Kansas Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB)
Helping Churches Make Disciples of All People
Immanuel, Wichita, celebrates 100 years
The towering cross on the new sanctuary addition at Immanuel Baptist Church is a beacon for the city of Wichita, Kan. Reunion activities during the weekend of Aug. 14-15 were part of the church’s year-long centennial celebration.
Worshippers stood to their feet when Richard Bradford belted out a stirring rendition of “The King is Coming” on Sunday morning, Aug. 15, at Immanuel Baptist Church, Wichita, Kan.
Immanuel’s 10:50 a.m. service ended a weekend of reunion activities that celebrated the church’s centennial.
Bradford, a former minister of music at Immanuel, was one of the many special guests who joined in the festivities. His solo came in the middle of the sermon by Pastor Emeritus John Click.
“When Richard would do something like that on a Sunday morning, I could get up and recite ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ and people would be saved,” Click joked.
Click focused his sermon on Nicodemus in John 3. He urged the crowd to be “children of the wind” and follow the Holy Spirit’s leadership into the next 100 years.
Using nautical terminology, he challenged his listeners to:
- “Get on board.”
- “Raise the anchor.”
- “Lift your sail.”
- “Release the tiller” and let Jesus take control.
In the early worship service on Sunday, Aug. 15, Pastor Charles Boswell began a six-week sermon series on “X-treme Faith—Taking Faith to the Next Level,” based on Hebrews 11:1. Boswell has served at Immanuel since August 2007.
The reunion weekend was part of a year-long celebration of Immanuel’s centennial.
Immanuel began as a mission of First Baptist Church, Wichita, on Feb. 14, 1910. It met in a store building at 1427 S. Lawrence Avenue (now Broadway).
By August 1916, the mission organized as a church, recognized 47 charter members and chose the name South Lawrence Avenue Baptist. The church name changed to Faith Baptist when the street name changed to Broadway. In May 1945 the church adopted the name “Immanuel Baptist.”
The church’s membership and facilities have grown under the leadership of 15 interim and full-time pastors, including Pastor Emeritus Dr. George D. McClelland who served from June 1945 to February 1957, and Pastor Emeritus Dr. John Click who served from February 1971 to February 1997. Current pastor Dr. Charles Boswell began his pastorate at Immanuel in August 2007.
