Black Oxnard Church Stands Test of Time

The oldest African-American church in Ventura County celebrates its 79th birthday Sunday with a guest sermon by the pastor of Los Angeles County’s oldest African-American church.

But St. Paul Baptist Church of Oxnard will celebrate more than its birthday. At the 4 p.m. service, the paid-in-full mortgage on an adjacent building used for classes will ceremonially be set afire.

The choir will perform during the day’s three services, at 8 and 11 a.m. and at 4 p.m. when the Rev. William Epps of the Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles takes the pulpit.

“We’re not only the oldest African-American church in the county, we’re also the largest, our membership is 1,100,” said resident Pastor Broderick Huggins. Sunday’s daylong celebration will include his own sermon at 8 a.m.

While St. Paul is primarily a black church, people of all races belong, Huggins said.

He said everyone’s invited on Sunday, and many are coming, even dignitaries like Mayor Manuel Lopez.

The 1,000 plus membership of today’s St. Paul was unheard of in 1919, when a handful of the city’s small African-American population--mostly beet factory workers and military families stationed nearby--started the church just after World War I, said church historian Geraldine Lyghts.

“Ever since, this church has reflected a rocklike stability,” Lyghts said. “In its 79-year history, we’ve only had six pastors. And since 1944, only three: the Revs. Jesse Walker, Hosea Williams and, since 1990, Broderick Huggins.”

Huggins said the church makeup still reflects the larger Oxnard community, with a continued substantial presence from military families at Port Hueneme and Point Mugu.

St. Paul Baptist Church has a commuter membership with members driving to church from Westlake to Goleta, Huggins said.

The church has long had a history of outreach.

In the late 1940s and early ‘50s, the church offered radio broadcasts for those unable to attend. .”We used to broadcast live from the 7th Street church on Sunday nights during the service. I was one of the announcers,” Lyghts said.

As seems to be the tendency with many large churches, St. Paul today could be called a full-service facility. Activities include Wednesday night Bible study, marriage enrichment, family and friends days, 8 a.m. early church, a drill team, jail ministry, a drug and alcohol program and an economic development department, through which Oxnard businesses hire youth members for summer jobs.

And several members have been called to their own ministries, said member Phillis Thrower, who does publicity for events like Sunday’s celebration.

Lonnie McGowan of the Solid Rock Christian Center in Ventura and Wesley Nathaniel Jr. with Evangelistic Baptist Church in Port Hueneme have formed their own churches, Thrower said.

Huggins has gone back to seminary, at least part time. He is working on his second doctorate in biblical studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena.

What makes St. Paul most special, Huggins said, is its capacity to embrace every kind of constituent, from welfare recipients to people with PhDs.

“And I think we really do reach everyone,” he said. “We balance head religion with heart religion. We’re not an exclusive club--we’re inclusive.”