Smithfield residents will be invited to worship with members of Liberty Baptist Church when the latest branch of the church starts holding services in the first month of the new year.

The church will begin holding services at Smithfield High School in January, the fifth meeting spot for a Hampton-based, multi-site congregation that has more than 10,000 members and attendees, according to an email from Senior Pastor Dr. Grant Ethridge. The other branches are located on Harbour View Boulevard in Suffolk as well as in Williamsburg and Chesapeake.

Ethridge wrote that coming to Smithfield is part of the church’s vision to reach the entirety of Hampton Roads, and that there are many members of the Liberty family who are Smithfield residents.

“We want them to be able to stay in their community and reach and minister to their own neighbors,” Ethridge wrote.

Liberty prides itself on providing a welcoming environment in each of the 65- to 70-minute worship services that are held weekly, according to libertylive.church. But it’s not just about an hour of prayer every Sunday morning.

According to Ethridge, being part of Liberty is about living out your faith every day of the week.

“Liberty is a multi-generational and multi-ethnic church where everyone is welcome,” he wrote. “We want everyone to know God, find community, serve people and leave a legacy.”

Each campus has a full staff and campus pastor to minister to the growing church family across the region. Grant hopes for that same success when the church officially reaches out to Isle of Wight County in January.

“We want to be a place where every person in Smithfield and Isle of Wight can come and grow,” he wrote, “in order to go make a difference in our community.”

Visit libertylive.church for more information.