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Our History

We're an American Baptist Church with its roots planted in 1834. We have a renewed spirit in a new century.

Discover who we are - our beliefs, our vision, our mission, our history.

Meet our Leaders, Officers, and Staff.

The stained glass window in the sanctuary is abstract in design, but is meant to portray a story. Click on the following URL to see the writeup that appeared in the brochure developed for the dedication of the building on September 18, 1965.

The Stained Glass Window

"...Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15,16

Pastors of Second Baptist
---The Baptist Temple

Rev. Elon Galusha 1834-1836
Rev. Elisha Tucker 1837-1841
Rev. V. R. Hotchkiss 1842-1845
Rev. Charles Thompson 1846-1848
Rev. Henry Davis 1849-1850
Rev. Dr. W. G. Howard 1851-1855
Rev. George Dana Boardman 1856-1864
Rev. Joseph H. Gilmore 1866-1867
Rev. T. Edwin Brown 1869-1881
Rev. Samuel W. Duncan 1883-1888
Rev. Frederick L. Anderson 1888-1900
Rev. D. D. MacLaurin 1901-1906
Rev. Charles H. Rust 1906-1919
Rev. Clinton Wunder 1921-1929
Rev. Frank G. Sayers 1931-1937
Rev. Dr. W. Harry Freda 1939-1944
Rev. Albert M. McCartney 1944-1950
Rev. Kyle Haseldon 1951-1954
Rev. Dr. Raymond Bailey 1955-1957
Rev. Robert A. Moore 1958-1967
Rev. Robert C. Newell 1968-1982
Rev. Dr. W. Kenneth Williams 1983-1995
Rev. Thomas N. Rice 1997-2001
Rev. Arlen G. Vernava 9/2003 - Present

An American Baptist Church

The Baptist Temple
1101 Clover Street
Rochester, N.Y 14610

Phone: (585) 473-3200
Fax: (585) 473-5929

Rev. Arlen G. Vernava

Our Vision

We, the members of The Baptist Temple, desire to be a community that grows spiritually. We strive to be a welcoming, caring congregation, rich in the cultures and lifestyles of our people, blessed with a variety of personal religious experiences and leadership skills. We affirm our need to be understanding, respectful, and inviting to a diversity of people with whom, and from whom, we can share and learn.

Therefore, relying on the Holy Spirit, our vision is to become a community of believers who convey the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our membership, and to those in the surrounding community and throughout the world, who do not know, or who struggle to know, God. We choose to serve God's purpose by giving of ourselves to people in need of hope while concurrently offering them guidance, encouragement, friendship and a helping hand so that they feel uplifted and whole in Jesus Christ.

Our Mission

The mission of The Baptist Temple is to serve God:

By growing spiritually through Worship, Bible Study and Prayer.
By sharing one's self with others in a welcoming fellowship.
By exciting each person to use his or her gifts to advance and improve our church, our community and our world.

A Brief History

Our Beginnings
Second Baptist Church was founded on March 12, 1834 by 53 members from First Baptist Church of Rochester (which had 369 members at the time). Second Baptist Church met at the home of David Barton on April 8. They purchased a building on the corner of Main St. and Clinton Ave. from Third Presbyterian Church and began worshipping there on April 12, 1834. The first pastor was Elon Galusha.

The Church's Buildings
The meeting house burned in 1859 and a new church building was built on the corner of North and Achilles Streets in 1860. By 1862 the membership was 555. Another fire in 1892 made it necessary to rebuild. By 1893, the congregation moved into a much larger building facing Franklin Street. In 1924, the Second Baptist Church voted to build a large office building and renamed the church as The Baptist Temple. The large 1893 church building was torn down to make room for the 14 story office building and large sanctuary. The congregation moved in in 1925. That building still stands on the block surrounded by Franklin Street, Liberty Pole Way, and Achilles Street.

In the 1960's, the church decided that managing an office building was too difficult, both for operating it and the financial responsibility. They were able to sell the Temple Building and found a five acre lot in Brighton. A beautiful brick structure was built, which is the present home of The Baptist Temple. The congregation moved to the new building in 1965.

Forming New Churches
Our church has started several churches. The first was the Tabernacle in 1848. It lasted until 1856. East Avenue Baptist in 1872 came from our membership. They moved to Park Ave. in 1891, renaming their congregation Park Avenue Baptist Church. Because of difficulty, the members disbandoned and then rejoined The Baptist Temple in 1917. In 1889, two congregations were founded: North Baptist Church and also Alexander Street Baptist Church (which moved and became Niagara Street Baptist, then became Fernwood Baptist). The Parsells Avenue Baptist Church was founded from dismissed Second Baptist members in 1895. This church still exists in union with the Parsells Presbyterian Church.

In 1897, the church founded a sixth congregation, University Avenue Baptist Church. (It later was renamed the Atlantic Avenue Baptist Church.) To assist the immigrant population, the Polish Baptist Church was founded in 1913. And finally, in the end of the active years of forming new churches, Immanuel Baptist Church was formed in 1923. This congregation also still ministers on Park Avenue.