April 10, 2005 Article in the Philadelphia Tribune About Us

Church of the Week:
Second Baptist gathering everyone in Multiethnic congregation preaches openness, service
By Jennifer Smith
Tribune Correspondent

Scholars, authors and parishioners often say that 11 a.m. Sunday morning is one of the most segregated times in America, but Second Baptist Church of Germantown is an exception.

“The church is probably most proud of its status as an integrated ethnic congregation,” said the Rev. Ernest Flores, who became pastor of Second Baptist in 1997.

Flores is Mexican-American, and says that the congregation of 300 members is about 80 percent Black and 20 percent white.

He grew up in a Mexican-American church in Los Angeles pastored by his father. Sometimes it was visited by gospel artist Andrae Crouch.

“We were well known as the Mexican church that worships like Black folks,” says Flores with a laugh.

After relocating to the East to attend school and pastor, Flores then served at all-white and all-Black congregations in New Jersey.

He says this blend of experiences prepared him to pastor Second Baptist, but realizes that multicultural ministry can present challenges.

“It’s not easy preaching to a mixed congregation. You’ve got to make sure you’re addressing everybody, including everybody.”

Barbara S. Lee says she was one of maybe three other Blacks who attended Second Baptist 44 years ago. She wanted to expose her son to an integrated environment, and said members of the church received her warmly.

“Everybody’s welcome. We have always been a community Baptist church,” says Lee.
The church takes its multiethnic stance seriously. When the neighborhood’s demographic began to change during the 1960s and 1970s, the church made a more concerted effort to change with it.

“Pastor Carney Hargroves was the pastor then. He was the guy who led Second Baptist in to being an integrated church,” says Flores.

Hargroves, a former president of the American Baptist Convention, also helped get Bibles to Russian Christians when they were prohibited in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The congregation also supported lots of mission work in China during his leadership.

One of Hargroves’ daughters, who is now a philanthropist, sponsored a large amount of the church’s $3.2 million renovation project.

Since it was founded in 1865, Second Baptist has experienced three fires. The last one, an August 1970 electrical fire that started in the organ pit of the church, destroyed large portions of the building.

Today, the church will dedicate a renovated facility, which includes new carpeting, upholstery, better lighting, a sound system, handicapped-accessible bathrooms, and expanded space for a computer room and other outlets that Flores hopes will help Second Baptist better serve the community.

Currently, the church houses homeless families for three weeks twice out of the year through a partnership with the Northwest Interfaith Hospitality Network. There’s also an Elder Diner, which provides low-priced lunches to seniors, the JAM (Jesus and Me) youth group, tutorials at nearby Emlen Elementary School, and a diverse music program that includes everything from the gospel songs of Richard Smallwood to traditional church anthems and a handbell choir.

Flores also likes to stay abreast of what’s going on in the community by playing basketball with local youth who often knock on the parsonage door to ask if “the Rev. can come out and play.”

He says Second Baptist is both evangelical and socially conscious.

“It’s not just enough to say that we love Jesus Christ if we don’t love the very least in a practical way,” he said. “We have to reach out and be sensitive to people rather than just be consumers of God’s blessings.”

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