About
At Dayspring, we want everyone to experience the wide welcome of our inclusive, loving God. As a hopeful and healing community, we help one another embrace the presence of God in our lives, our community, and in this world.
Extending a Wide Welcome to
West County, St. Louis
At Dayspring, we want everyone to experience the wide welcome of our inclusive, loving God. As a hopeful and healing community, we help one another embrace the presence of God in our lives, our community, and in this world.
Inviting Others into the Love of God
At Dayspring, we want everyone to know that they are loved and wanted by God. We believe God enjoys and delights in humanity, so we want to amplify God’s messages of welcome, inclusion, and love.
Too many people have received the opposite message from churches, though. They’ve received messages that are harmful, making them feel unwelcome, unwanted, and unlovable.
At Dayspring, we believe the love of God is wider and more wonderful than we’ve dared to imagine. So we are committed to cultivating a faith community that is joyful, open-minded, and always moving toward spiritual health and healing. Our core practices include hospitality, authenticity, and inclusivity, especially for those who are often marginalized by churches.
If you’re ready for a faith that is expansive rather than exclusive, and a church that honors curiosity more than certainty, we’d love to welcome you to the Dayspring community.
Firm Foundation, Flexible Faith
Dayspring Baptist Church has existed in the St. Louis metro area for almost 150 years. We’ve been known by many names since our founding: Garrison Avenue Baptist Church, “The Church on Wheels”, and most notably, Delmar Baptist Church. For over 100 years, our church existed on the corner of Delmar and Skinker just off the Delmar Loop in St. Louis.
Since our founding in 1877, the world (and our city) has experienced many changes, and we have too. We’ve been through name changes, location changes, and theological changes, all while maintaining a firm faith in Jesus Christ and a deep love for St. Louis.
All of this change has helped make us the community we are today. We are a church who holds on to what is good and lets go of that which no longer serves us–and we help one another do the same.
Since we are no stranger to change, we aren’t afraid of it when we find it in others or experience it in our faith. Although we are firmly rooted in the ways of Jesus, we’ve learned that we can question, wonder, reconsider, and reimagine new ways to exist as faithful followers of Christ in the midst of a changing world.
This is what Dayspring is all about—helping one another experience God’s loving presence as we navigate changes in our lives, our world, and our faith.
Our church community is…
Emotionally and Spiritually Healthy
At Dayspring, we believe spiritual health and emotional health are connected. We value the work of therapy, spiritual direction, and self-care. We practice self-awareness and transparency. We strive to create a church-life balance that fills your cup, not your schedule.
Warm and Welcoming
When hard questions or harmful experiences derail you, Dayspring is a gentle place to land . Our community is kind and caring without being overbearing, and we especially support those who often find themselves on the margins of Christian society.. So many of us are weary travelers on this journey of faith; Dayspring would love to be your soft place to land, or even just a peaceful stop along your road. Either way, you are welcome here.
Creative, Hopeful, and Hospitable
We believe the Spirit of God is always present and at work in the world and in our lives. This means we can experience God through a worship service, and also through a great movie, or a poem, or a shared dinner, or a fiction novel. We also believe we can experience God in our friends and neighbors who think, act, or believe differently than we do. Since God is revealed in all of these creative ways, we choose to be creative, hospitable, and hopeful in how we function as a church and as members of our community.
Meet Our Pastor
Hey y’all! I became Dayspring’s senior pastor in November of 2022. I grew up in Texas, but I lived in the KC metro area for almost a decade before heading over here to the more exciting side of Missouri. I’m a big fan of Jesus (but not always church or religion) pretty sure I’m not alone in that. I have graduate degrees from both Fuller Theological Seminary (Master of Cross-Cultural Studies) and Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity). I love finding the sacred within the secular, and in that vein, here is a list of books that have resonated with my faith:
Pastrix by Nadia Bolz-Weber: on the beauty and art of Female Pastoring
The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby: on the racial history of Christianity in America
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas: on the way faithful love brings people back to life
The Bible Tells Me So by Pete Enns: on reconsidering the scripture
Persuasion by Jane Austen: the first book I ever loved. Also a great analogy for religious deconstruction (seriously).
Andrea Huffman
Pastor, Dayspring Baptist Church
Meet Our Staff
Andrea Huffman
Senior Pastor
Angela Smith
Children’s Director
Cathy Pettibone
Youth Director
Brenda Hamm
Nursery Director
Lexi Gamache
Office Manager & Administrative Assistant
A Different Kind of Baptist
When people hear that Dayspring has a female pastor and affirms the LGBTQ+ community, the follow-up question is usually something along the lines of, “But wait, you’re Baptist? What kind of Baptist are you?”
Believe it or not, we aren’t all that special. We are affiliated with multiple Baptist denominations and agencies who align with our same values.
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF)
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is a denomination of Baptist churches who partner to share the love of Jesus Christ through global missions, congregational ministries, and advocacy for justice and social good.
American Baptist Churches, USA (ABC)
The American Baptist Church is a mainline protestant denomination dating all the way back to the first English and Welsh Baptist settlers in America. It has always been on the right side of history with regard to race in the United States, and we are proud to be a part of this denomination. Fun fact: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American Baptist minister.
Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB)
AWAB’s mission is to support churches in being and becoming welcoming and affirming of all people regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Leaning into your faith in today’s world is hard.
The good news is you don’t have to go it alone.
Come join us for a weekend service, listen to a recent sermon, or simply reach out if you have a question. We’re big enough to have authentic community, but not so big that you’ll get lost in the shuffle.