Our Story

A decade after President Abraham Lincoln signed the
"Emancipation Proclamation," the Reverend William Neal, under the direction of the divine Architect as his leader organized the Second Baptist Church of Lafayette, Indiana.
This congregation was organized on February 2, 1872. Meetings were held in the basement of the First Baptist Church until 1878 when they moved into their first church building on the northeast cor­ner of Hartford and Sixteenth streets. Hon. John Levering, a member of the First Baptist Church, donated the lot and 20,000 bricks for the church

• The cost of the building on16th and Hartford Streets. was about $1,000. 
• The total valuation of church property, $2,500.
• Members at the time of organization, ten (10).

By 1896, Second Baptist Church was paid for, with sixty-four dol­lars remaining in the treasury and the congregation had grown sevenfold, from the original twelve founders to a membership of eighty-three.
Second Baptist Church has had a rich heritage of pastors leading the church as it has grown through the years.

Pastor Charles Walter came to Second Baptist Church in March of 2015 and quickly established a vision for the church. His vision focuses on ethnic diversity and spiritual transformation. Pastor Walter has started a number of ministries since arriving at Second Baptist Church. Some of these ministries include: The Greeters ministry, Young Adult ministry, Care ministry, Intake ministry, Outreach ministry, Children’s Church, and Nursery ministry. Under Pastor Walter’s leadership the church has gained more than 400 people uniting with the church and 91 people have been baptized since the start of his tenure. Community outreach has been a major focus for Second Baptist since Pastor Walter has become the pastor. Second Baptist has been involved in the community in the following events: free gas giveaways, community church cookouts, free laundromat washes, and ice cream socials to name a few. He started our “Love on Lafayette” week each year. Our members are encouraged to do loving acts of kindness to those in the community.  Second Baptist Church also partnered with local churches such as Cornerstone Baptist Church to host two Farmers to Families Food box distribution days to help those struggling during Covid-19. Most recently, Second Baptist Church has joined with Calvary Church to host the Part at the Park event. We were able to host more than 2000 people with activities including bounce houses, cornhole, volleyball, dunk tank, horseback riding, and even a petting zoo were all free to any who attended. There was also lots of free food for people to enjoy like tacos, cotton candy, elephant ears, snow cones, and more. 

Pastor Walter has a very ambitious goal of seeing 22 people baptized, 200 regularly attending the services and 75% of the Congregation attending Growth Groups.