A Third Ward Church on Holman Street
Holman Street Baptist Church stands at 3501 Holman Street in Houston's Greater Third Ward, about a mile and a half from the downtown business district. The 48,000-square-foot sanctuary, with its lighted roof and forty-foot cross, has been a fixture in the neighborhood since 1998, and the original 7,000-square-foot building still sits on the same block with room for plenty of on-site parking. The church takes its name from the street it was built on, a tradition suggested by its first pastor when the first service was held on June 15, 1937.
The congregation is historically African American and Baptist, with a gospel-rooted style of worship that draws on hand clapping, foot stomping, and choir-led praise. Sunday morning is built around a 9:00 a.m. worship service, followed by 12:00 p.m. Sunday School. Wednesday evenings are given to Bible study. Outreach to children, youth, families, and the wider Third Ward community runs through dozens of named ministries, and the church operates a livestream for those who cannot attend in person.
From Pine Grove to a 48,000-Square-Foot Sanctuary
Holman Street Baptist Church grew out of Pine Grove Baptist Church, a small congregation that had met on Cobb Street off Holman with little room to expand. When property became available on Holman, a group of Pine Grove members gathered at the home of Deacon John Lofton and Sister Evelyn Lofton, with Reverend F. E. Taylor among them, to organize a new church. God answered their prayers, and a new body was formed with Reverend F. E. Taylor as the first pastor.
Thirty-seven people gathered for the first service on June 15, 1937, in a small neighborhood store at the corner of Tierwester and Winbern offered by the late Reverend Isaac Jenkins. The groundbreaking sermon was preached by Reverend Floyd Turner on July 4, 1937, and the foundation was laid five days later. On August 8, 1937, the congregation entered its first sanctuary, with Reverend N. C. Crane of St. John Baptist Church delivering the message.
Reverend Taylor led the church for fourteen years until he was led to a church in California in 1951. Reverend Cecil M. Davis was installed as the second pastor on October 14, 1951, and Reverend Sherman A. Douglas became the third pastor in August 1955. Pastor Douglas, who had joined Holman Street as a young man in 1948, served as a deacon and church clerk before being called to preach in 1952. He led the church for twenty-two years, was a personal friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., helped bring the civil rights leader to Houston, and served as deputy director of the NAACP Gulf Coast Community Service Association. Under his leadership, a second sanctuary was built and entered in June 1963.
Shepherd Manson B. Johnson was installed as the fourth pastor on October 19, 1977. His tenure reshaped both the church and the neighborhood. He began acquiring property in the Third Ward starting with the Winford Motel in 1984, helping expand Sunday School, orientation, and youth ministries. By the late 1990s, the church controlled roughly twenty acres in the Greater Third Ward, and on September 20, 1998, Johnson led the congregation into the current 48,000-square-foot sanctuary with fifteen meeting rooms, computer network access, two elevators, two multi-purpose meeting areas, double computerized video screens, a private prayer room, ten baptistery dressing rooms, and a state-of-the-art audio, video, and lighting system. Shepherd Johnson led Holman Street for more than forty-three years and licensed more than fifty ministers before he was called home to be with God on May 31, 2020.
Pastor Murray G. Martin and the Year of Elevation
On December 27, 2020, the church called Murray G. Martin as its fifth pastor. He preached his first sermon on February 5, 2021, titled "Built To Last." A native Houstonian and graduate of Booker T. Washington Senior High School, Pastor Martin holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Communications from Texas Southern University and is pursuing a Master of Divinity from Houston Baptist University. He was both licensed and ordained at Holman Street by Shepherd Johnson, then went on to pastor Mother Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Bay City, Texas, for nearly fifteen years, where he led a traditional congregation into a progressive, Bible-based, Spirit-guided worship while retaining Baptist governance and beliefs.
Pastor Martin's ministry has also included back-to-school supply drives, mission outreaches in local apartment complexes, food drives, and after-school tutoring. His community appointments have included board membership with the Rio Colorado Red Cross, the presidency of the Greater Ministerial Alliance of Matagorda County, the presidency of the NAACP Matagorda Chapter, membership in the Colorado Baptist Association, and chaplaincy with the Bay City Police Department. He often cites Ephesians 3:20, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think," as a guiding verse, and his current theme for the church is "The Year of Elevation." His catchphrase around the church is "Hope is Here."
