Second Baptist Church Houston

Second Baptist Church Houston is a megachurch in Houston, Texas, USA 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]

Second Baptist Church Houston
Location Houston
Country United States
DenominationSouthern Baptist
Weekly attendance22,723 (2009)
Websitehttp://www.second.org/
History
Founded1995
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)Dr. Ed Young

History

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 the largest all-pipe Rodgers organ ever built, with 192 stops and 10,412 total pipes, qualifying the instrument as one of the largest pipe organs in the world. Although it was silenced for approximately one year due to severe water damage inflicted by Hurricane Ike in 2008, the organ is now played weekly in the church's traditional worship services, as well as for concerts and special events throughout the year.

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.[8] The church participates in the Faith Comes By Hearing Audio Bible listening program.[9] 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.[10]

On Easter day in 2012 the church began Spanish-language services, hiring Alfonso Gilbert to lead in worship.[11]

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.[12] It includes a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) classroom facility and a 600-seat black box theater.[13] 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.

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.[14]

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.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Second Baptist Church". Second Baptist Church Houston. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  2. Ken Camp (January 20, 2006). "Houston Baptist University president to retire". The Baptist Standard. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  3. "Top 100 Largest Churches". Outreach Magazine. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  4. "Baptist churches' size, growth rank among top in U.S." The Alabama Baptist. October 8, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  5. "Second Baptist Church". SiteCore. Archived from the original on February 28, 2010. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  6. "About SBS: Past Present and Future". Second Baptist School. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  7. "Second Baptist School". Houston Area Independent Schools. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  8. "Second Baptist Church: Ed Young". Goodnewsline.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2010. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  9. "Second Baptist Church Of Houston Takes Bible Listening Challenge". Faith Comes By Hearing / Hosanna. December 22, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  10. "Woodway Media". Second Baptist Church. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  11. "Second Baptist will launch Spanish service on Easter." Houston Chronicle. April 6, 2012. Retrieved on May 3, 2014.
  12. "Second Baptist Church Hits all Four Corners with Meyer Sound". Meyer Sound Laboratories. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  13. "Worship Facilities: Second Baptist Church West Campus". Studio RED Architects. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  14. Jesse Bogan (June 26, 2009). "America's Biggest Megachurches". Forbes. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  15. Norm Miller (February 27, 2006). "Second Baptist Houston pledges $84 million for expansion". Baptist Press. Retrieved August 4, 2010.

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