Second Baptist Church is a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

church in the

King-Lincoln Bronzeville King-Lincoln Bronzeville is a historically African American neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. Originally known as Bronzeville by the residents of the community, it was renamed the King-Lincoln District by Mayor Michael B. Coleman's administration ...

neighborhood of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. The church has the oldest

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

Baptist congregation in Columbus."Bulletin #43." ''Columbus City Bulletin.'' p. 25. 22 October 2011. https://www.columbus.gov/uploadedFiles/Columbus/Elected_Officials/City_Council/News/City_Bulletin/2011/Bulletin20111022.pdf ''Accessed 20 February 2023.'' It has been recognized as a historic

underground railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

site by The Friends of Freedom Society and the Ohio Underground Railroad Association.

History

It was founded in 1836 and headed by Reverend Ezekiel Fields who made the initial request to First Baptist Church to start a mission church. Fields' would serve as pastor until 1839. Pleasant Litchford, a blacksmith who was formerly enslaved in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, was the church's founding

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

. In 1844, the church was charted by the state of Ohio as a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. In 1847, a faction of the church split off due to dissenting opinions regarding a Black family that had joined the congregation and who had previously owned

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. The family was urged to use the proceeded from selling their slaves to buy them out of slavery but they had refused. The dissenting faction was known as The Anti-Slavery Baptist Church and was led by Reverend

James Preston Poindexter James Preston Poindexter (October 26, 1819 – February 7, 1907) was an abolitionist, civil rights activist, politician, and Baptist minister from Columbus, Ohio. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and moved to Ohio as a young man. In Ohio he was a ...

. The Anti-Slavery Baptist Church reunited with the church in 1858 with Pointdexter appointed to lead the combined church as its pastor. Pointdexter would serve as the Pastor of the Second Baptist Church from 1858 to 1898 and continued preaching

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

from the pulpit. The current church building was constructed from 1907 to 1908, dedicated on January 26, 1908. From 1936 to 1970, Reverend Charles Frank Jenkins served as Pastor. Rev. Jenkins was succeeded by Reverend Harold E. Pinkston who served from August 1971 to 1975. Even though Pinkston seemingly left his pastoral position in 1975, the ''Columbus Call and Post'' - a local

African American newspaper African-American newspapers (also known as the Black press or Black newspapers) are news publications in the United States serving African-American communities. Samuel Cornish and John Brown Russwurm started the first African-American periodi ...

- reports that he had been ousted from the pulpit by a majority vote from the church membership on December 7, 1975. The oust of Pinkston was contested before the Common Pleas Court and Judge Fred Shoemaker ruled the dispute must be settled by another election, which was to be conducted on January 17, 1976. Reverend Leon Troy was approached to be the church's pastor in May 1976 and began his pastoral duties August 15, 1976 until his first retirement in August 1996. The church's congregation grew nearly five times under his leadership from 250 to 1200. Troy was awarded the Poindexter award by

Columbus City Council The Columbus City Council is the lawmaking body of Columbus, Ohio. It has 7 members who are elected at-large. It meets in the City Council Chambers located on the second floor of Columbus City Hall. Starting in the 2023 election, City Council w ...

in 2019 for his contributions to the faith community. In 1996, Reverend Yvette W. Hensley becomes the first female minister

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

by Second Baptist Church. Rev. Troy returned to Second Baptist Church as a "Spiritual Overseer" after the departure of Reverend David S.Carter, who served as pastor from February1999 to 2004. Reverend Howard T. Washington has served as the church's pastor since 2006.

Service

The church has provided a wide range of services to its community. The church established a 45 unit senior citizen housing complex known as Chandler Arms. It helped provide citywide food assistance via programs like "Operation Potato." The church also partnered with Neighborhood House to provide food and clothing to families in need. Additionally, the church enhanced its own capacity through its creation of a pre-school center and a $1 million education wing.

Location

The Second Baptist Church is located in the

neighborhood at 186 N. 17th St, Columbus, Ohio. It had previously been located at three different addresses: 69 Mulberry Street, 105 East Gay Street, and 90 East Rich Street.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.secondbaptistcolumbus.com/ Baptist churches in Ohio African-American churches Churches in Columbus, Ohio King-Lincoln Bronzeville African-American history in Columbus, Ohio