Who We Are
At Second Baptist Church, we honor Christ by building unity while embracing theological diversity and ministering to the world around us.
Our church has called East Memphis home since 1965. Every week, God shows and reminds us that we are a center for Christian community. It is often the case that more people are on our campus Monday-Saturday than during Sunday morning worship.
THIS is 2BC
Baptist churches come in all shapes, sizes, and theological stripes. We don’t neatly fit many of the stereotypes. At Second, we aim to create space where people don’t have to agree on everything in order to worship and serve together.
Telling Our Story
We are looking at how Second Baptist gets to share God’s goodness with others.
We’re not looking to tell people about the goodness of Second Baptist.
Hospitality
We are looking at how to be generous with people where we find them and offer God’s goodness to them.
We’re not looking for outreach gimmicks to meet people.
Intergenerational Ministry
We are looking to equip people of all ages with a faith that endures.
We’re not looking for ways simply to attract young people.
Spiritual Formation
We are more interested in making disciples of Jesus.
We’re not looking to make church members.
Being Baptist is about freedom
Drawing on Walter Shurden's The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms, we embrace four freedoms that shape who we are.
Bible Freedom
Every person is free and responsible for reading and interpreting scripture for themselves, guided by the Holy Spirit and the Lordship of Christ.
Soul Freedom
Every individual stands before God on their own, without coercion from creeds, clergy, or government.
Church Freedom
Each congregation is self-governing, free to determine its own membership, leadership, and ministry — including the ordination of all whom God calls.
Religious Freedom
Faith must always be freely chosen. We support freedom of religion, for religion, and from religion, because a free church in a free state honors Christ as the only true Lord.
While Baptists are just one part of the broader body of Christ, these freedoms give us a distinct way of living out our faith. We partner with a variety of Christian ministries and align most closely with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) — a network of individuals and churches working together to share the hope of Christ through meaningful local and global ministry.
Our History
Second Baptist Church was born in July 1962, when 76 people gathered at the Claridge Hotel in Memphis and voted to organize as a congregation. By August, nearly 200 people had sought membership, and by December the church was officially established as part of the Shelby Baptist Association.
The congregation called its first pastor, Rev. Brooks Ramsey, in 1963. Under his leadership, in 1965 the church moved to its current home on Walnut Grove Road in East Memphis. From the beginning, Second has lived out of a clear and compelling call to be a church that will "meet the needs of the whole person," ministering to the spiritual, social, emotional, and physical needs of people whether they ever join our church or not.
Across the changing landscape of religious life, we remain committed to being a community of faith that gathers to worship and scatters to serve.
Become A Member
If you have been visiting Second Baptist Church and are ready to call us your home, we invite you to join our congregation.