History UnderfootAtlanta
  • Church & institution
  • Segregation
  • founded 1886; building 1922
  • City of Atlanta

Ebenezer Baptist Church

The King family's church, where Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. preached. Baptist leaders met here in 1957 to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

See it on the map All Segregation records

The record

Ebenezer was founded in 1886 and grew under A. D. Williams, King Jr.'s grandfather, to 750 members by 1913. Its Auburn Avenue building was dedicated in 1922. Martin Luther King Sr. became pastor in 1931, and King Jr. was co-pastor from 1960 until 1968. In 1957 the church hosted the meeting of Baptist leaders that founded the SCLC. King's funeral was held here on April 9, 1968.

Today: The historic church is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. The congregation worships in the Horizon Sanctuary (1999), also inside the park.