Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia


Grace Baptist Church is the legal name of Grace Baptist Temple, an American Baptist congregation founded in North Philadelphia in 1874. Under the leadership of Russell H. Conwell, the congregation became one of the largest in the country and was the parent of many other institutions, most notably Temple University.
The congregation is now located in the suburb of Blue Bell and is not affiliated with an Independent Baptist of the same name located in the Bridesburg section of the city.
The church's former building is now the Temple Performing Arts Center, located at 1837 North Broad Street, Philadelphia.

Growth under Russell Conwell

In 1882, Russell H. Conwell was appointed pastor of the church, whose building was still under construction. The congregation grew rapidly under Conwell's energetic and charismatic leadership, and a new building, the Baptist Temple, opened in 1891. With up to 15,000 worshippers every Sunday, it was both one of the first examples of an "institutional church" offering social and educational programming along with traditional services and a precursor of the 20th century mega-church.

Homeless Mission

In 1872, the tent church was moved to a neighboring lot, where it was used as a temporary homeless mission. Homeless wanderers were taken in, fed and given advice for a different and better life. From this work grew the Sunday Breakfast Association of Philadelphia which was formally founded in 1878.

Temple University

Dr. Conwell started a program of evening classes at the church starting in 1884, which rapidly grew into Temple College. The church appointed the college's trustees until it received a university charter in 1907 and the new university's campus grew up around the church building.

Decline and move to the suburbs

Attendance declined following Conwell's death in 1925, but the church remained a significant Philadelphia institution through the 50s. By the late 1960s, however, its mostly white congregation had largely left the neighborhood and voted to move to the northern suburb of Blue Bell. The building was sold to Temple University and after many years of disuse was renovated in 2010 as the Temple Performing Arts Center.

Notable Pastors

, writer, inspirational speaker, and first president of Temple University
Austin Jefferson Abyssinian Baptist Church of Philadelphia