Webster Groves Baptist Church has been a steady presence on Summit Avenue in Webster Groves, Missouri since 1913, when two women walked from home to home gathering fellow Baptists for prayer and study. More than a century later, the congregation at 308 Summit Avenue still describes itself as "a community of faith and family," carrying the heritage of those early days into a changing neighborhood.
A Century on Summit Avenue
The story begins in 1913, when Mrs. J.F. Lockett and Mrs. F.U. Whitis visited every Baptist in Webster Groves they knew. They found twenty-three willing to meet on March 18, 1913, to discuss organizing a Baptist church. The group decided to begin as a Mission Sunday School meeting every Sunday afternoon and elected L.E. Stark as superintendent, J.R. Black as assistant superintendent, Everett Pettingill as treasurer, and Mrs. Dora Whitis as organist.
The next Sunday, twenty-one persons gathered at the Suburban School of Music (now the Theatre Guild of Webster Groves) on Newport and Summit Avenues. By June 1913, forty people attended the Sunday school. On June 20, 1914, a council of the St. Louis Baptist Association voted unanimously to organize the church, and the new congregation was chartered with thirty-nine members.
Rev. Dr. Harold Locke Reader became the church's first pastor in August 1913 and served for a record thirty-one years. A Marblehead, Massachusetts native and Phi Delta Theta member from Washington University in St. Louis, Reader led the congregation through its formative decades. By the fifteenth anniversary in 1928, membership had grown to nearly 650.
A building fund was established in 1938, and $10,000 was raised for a new sanctuary. Architect C.L. Thurston designed the structure, which was dedicated in February 1941 along with a remodeled building. The Mother's Memorial pipe organ was presented to the church around this time.
After Reader closed his pastorate on August 15, 1944, membership stood at 840 with 445 in Sunday School. Rev. Jerry White followed in 1944, paying off the sanctuary debt and purchasing an adjacent property as a parsonage. He was followed by Rev. Gerald E. Young and then Rev. G. Elmo Purvis, who served until his death in 1972. Purvis's tenure included the church's first ordination of deacons, when twenty-three men were ordained on January 15, 1959.
The church celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in June 1963 with 591 members. Under the leadership of Rev. R. Joe Breshears, who was called as pastor in 1973, the church launched a Christian Day School preschool program serving the community three mornings a week. Rev. Phillip Hotsenpiller was called in 1981, followed by Rev. Jeffrey Vann in 1985, who became the first pastor commissioned by the church to serve as a foreign missionary through the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in December 1987.
Rev. Dwight Jackson was called in February 1988, the church's seventy-fifth year, after serving seven years as a foreign missionary in Burundi and Tanzania. The congregation sponsored its third mission church, Glory Baptist Mission, which merged with Webster Groves Baptist Church on January 28, 1990.
The church has remained active in the formation of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Baptist Fellowship of Missouri, and continues its commitment to participate in missions.
Three Congregations, One Building
A distinctive feature of Webster Groves Baptist Church is the way the Summit Avenue building hosts three different congregations on Sunday. The times at the church reflect an ecumenical arrangement:
- 9 a.m. - Webster Groves Christian Church service
- 10 a.m. - Sunday School (Webster Groves Baptist Church)
- 11:15 a.m. - Webster Groves Baptist Church worship
- 1 p.m. - Zomi Church service
This arrangement brings together Baptist, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and Zomi Christian congregations under one roof. Webster Groves Baptist Church, Webster Groves Christian Church, and the Zomi Church have held joint services for the four Sundays of Advent, gathering together for the season.
Following the Spirit Into Mission
Webster Groves Baptist Church's Mission Statement reads: "As God loves us and feeds our spiritual, physical, and social needs, we seek to do the same for others within our church, the community, and beyond."
The Vision Statement adds: "We prayerfully seek to be a resource that connects and supports all people, share the resources and gifts that God has provided, and be a safe place where people intentionally build relationships while traveling on their spiritual journey."
These commitments are lived out through affiliation with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and CBF Heartland, which supports global missions. The church has contributed to CBF's Global Missions Offering drive, with funds used to teach English, provide shelter, food, clothing, emergency medical care, counseling, education, and vocational training around the world.
The congregation is also involved in ecumenical ministries through the Friendship International Ministry and Webster-Rock Hill Ministries, a local food pantry and assistance network. Members have supported a NAMI Family to Family Class focused on mental health education and have met with St. Louis Campus Ministry leader Lee Ruppel to discuss ministry to Webster University students.
The 18:20 Youth Group
The youth ministry takes its name from Matthew 18:20: "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." Known as 18:20, the group meets regularly for fellowship, study, and service. The youth have embraced the principle of the verse as they revamped their Youth room to make the space more usable and technologically friendly.
