Second Baptist Church Houston
| Second Baptist Church Houston | |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Denomination | Southern Baptist Convention |
| Website | http://www.second.org/ |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Dr. Ed Young |
Second Baptist Church Houston is a megachurch in Houston, Texas, USA affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention that has a membership of over 63,000. Its senior pastor is Dr. Ed Young.[1] Second Baptist Church is aligned with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, which broke away from the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 1998.[2] A 2008 survey by Outreach magazine gave attendance at 23,659.[3] In 2009 average weekly attendance was 22,723, making it the largest Baptist church in the country and the 5th largest church.[4]
Contents
First campus
The church was founded in 1927.[5] In 1946 the church sponsored foundation of the Second Baptist School as a self-supporting agency.[6] The school occupies a 42-acre (170,000 m2) campus in the Memorial area and is open to students without regard to race, religion, or economic background.[7] In 1957, Second Baptist moved west to the current main location at 6400 Woodway Drive in Houston.[5] The Woodway church boasts a pipe organ with 192 stops and 10,412 total pipes, one of the largest in the world.[8]
In 1979 the church launched a weekly broadcast of worship services on local television. In 1982 a local radio program began, as well as national TV broadcasting. Since then this has expanded into international television, radio and internet distribution of the church's message.[9] The church participates in the Faith Comes By Hearing Audio Bible listening program.[10] In 2010, Second Baptist Church brought on the best selling Christian book author, Gary Thomas, as a writer in residence. Thomas also serves on Second's teaching team.[11]
On Easter day in 2012 the church began Spanish-language services, hiring a California man named Alfonso Gilbert to lead in worship.[12]
Expansion
In 1999 Second Baptist opened the West Campus. The West Campus has a 4,500-seat worship center with separate buildings for educational programs, weddings, funerals, and other events.[13] It includes a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) classroom facility and a 600-seat black box theater.[14] In 2004 Forest Cove Baptist Church joined Second Baptist and was renamed the North Campus, and satellite campuses in Pearland and northwest Houston were established in 2006.[citation needed]
Under the leadership of Ed Young the church grew from an average weekend attendance of 500 in 1978 to over 24,000 today.[5] The church has been described by its pastor as "a town within a city", with an annual budget of $55 million. In addition to worship facilities it has fitness centers, bookstores, information desks, a café, a K-12 school and free automotive repair service for single mothers.[15]
In February 2006 the Second Baptist Church pledged $84 million to expand its three sites in the Houston area and to add others by using movie theaters across the United States.[16]
See also
References
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- ↑ "Second Baptist will launch Spanish service on Easter." Houston Chronicle. April 6, 2012. Retrieved on May 3, 2014.
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