Sunday Morning, Sunday School, and Wednesday Bible Study
Sunday begins at 9:00 a.m. with Morning Worship in the main sanctuary. The Music Ministry, under Director of Worship and Arts Jamie Simond, is built around "hand clapping, foot stomping, Holy Ghost filled, anointed voices praising God" and includes the Voices of Praise Mass Choir, the Male Chorus, the Young Adult Choir, the Mass Choir, the Mission Chorus, and the Youth Choir. After worship, the church transitions into Sunday School at 12:00 p.m., with classes for adults of all ages available by Zoom and by conference call so that members and friends who cannot be on campus can still study together. Children and youth ages three to eighteen gather for Youth Life Groups each Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Midweek Bible study meets on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m., and the church notes that worship times can shift for holidays such as Easter and Christmas. The Watch Live page hosts the livestream, with services also shared on the church's YouTube channel, and a sermon archive of recent messages is available online. For those in need of prayer, trained prayer ministers station themselves at the right front corner of the worship space after Sunday services, and a prayer request form is open to anyone online.
A Network of Ministries for Every Age and Stage
Holman Street's ministry life is organized into four streams: Adult Ministries, Care and Support, Discipleship and Training, and Youth, with Outreach running alongside all of them.
For adults, the Authentikos Women's Ministry, led by E'Lan Lattimore, Cicely McKentie, Ava Holland, and Ericka Shepherd, walks alongside girls and women of the church as they pursue a kingdom-centered life. The Married Ministry, led by Deacon Willie Taylor and Deaconess Michele Taylor, hosts seminars, retreats, and fellowships aimed at strengthening and reviving marriages through the Word. Men of Hope, led by Reverend Fred Lyons, exists to provide a safe place for men and boys to share, fellowship, and grow in Christ, drawing on Psalms 133:1 and Proverbs 27:17 as anchors. The Music Ministry, the Singles Ministry, and a Single's Ministry for unmarried members round out the adult offerings.
Care and Support covers the day-to-day fabric of the church. The Deacon and Deaconess Ministry, organized by division across nine numbered teams, visits the sick and elderly, supports ministry activities, and fosters unity. The Prayer Ministry, led by Brother John and Sister Gwen Harris, seeks to establish the church as "a House of Prayer for all nations." The Temple Troopers, led by Don Beatty and Russell Fletcher, manage parking, direct traffic, and provide security. The Media Ministry, led by Kathlene Samuels, runs the audiovisual, recording, and streaming work that makes services available online. The Counseling Ministry walks people through the steps of salvation and baptism, the Nurses Aide Ministry stands ready to offer first aid, the Sick and Bereavement Ministry sends cards, calls, and visits, the Decoration Ministry beautifies the sanctuary for annual days, the Pastor's Aide Ministry supports the pastor and his family, the Activities Ministry coordinates room assignments, and the Visitor's Hospitality Ministry welcomes visiting churches, delegations, and guests.
Discipleship and Training is anchored by Sunday School under Reverend Edward B. Perry, whose mission is to teach the Word of God to both the young and the old and to reach out with the Good News. The Orientation Ministry, led by Elizabeth Glover, walks new members through a nineteen-week, five-step plan for Christian growth. The Youth Discipleship Ministry, led by Brenna Fairbanks, reaches young people ages two to thirty with a focus on leadership, self-awareness, and stewardship.
