Ebenezer Baptist Church

Ebenezer Baptist Church is a Baptist megachurch located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with the Progressive National Baptist Convention and American Baptist Churches USA. It was the church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was co-pastor from 1960 until his assassination in 1968, the location of the funerals of both Dr. King and, in it's later expanded sanctuary, congressman John Lewis, and the church for which United States Senator Raphael Warnock has been pastor since 2005. Its historic church building and expanded sanctuary building are located in the historic area now designated as the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. History The church was founded in 1886 by Pastor John A. Parker and eight people, on Airline Street. The church's name derives from the Books of Samuel, where the Prophet Samuel names a place "Ebenezer", meaning "stone of help", to commemorate God helping the Israelites defeat the Philistines. Adam Daniel Williams (maternal grandfather of Martin Luther King Jr.) became pastor in 1894, and the church had only 13 members. It grew to 400 members by 1903 and in 1913, the church had 750 people. In 1922, the building was dedicated. In 1927, Martin Luther King Sr. became an assistant pastor, then senior pastor in 1931. In 1960, Martin Luther King Jr. became co-pastor of the church with his father until his (Dr. King's) assassination in 1968. In 1975, Joseph L. Roberts Jr. became senior pastor.