A Step In History
Second Arnold Baptist Church had its birth on November 15, 1915, led by the Zion Council. The Zion Council Committee was made up of Rev. H.N. Whitmire, Rev. H.J. Washington, and Rev. Sam Jones. Some of the sainted men were Deacon E.D. Doctor, Deacon E. Patterson, Deacon Fred Richardson, Brother A.B. Miller, and Brother Joseph Owens. Brother Isaiah Owens played a very important part; he offered the first prayer in the little building which was on the corner of Reynolds and McDonough Streets.
The Church was erected May 2, 1921. Rev. H.J. Washington was the pastor and Deacon Patterson was the Chairman of the Board of Deacons.
During May of 1922, Sister Sarah Frazier was elected as Mother of the Church. She was born on October 14, 1880 to Brother and Sister Joseph (Julia) Sherman.
Many pastors have served the church since its conception. Among them were Rev. N.J. Whitmore (1915-1919); Rev. Sam Jones (1919-1920); Rev. D. Divine (1920-1921); Rev. R.J. Robinson (1921-1922); Rev. N.H. Washington (1922-1933); Rev. T.W. Williams (1933-1937); Rev. Charles Fisher (1937-1939); Rev. George Dingle (1939-1981); Rev. Robert Cleveland (1981-1982); Pastor Alphonso Piper (1983-1993); and Pastor Richard L. Hall, Sr. (1994-present).
Many brothers and sisters played important parts in the lift of the church. Not enough credit can be given to all of the various auxiliaries of the church who have played their part in helping to equip and furnish this church and keep it up to date.
On June 15, 1986, the Second Arnold Baptist Church Family had prayer at the old site located at 124 Arnold Street (now the location of the Inner City Night Shelter) and took the walk to the new church location.
After a year spent in prayer and process, Minister Richard L. Hall, Sr. was called to pastor Second Arnold in the Conference of September 6, 1994, the Lord sent us a spiritual leader in the person of Pastor Hall, Sr. He was installed as pastor on December 11, 1994.
During the Candlelight Communion in December 2003, Pastor Hall announced the four church mothers: Mother Edna Dingle, Mother Queenie Gadson, Mother Louise Wiggins and Mother Josie Mattis. The Consecration Service for these mothers was April 25, 2004.
In October 2004, Pastor Hall announced plans to combine certain ministries. At the September 2004 church conference, Pastor Hall noted a need to consolidate some church ministries. The Gospel Chorus and Choir #1 became one ministry. The group followed Pastor Hall's vision and become the Resurrection Mass Choir. The Women's Ministry and the Sarah Frazier Sisterhood became the Sisterhood Ministry. The Nurses' Guild, Sadie Moore Usher's Guild and Senior Ushers Ministry became the Senior Ushers and Nurses Guild. The Senior Mission and Bolden Mission Circle became the Bolden Mission.
2015 was Second Arnold's Centennial Year. This is a huge accomplishment, worthy of recognition and praise to God for his bountiful blessings. The Anniversary theme for the year was 'Another Generation-Same God.' Centennial events included the Centennial Breakfast, Seven Last Sayings of Christ, Choir Centennial Concert, Old Time Gospel Singing Fellowship, Family Centennial Brunch, the Centennial Banquet. For the culmination service, Pastor Ricardo Manuel was the messenger and Savannah State University Wesleyan Gospel Choir was the special guest choir.
January 2016 found Leadership sessions underway to organize the planning for building the new sanctuary and multi-purpose building on the 1400 block of East 37th Street.
On December 18, 2018, the congregation met deciding to approach the building project in two phases. The first phase would be a multipurpose building and then the sanctuary. 2019 found Sister Florence Adams, chairperson of the Trustees and the building consultant, visiting banks, learning the ropes on gaining financing for the building project.
September 26th found members of the congregation at the Metropolitan Planning Commission meeting gaining a zoning variance so that construction could proceed as planned.
Groundbreaking ceremonies for Phase I of the construction, the multi-purpose building, was held on November 1, 2019. The occasion was celebrated by Second Arnold as well as community leaders. Pastor Hall noted that "this ground already belonged to God."
Pastor and Sister Hall celebrated twenty-five years of service at Second Arnold in September 2019.
March 2020 - April 2021, Second Arnold Baptist Church has been having Virtual Worship on Sundays and Virtual Bible Studies on Tuesday nights on our YouTube Channel: Connect With SABC, due to a pandemic that shook the entire world. In April 2021, on Resurrection Sunday, members began to come back into the house of worship with masks on and spaced out.
On February 12, 2021, the office moved over into the new Multi-Purpose Building.
Sunday, September 19, 2021, Pastor Hall and the Second Arnold Church Family celebrate God and dedicated the new Multi-Purpose Building with an abbreviated car parade, ribbon cutting ceremony, and service. The special guests for this dedication were Alderwoman Linda Wilder-Bryan (City Council D-3), Alderman Detric Leggett (City Council D-2), Commissioner Bobby Lockett (Chatham County Commission D-3), Pastor Andre Osborne (Moderator of Berean Missionary Baptist Association, Inc.) and several of the sons of the church.