General Info

Second Baptist Church, Lake Jackson, Texas, began as a mission of First Baptist Church, Lake Jackson, on February 1, 1953, meeting first in the American Legion Hall on Sycamore Street. Later, the mission group moved to a rented building on Plantation Drive, but after only five months of mission status, the group organized into what was then called the Shady Oaks Baptist Church. Brother H. N. Balderee, who had served as mission pastor, was called as the first pastor of the church. The first building located at 201 Garland Drive was begun in August 1953 and was constructed with a gift of $1, 500 from the Mary Hill Davis State Mission Offering on land donated by Dow Chemical Company and First Baptist Church, Lake Jackson. It soon became evident that more space was needed, and in December of that same year, ground was broken for enlargement of the first building, with additional space for Sunday School, a kitchen, and a baptistery. Brother Balderee retired in February 1959 and Brother David L. Sutton was called as pastor. During his ministry, the third addition was made to the building, along with general remodeling, repair to damage done by Hurricane Carla, air conditioning added, and bricking of the entire building. After serving the church as pastor for over seven years, Brother Sutton resigned on July 31, 1966, to assume the pastorate of Baptist Temple in Bay City, Texas. In January 1967, Brother R. Don Hendricks was called as pastor. He and his wife, Roberta, and their daughter, Beth, brought much needed stability and maturity at that particular point in the life of the church. Brother Hendricks served the church for eight years before resigning to accept the pastorate of First Baptist Church, Avery, Texas. Second Baptist was without a pastor for 18 months, and Brother Bill Hall served faithfully for 12 months as interim pastor during that period. In October 1975, the church called Dr. D. Duane Kelley as the new Pastor. Bro. Kelley and his wife, Wanda, came from Garden Acres Baptist Church, Burleson, Texas. Two major goals were accomplished the first year of Bro. Kelley's ministry: the calling of a staff member and the remodeling of the auditorium. In September 1976 Bro. Gary Thornton, with his wife Debbie, was called as staff member with major responsibilities in children and youth activities and outreach. It was also during this time that Second Baptist Church began a bus ministry and an aggressive effort to build a Sunday School. The Sunday School grew from 188 enrolled in 1975 to over 600 enrolled by 1986 with an average Sunday School attendance of around 200. Bro. Kelley served the Church for nearly eleven years before accepting the position of Director of Missions for the Trinity River Baptist Association, Liberty, Texas, in September 1986. In June 1987, Bro. Thornton resigned to become the Director of Church Services for the Gulf Coast Baptist Association, offices in Angleton. During the next period, Bro. Darrell O. Foster served the church as interim pastor until the church called Bro. Jim D. Way as pastor. Brother Way, along with his wife, Gaye, and four sons, came to Lake Jackson from First Baptist Church, Munday, Texas, beginning his ministry at Second Baptist in June 1987. In December 1987, the church called Bro. Ronnie Whitehead with his wife, Teresa and two children, as associate pastor with major responsibilities in music and youth. After several years of ministry at Second Baptist, Bro. Whitehead resigned in the summer of 2000 with Bro. Way resigning in the spring of 2001. Second Baptist Church was again blessed when it learned that former pastor Bro. Kelley was willing to serve as interim pastor, leading the church through an "Intentional Interim Ministry" program. Long-time church members rejoiced at being blessed again with the services of Bro. Kelley and Wanda. A "Transition Team" was selected to facilitate the Intentional Interim Ministry, providing a much needed decision-making process. Bro. Ron Redden,