Activities have included "Around the World" lock-ins, where young people explore cultures through games, artistic expression, cuisine, movies, and elaborate scavenger hunts. A Glow Night lock-in featured glow-in-the-dark games, food, and candy. The group has volunteered at the St. Louis Diaper Pantry and traveled on mission trips to states including Colorado, Virginia, and South Carolina.
Easter is a favorite time for the youth, who have celebrated the holiday by examining pennies for similarities and differences and creating object lessons and treats to share. The children's class has produced video projects on Bible verses and a movie about the Book of Esther.
Children, Families, and Community Events
Easter at Webster Groves Baptist Church is a community affair. The church hosts an annual Easter egg hunt, crafts, and refreshments. Doors open at noon and the hunt begins at 1 p.m., with the event free and open to the community. The celebration includes crafts and refreshments, and past gatherings have brought families together rain or shine.
Thanksgiving is another time of gathering, with a community dinner on the Sunday before the holiday. Members share what they are thankful for by writing on leaves, which are then placed on a tree in the gym by the younger members of the community. Other family traditions have included a Trunk or Treat, with games, refreshments, and a wide cross-section of the neighborhood celebrating together.
The church has also hosted cardmaking nights, after-service luncheons, and birthday celebrations for congregation members. Cardmaking nights offer creative expressions of thanks and celebration in the parlor. Birthday celebrations typically include sweets, coffee, tea, and fellowship on the first Sunday of the month.
Reaching Into the Community
Mission work extends well beyond the church's walls. The Missions Committee regularly collects supplies for Webster-Rock Hill Ministries, including school supplies distributed through backpacks to children of client families. Members have donated to the WRHM food pantry during soup drives, and the Bosnian Food Pantry has been supported as well.
Each year during Diaper Need Awareness Week, the church collects diapers and funds for the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank. The church's contributions have included hundreds of dollars and thousands of diapers. The Diaper Bank has reported that over 100,000 diapers were collected during the awareness week, helping to serve thousands of area children.
The church has also hosted community forums on racial issues, organized in cooperation with Webster-Rock Hill Ministries Radio. About seventy community members have gathered at WGBC for these conversations, seeking positive responses to local concerns.
Music, Arts, and the Spoken Word
Worship at Webster Groves Baptist Church includes music and the arts. A Musical Sermon Series has drawn sermons from popular musicals, including a series on Wicked and a message built around the musical Hairspray and 1 Corinthians 12:12-14. Musician Grace Park has shared special music during Advent services.
Sermons are recorded and posted as audio and video online. The sermon archive includes studies of the books of Daniel, Esther, and Job, as well as topical series on Advent, endurance, peace, and faith. Dr. Terrell Carter has preached through books of the Bible including Daniel and Job, while other ministers have brought messages on Romans, 1 Corinthians, and other passages. Aerin Johnson, Nina Hamilton, and Jermine Alberty have also shared messages, with sermons titled "Young Models of Ministry," "Looking for a Stairway to Heaven," "What is the Condition of Your Fruit," and "Paul's Evangelistic Process," among many others.
Dr. Carter has reflected on God's promises during times of uncertainty, saying: "Learn them. Remember them. Trust them." He closed with a hymn by Rev. Albert Simpson:
"How often we trust each other, and only doubt our Lord.
We take the word of mortals, and yet distrust His word.
But, oh, what light and glory would shine o'er all our days,
If we always would remember God means just what He says."
The children's ministry has also produced short videos, including "The Shock," a part-one skit from a distance-produced retelling of the nativity story, and a series asking "What's Your Favorite Bible Verse."
A Word from the Pastor
Dr. Terrell Carter is the current pastor of Webster Groves Baptist Church. He has led the congregation through sermon series on Daniel, Job, Romans, and 1 Corinthians, and has preached on legacy, endurance, peace, and the role of the church as a community. His ministry has included thoughtful pastoral letters during times of difficulty and engagement with the broader Webster Groves community.
Visiting Webster Groves Baptist Church
Webster Groves Baptist Church welcomes visitors at 308 Summit Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63119. Sunday School begins at 10 a.m., and the main worship service follows at 11:15 a.m. The building also hosts the Webster Groves Christian Church at 9 a.m. and the Zomi Church at 1 p.m.
The church has a gym where community events are held and a parlor used for smaller gatherings. Mission and outreach happen throughout the year, with collection drives for diapers, school supplies, and food pantry items regularly announced.
Visitors can reach the church at wgbc@wgbaptist.com or by phone at (314) 962-6868.