Second Missionary Baptist Church, Baylor University Reach 'Mission-Fulfilling' Agreement
Following Sunday morning worship services at Waco's historic Second Missionary Baptist Church, officials with the church and Baylor University completed a real estate transaction Dec. 22 that will allow both to continue to fulfill their mutual Christian mission.
Since 1924, Second Missionary Baptist Church has held worship services in their building located on the north side of the Baylor campus on M.L. Cooper Drive. Through the agreement with Baylor, the church will begin the process of constructing a new facility in Waco, said Sherman H. Jackson Jr., trustee and chair of the building committee at Second Baptist.
Until the new Second Baptist is built on an eight-acre site at Dallas and Herring Avenue, Jackson said church members will meet temporarily beginning in late February or early March in the building formerly used by Edgefield Baptist Church. The building, located at 1801 River St. in Waco, is provided by Baylor, which bought the property last June.
"We have reached a time in the history of our church to move to a new site to worship our Lord," Jackson said. "The Second Missionary Baptist Church has had a past which has been a blessing from God, and the members will be faithful to the duties of the present, and we know God will provide for the future. The ministers, deacons, trustees and members of Second Missionary Baptist Church want to thank Baylor University for her cooperation and assistance in our building of a new church. Our prayer is that God will continue to bless Second Missionary Baptist Church and Baylor University."
Also as part of the agreement, Baylor will preserve the church's historic marker, which will be installed in a garden area within the current property. One of the university's planned 600-bed residential villages will be located on the site.
"By the two of us reaching this agreement, we are not only helping the members of Second Missionary Baptist Church further their work in the kingdom of God, but they are helping Baylor University fulfill its historic mission for our students of combining academic excellence within a caring Christian community," said Rick L. Creel, assistant vice president for operations and facilities. "This agreement with Second Baptist will affect young people for generations to come because it is helping us realize one of the imperatives in the Baylor 2012 vision, which is 'creating a truly residential campus.'"
In addition to Jackson, members of the Second Baptist board of trustees are Mason Yarbrough, Marvin Bolridge, William Haliburton and Walter Lloyd. Special committee members are Jackson, Yarbrough, Thomas Holbert, Ruby Powell and Sylvia Borens.