Clyde’s Chapel Baptist Church near Archer Lodge will sponsor a free dental clinic at the church from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 24.

As a community outreach project, the church is sponsoring a visit of the North Carolina Baptist Men’s Medical/Dental Bus Ministry. The clinic will offer basic dental procedures and services including exams, X-rays and cleaning, along with blood pressure checks, at no charge to the patients.

“The Bible directs the church to serve as a beacon for everyone in the community,” said Pastor Josh Grizzle. “The people of Clyde’s Chapel want to show the love and compassion of Jesus Christ to all those around us, especially in tough economic times when some of our neighbors cannot afford basic dental care. The statewide Baptist Men’s bus ministry provides our members with an opportunity to help their neighbors while sharing the healing message of Jesus.”

Three Wake County and Johnston County dentists, plus several dental assistants and hygienists, are donating their time to staff the dental bus alongside Clyde’s Chapel volunteers, who include emergency medical technicians and trained nurses. The church and its mission organizations are covering the costs of the bus visit so patients will not even have to pay a nominal fee.

The church members are providing a free clothes closet for visitors that day and will give away bags containing toiletries and hygiene items. They will provide on-site childcare to assist parents and will have translators for Hispanic patients.

The dentists, dental assistants and medical personnel will see patients on a first-come, first-served basis. Clyde’s Chapel Baptist Church is located at 16657 Buffalo Road, Wendell, at the intersection of Turnipseed and Buffalo roads. It is between Wendell and the Archer Lodge community, just inside the Johnston County line. It has members from the Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon and Archer Lodge areas.

The N.C. Baptist Men began the medical/dental bus ministry in 1988 with one vehicle, adding a second one in 2001 to answer the increasing need for visits across the state. In 2008 alone (the most recent year for which statistics are available), the ministry visited 110 locations on 200 days, covering 19,362 miles to serve 3,895 patients at a fuel cost of $11,386; on those trips, 353 dentists and 832 other health care personnel worked with 119 pastors, 121 counselors, 176 translators and 1,040 other lay volunteers.

For more information on the Clyde’s Chapel visit, call the church office on weekday mornings at 365-6969. The church Web site is http://www.clydeschapel.org.