It’s been five years since Pastor Ivan Pitts posed the question to his staff at Second Baptist Church: If the church was to disappear, would anybody care? Would anybody notice?
Then, the answer wasn’t so clear. But now, as SBC congregated over the weekend in celebration of its 100 years of service to the community, Pitts said he can feel pride in the monetary and spiritual contributions his church has made to Orange County.
“We have a clear vision to serve others,” Pitts said. “I believe that you reap what you sow, and so we decided to sow into serving others, giving to others.”
It’s that community-centered vision that has allowed SBC, the oldest Black church in Orange County, to make it to 100 years — navigating issues in recent years such as the COVID-19 pandemic and a nationwide decline in church membership.
“There are so many churches that have not made it 25 years, let alone 50 or more,” said Pitts. “I feel like we are here for a reason, and God wants more from us. The community needs more.”
In 2019, more protestant churches in the U.S. shuttered their doors than new ones began, according to a study from Lifeway Research, a resources tool for church leaders.
Today, SBC has 1,300 active members — including those who attend services in person at the church’s locations in Santa Ana and Irvine or watch online.
SBC’s story began a century ago with the official founder Julia Sullivan. Along with her sisters and brothers, Sullivan migrated from Texas to Santa Ana and “just wanted to find a place where they could worship,” said Kelita Gardner, SBC’s director of operations.
It was 1923, and the country was still reeling in the aftermath of World War I and the Great Influenza epidemic. And in Orange County, due to racial segregation, Black people did not yet have such a place.
So Sullivan worked with the abolitionist First Baptist Church to start SBC on Second and Baker streets in Santa Ana, home to about 50 parishioners…
Read the full article here