The Youth Ministry is a world of its own. The Education Ministry, led by Juanita Wright, runs study hall, tutorial programs, college and career days, a scholarship banquet, recognition and awards programs, STAAR review, and college tours. Sandra Williams leads the HSBC Marching Drill Team and Bible Drillers, who witness through choreographed marching. Tameka Williams and Amber Houston direct the Praise Dance Ministry, which includes God's Little Angels, Fruit of the Spirit, and Angels of Praise. Sean Richards and LaShanda Richards lead God's Silent Voices Mime Ministry, and the Junior Sanctuary Service Attendants Ministry, led by E'Lan Lattimore and Kalan Shaw, helps members and visitors find seats and serves throughout the service. Vacation Bible School, under Andrea Foster, gives children a summer week of biblical teaching and fun. Joy in Jesus, led by Velita Harris and Vequila Kelly, ministers to children from six weeks to eleven years old through music, crafts, games, and Bible memory. The Youth Choir, under Ra'Kisha Woodard, leads praise from the younger generation. The Concerned Parents Association, led by Myrna Johnson, unites parents and other adults around the complete development of the young people of the church.
Rooted in the Third Ward
Outreach has been part of Holman Street's identity since Shepherd Johnson's years and continues under Pastor Martin. The Community Relations Ministry encourages voter registration, attends city council meetings, hosts community-oriented seminars, and presents the church to its neighbors. The Prison Ministry reaches people in need of hope and the transforming power of Jesus Christ through personal testimony. The Mission and Evangelism Ministry, led by Brother Broderick Booker and Sister Katrina Booker, is dedicated to sharing the love of Jesus Christ and fulfilling the Great Commission locally and beyond.
Volunteers are invited to sign up through the church's online Volunteer Form, and members can keep track of mission work through monthly Mission Leader Reports, organized by named mission circles (Adah, Andrew, Deborah, Dorcas, Elisabeth, Hannah, Lydia, Naomi, Phoebe, and Ruth). For families and seniors, forms are available for baby dedications, funeral notifications, financial requests, activity requests, van requisitions, off-campus notifications, and membership updates.
What the Church Believes
Holman Street's stated core values begin with the new birth as the requirement for salvation and church membership, the Bible as a divine revelation of God's will, and the family as God's primary holy base of operation. Members affirm that their individual bodies are temples in which the Holy Ghost resides, that giving and forgiving are inseparable expressions of God's love, and that there is a divine order of leadership within the church. Each member is seen as a steward of God, eternal rest is the reward for faithful commitment, divine retribution belongs to God, and the church looks forward to the rapture of the Church of Christ.
In practice, the church says it regularly assembles for worship and the study of the Word, tithes and gives offerings, visits the sick, shut-in, and imprisoned, feeds and clothes those in need, preaches the gospel outside the walls of the building, disciples women and men through dedicated ministries, gives to charitable causes, fellowships together, takes the Lord's Supper, baptizes new believers, ministers to senior saints, and remembers the roots of the past. The church's formal covenant adopts the King James Version of the Bible as the rule in faith and practice, with no bylaw ever to outweigh Scripture, and walks through the traditional Baptist covenant language of walking together in Christian love, watching over one another, and seeking to live to the glory of God.
What to Expect on a Sunday
Visitors are welcomed at 3501 Holman Street, Houston, TX 77004. The main entrance opens for the 9:00 a.m. worship service, with Temple Troopers directing vehicles and on-site parking available. The service is gospel-rooted and Spirit-led, with music led by the choirs and a sermon from Pastor Murray G. Martin, followed by an invitation and prayer ministry at the front right corner of the worship space. After worship, members and guests are invited to Sunday School at noon, and children and youth can head to Youth Life Groups at 11:00 a.m.
For those who want to come alongside the work of the church, giving is available online through the Give page, with one-time and recurring gifts, year-end contribution statements mailed to the address on file, and a user account for managing giving history. Sermon notes and Bible study outlines are posted under Documents and Study Notes, the Watch Live page streams services, and a prayer request form allows anyone to send a request that is forwarded to the pastoral staff and, optionally, to the Prayer Tree team.
Office hours run Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and the office can be reached at 713-741-8451 or by email. The mailing address is PO Box 1420, Houston, TX 77251. With eighty-eight years of history in the Third Ward, more than forty ministries under its roof, and a fifth pastor now writing the next chapter, Holman Street Baptist Church continues to gather in the same neighborhood where thirty-seven people first met in a neighborhood store in the summer of 1937.