Ed Young, long-time pastor of Houston’s Second Baptist Church, has announced he will retire from leading the church.
Ed Young preaching November 2023 / Video screengrab @Second Baptist Church, Houston
Young became pastor of Second Baptist Church, a congregation in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), in 1978. After nearly 50 years, he will pass the torch to his 60-year-old son Ben Young.
In a letter to the congregation posted by KHOU, Young said, “While I am moving from the pulpit to the pew, we are committed to our Second Family. In our new capacity, we are eager to use our primary spiritual gifts of evangelism and encouragement within this family of faith.”
Young also said, “We will stay in the battle.”
At the time he took the reins of the church, the congregation was averaging about 500 people in the Sunday worship service. Now, it reports attendance of 18,000 across multiple campuses each week.
Young, now 87 years old, was seminary educated at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. At the time of Young’s education, Southeastern was considered one of the more progressive seminaries in the SBC.
However, Young and Second Baptist Houston played a notable role in the 1980s conservative resurgence within the SBC. Young served twice as SBC president during those years. Paul Pressler, who has faced sexual abuse allegations, was a member and leader at Second Baptist and was considered an “architect” of the conservative movement.
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Ben Young, the elder Young’s middle son, has been serving as an associate pastor. He has authored several books, serves as the chaplain of the Houston Astros major league baseball team, and is part of the faculty of Houston Theological Seminary, affiliated with Houston Christian University.
Young’s eldest son, also Ed Young, started Fellowship Church near Dallas, a mega-church with weekly attendance of 24,000. His youngest son, Cliff Young, is a member of contemporary Christian music group Caedmon’s Call.
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