptist: the Boiler Room Prayer Ministry.

“The idea is that spiritual heat fuels the church,” Engen said, referencing Charles Spurgeon. “Three to five people will pray during the entire worship service.”

The team will pray for pastors, congregants, visitors, missionaries, the community and global needs.

“This is for people who know God is calling them to pray but feel bad at it,” Engen said. “We’ll teach you to pray by praying.”

He shared testimonies from churches where similar ministries led to spiritual growth and renewal.

“A praying church is a church near to God’s heart,” he quoted from one testimony. “If we want access to God’s heartbeat, we must be a people of prayer.”

Engen concluded by returning to Ronald’s story.

“After we prayed and anointed his head with oil, a few weeks later I got a call from his wife that Ronald had passed,” he said. “God didn’t heal him the way we wanted.”

Through tears, Engen recalled her response.

“She said, ‘Praise the Lord,’ because Ronald was no longer suffering and was with Jesus,” he said.

At Ronald’s funeral, Engen said, he was able to share the Gospel using Ronald’s Bible.

“God answered our prayer differently, but He got the glory,” he said.

Engen closed the service with prayer and the congregation stood to sing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” echoing the morning’s message that every burden can be taken to God in prayer.

A History of Faith

Ballard’s Bridge Baptist Church stands today as one of Chowan County’s oldest congregations, with roots that stretch back to the earliest years of the new American nation. According to historical records from the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, the church was constituted in 1781 and has served as a spiritual landmark for more than 240 years.

The church is situated on a scenic piece of land that drops sharply toward Indian Creek, a tributary of the Chowan River. That setting has remained central to the church’s identity since its founding. Two acres of land for the church were donated in 1780 by William Bond of Edenton, just a year before the congregation was formally organized.

The first church building was apparently a log structure constructed at or near the location of the present sanctuary. As the congregation grew over the decades, the original building eventually became inadequate. By 1846, the membership had outgrown the structure, and a second church was commissioned on the same site. That building was constructed by congregant William H. Elliott at a cost of $1,400.

The second church did not remain at Ballard’s Bridge permanently. It was later moved approximately 1.5 miles south to the Small’s Crossroads area, where it stood for a time before being lost to history. A third church was built at the original site in 1912 by Frank Muth, forming the core of the present-day building.

The 1912 structure represented a shift in architectural style. It was a typical front-gabled frame church with modest Gothic Revival details and a small front-gabled vestibule entrance. That building remains the oldest section of the current church.

As the congregation continued to expand, additional construction followed. In 1915, a parsonage was built to accompany the church, though it was located in the Small’s Crossroads area due to its proximity to Chowan County High School. A new parsonage was later constructed across from the church in 1951.

Major expansions took place in the mid-20th century. In 1948, an assembly room, six classrooms and two restrooms were added to the rear of the sanctuary. A two-story brick-veneer addition followed in 1957, adding 15 more rooms and significantly increasing the church’s capacity for education and fellowship.

Renovations continued in the decades that followed. Sanctuary windows were replaced in 1965, and in 1969 the cathedral-style light fixtures—still in use today—were dedicated. In 1971, the front of the church was remodeled and the entire building was clad in brick at a cost of $47,000.

Today, the church’s exterior reflects the cumulative result of its growth. The current structure features a large front-gabled vestibule with an integral portico supported by four fluted classical-style columns. The sanctuary windows are pointed-arch with opaque leaded glass, while the rear sections feature Queen Anne-style wooden sash windows with decorative colored panes. Brick buttresses divide the window bays along the sanctuary walls.

Though the building has changed over time, Ballard’s Bridge Baptist Church remains firmly rooted in its original mission. From a simple log structure in the 18th century to a multi-wing brick sanctuary today, the church’s history mirrors the growth of the surrounding community—anchored by faith and tradition.  

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