In November of 2014, Reverend Frieda Smith, a native of New York, was forced to abruptly leave the Rehoboth Christian Church she planted and pastored for 11 years in New York and relocate to Hampton, VA due to illness. While recovering, she served as the musical director at the Mercy Seat Baptist Church in Hampton, VA, where she became quite comfortable sitting behind the organ or piano, ministeri
ng in music. However, in the Fall of 2016, Minister David Bethea was invited to preach at a service at Mercy Seat, and at the conclusion of his message, he spoke a prophetic word to Reverend Frieda: "The Lord has an assignment for you on the Peninsula." When he spoke the word, she had intended to move to the State of Georgia. Hence, she was upset, as she felt her plans were being disrupted. She had to acknowledge that although her health was far from perfect, the Lord had restored her strength. She had been called to preach the Gospel in 1995, and could no longer hide from her calling in the music department at Mercy Seat. She found their present church location at 2702 Build America Drive on "Craig's List," and on January 1, 2017, the Rehoboth Christian Church held her first worship service. Blessed with the gift of music, Pastor Frieda--along with her daughter and Associate Minister, Zaneta Smith--ministers in music at Rehoboth, and preaches the Gospel in a powerful yet down-to-earth manner. Like the Rehoboth Christian Church in NY, the church is a "casual congregation," where those who are struggling with issues and may be turned off by the "corporate demands" of many traditional churches can find acceptance. Our worship services are focused on solely on ministry--not unnecessary talking (which explains why our services tend to last no more than 90 minutes). When we do talk, we talk about Jesus and what He is doing in our lives! Everyone is welcome to attend our services which begin promptly at 8:00 am. Dress code: Church casual
