The church’s mailing address is Wakefield but the church is situated mid-way between Wakefield and Ivor on Millfield Road near Route 616. Members of our congregation are widespread in the workforce. They commute to work in Franklin, Suffolk, Newport News, Chesapeake, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach. We have a wide array of professions in our church body. Our members mostly consist of hard working farmers, nurses, teachers, professional firefighters, and business people.
Our church has one worship service at 11:00 a.m. on Sundays with a Sunday School hour preceeding that. Millfield currently holds children’s church for a vast array of ages every Sunday. We are blessed with a wonderful choir, and they practice every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. We have restructured our youth group and are very excited for them as they are reaching the lives of those that are our future.
Millfield is known for having a very active Vacation Bible School. The director actively plans for several months in advance and there are multiple teacher training opportunities offered. We hold a morning session for those in Pre-k through completion of 6th grade and a very active evening gathering for the youth.
For many years we have partnered with a neighboring African American Baptist Church to host a food pantry once a month. We receive a monthly shipment from the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, and every day of the week a member of one of the churches picks up food from a local grocery store. It is then stored and distributed on the third Wednesday of the month. Our food pantry ministry serves between 90-100 families each month.
We have Bible study groups that meet and an active women’s mission group that plans quarterly mission projects which typically involve the entire church. The Baptist Men’s group meets one Sunday a month for breakfast and is always on the alert for those in the community needing assistance with a project.
Church conferences are held quarterly and our deacons meet monthly with other committees meeting as needed. Our deacon body is composed of both men and women.
The first known records of Millfield Baptist Church are found in the History of the Portsmouth Baptist Association, written by Reverend Reuben Jones and published in 1881:
“This church is located five miles west of Ivor on the A.M.O. (Atlantic Mississippi and Ohio) Railroad, and thirteen miles north of Jerusalem* the county seat of Southampton County, Virginia.”
Note: Jerusalem is the present-day town of Courtland. The church was organized on August 20, 1836 from members who came from Black Creek Baptist Church. It was admitted to the Portsmouth Association in 1837. Today, the church sits at its original location. While the tone of Rev. Jones’ quote echoes a long-past era, our spirit and zest for church ministries and community is still very much alive.
Since its establishment, Millfield has acted not only as an internal ministry for its members but also as an outreach ministry for the community and state. We have participated in numerous national and international projects, offering our time, spiritual guidance, and donations to help others. Mission work is a big focus for our church.
In 1902, the church was rebuilt and dedicated the following year.
Our church was remodeled and expanded throughout the early 20th century. Additions included the beautiful stained glass windows, purchased by the women of the church in the late 1920s for $800.
The church held its 100th anniversary on August 10, 1936 with a day of worship, singing, devotionals, speeches by former pastors and members, and—of course—food!
A church library was established in 1973, evolving and growing each year.
A Fellowship Hall was added to the church in 1979.
An education wing was added to the church in 1998.