St. Phillips Baptist Church
History
In the year 1892, a few Christian-hearted members realized the apparent need for establishing a church; and so, these earliest founders began house-to-house prayer meetings. As the membership increased, the meeting place changed from homes to an old community school, where plans were formulated to purchase a church building.
In 1941, St. Phillips Baptist Church was forced to vacate a newly renovated building on St. Phillips Hill, due to the Urban Renewal Movement. This area is presently known as Spring Valley in Northwest, Washington, DC. Once the St. Phillips Baptist Church congregation vacated the Spring Valley location, they purchased a property located at 1718 Florida Avenue, Northwest, Washington,
DC, where they held their church services.
In 1948, The St. Phillips Baptist Church purchased a new church property at
1001 North Capitol Street, NE, Washington DC. Former ministers and sons of this church will long be remembered as men who were loyal, patient, tolerant and as leaders gave themselves and their services unselfishly, to foster growth and expansion of the church in its goal of spiritual enrichment.
Rev. Dr. André H. Owens was called to be our Pastor in July 1977, at a special church meeting. He was officially installed as the 14th Senior Pastor of St. Phillips Baptist Church on February 5, 1978.
In March 2017, with the support and encouragement of Pastor Owens, we sold our beloved church building at 1001 North Capitol Street, NE, Washington DC, after having worshipped there for over 70 years. We moved to a temporary church home at 537 Ritchie Road, Capitol Heights, MD. This was not an easy task to leave the old structure located in the heart of Washington, DC, for it contained so much history regarding its modest origin in a section of Washington, DC formerly known as St. Phillips Hill.
In June 2018, St. Phillips Baptist Church purchased a new church building at 3415 Brinkley Road in Temple Hills, MD. We had our first service in the new church building on November 4, 2018. We thank God and our Trustee Ministry for their diligence in searching for and obtaining our new church building.
In May 2019, St. Phillips was blessed with an Assistant Pastor, Rev. Alfred Wright, Jr., and he officially joined our membership with the right hand of fellowship on the fourth Sunday in May 2019.
On Sunday, March 28, 2021, during our morning service, a letter was read from Rev. Dr. Andre’ H. Owens, announcing his retirement as Senior Pastor of St. Phillips Baptist Church effective April 1, 2021. Rev. Owens served faithfully as Senior Pastor for 43 years preaching, teaching, counseling, mentoring, and caring for his church family to change lives according to God’s will. Pastor Owens will officially be referred to as Senior Pastor Emeritus of St. Phillips Baptist Church.
On the recommendation of Senior Pastor Emeritus Andre’ H. Owens, St. Phillips Baptist Church unanimously approved Rev. Alfred Wright, Jr., (formerly the Assistant Pastor) as our new Pastor effective April 1, 2021. Pastor Wright’s family, his wife, Minister Beatrice Wright, his daughters, Sis. Aaliyah Wright (with her son Alijah) and Sis. Alexis Wright became members of St. Phillips Baptist Church on June 27, 2021.
Rev. Alfred Wright, Jr., was installed as the 15 th Pastor of St. Phillips Baptist Church on Saturday, July 31, 2021. The installation service was beautiful and well attended by church members, his family, friends, and guests.
We Praise the Lord for these past years under the leadership of Pastor Wright. He studies, teaches, and preaches God’s Word faithfully. He listens and advises with no hint of complacence and encourages us to pray for everything. His godly leadership continually blesses our congregation. Pastor Wright revived our weekly Tuesday night Bible Study, now being held via teleconference.
Minister Wright shared with Pastor Wright an idea she received from the Lord, for a weekly morning prayer service. We now have a weekly 5:00AM prayer service on Wednesdays titled “Morning Glory Prayer Service,” also via teleconference. Pastor Wright also implemented the SPBC Evangelism Ministry and Crusader 4 Christ Prayer Walks under the capable leadership of Min. Beatrice Wright and Rev. Christopher Thorne. The young adults expressed their desire to be a part of the service on Sundays. Pastor heeded their desire and established the Youth & Young Adults Ministry who carry the 10:30AM service every third Sunday in the month.
Our Music Ministry is growing with the addition of a Praise & Worship Team, a bass player, the Mighty Men of Valor Choir, and the Sounds of Youth. All our services are now live streamed by Audio/Visual Team led by Rev. James K. Saunders III.
God has truly blessed St. Phillips Baptist Church for 132 years with a rich and triumphant history, to God Be the Glory for He has done great things. For our founders, who were diligent in their efforts and strong in their faith in God, we thank Him. As we think of the past and see where He has brought us from, we are reminded of the numerous sacrifices made by those who have gone from labor to reward.
As we, the St. Phillips Baptist Church, go forward as disciples of Christ, we are grateful to God for all He has done for us. We are also grateful to God for our Pastor, Associate Ministers, Deacons, Deaconess, Trustees, other Officers, and our Church Family; and we pray that we will continue to: Preach the Word, Teach the Word, Keep the Faith: Pray Always: Praise God; and Serve the Lord with Gladness, Always.