Second Baptist Church began in 1865 as the Seguin Baptist Church, founded by freedman Rev. Leonard Ilsley and other freedmen and women who gathered to worship Jesus Christ. We are grateful for that heritage. From the very beginning, this church has been rooted in Christ, and it has stood in Seguin for more than 160 years.
The church has always been more than a Sunday gathering. Under our first official pastor, Hiriam Wilson, the church purchased the property on S. Guadalupe Street in 1874 and built a structure that served as both sanctuary and public day school. In 1884, Rev. W. B. Ball became pastor and served until 1920. He established Ball High School and helped create Guadalupe College, and an elementary school in Seguin still carries his name.
Generation after generation, the people of Second Baptist have taught in Seguin’s classrooms, served on its city council, fed and cared for neighbors in need, started businesses, and lifted their voices in song. Those are not separate stories. They are one story of a people who loved God and loved their neighbors.
Through every season, Christ has been the foundation of this church, and He is the One who gathers us still. Our vision is to be a Christ-centered, thriving, multigenerational and multiethnic family of faith that reflects the love of Christ in our community and beyond. Everyone is welcome here: children and grandparents, longtime Seguin families and newcomers, people of every background.
We draw from our history as we become the church Christ died for: a family of faith for all people and for all times. Loving God, loving people, and making disciples is the work Second Baptist has been doing since 1865, and with thankful hearts and confidence in Christ, we look ahead to what He will do in Seguin and beyond for generations to come.
