About Us

The organization of the Antioch Baptist Church began with a vision by the late Rev. J. N. Robinson in 1929. On September 17th, 1931, a small group of people met in the home of Rev. Robinson at 248 Purdy Street, Buffalo, New York. Each week the group, called the Prayer Band, met for prayer services and by 1932 had outgrown the apartment; a small church had formed. Rev. Robinson financed and worked diligently restoring a rundown house at 264 Purdy Street. Upon completion, a small yet beautiful place of worship had formed. On the second Sunday in May of 1932, the Prayer Band moved into a new church home and began having Sunday school and Sunday morning worship services. Not long after, on November 20th, 1932, the church officially organized and Rev. Robinson proclaimed that body of believers to be called the Antioch Baptist Church.

In 1935, Antioch BC sought to purchase the building at 264 Purdy Street; on March 27th, 1939, the certificate of organization was acknowledged; on April 18th, 1939, the certificate was stamped by the Erie County Clerk’s Office; and in 1943, the mortgage was paid in full.

As the fellowship grew, the facilities at 264 Purdy Street became inadequate, making it necessary to move to a larger building. Some of the loyal members at that time mortgaged their homes while others contributed cash towards the purchase of 127-131 Florida Street. In 1956, the congregation moved into its new church home at 131 Florida Street. Rev. Robinson worked faithfully until illness hindered his ability to serve.

In 1961, Rev. Guy J. Graves was elected and installed as Pastor of the Antioch Baptist Church after the prolonged illness of Rev. Robinson. Many improvements to the building were made under the leadership of Rev. Graves and a new church parsonage was purchased at 68 N. Parade. 

In 1964, having heard the great news that a new broadcast station was in the making, and would be featuring religious church programs, Sister Emma Terry and others were granted permission by the late pastor to begin fund-raising Antioch Baptist Church’s broadcast ministry. To this day, Antioch BC is still being aired on WBLK.

In February of 1976, Rev. Graves’ pastoral tenure ended at the Antioch Baptist Church and in November 1976, Rev. William A. Bunton, Jr. was elected and installed as the new Pastor. In 1978, under the leadership of Rev. Bunton, the purchase of the present home of the Antioch Baptist Church was finalized and paid for cash.

​

Our new home is a well-preserved Romanesque Revival fortress that rises above the MLK Park neighborhood. It was built in 1906 as St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in a German neighborhood, designed by architect George Setter. It celebrated its last Mass in October 1978, a month before Antioch Baptist Church purchased the building. Our congregation has lovingly preserved this edifice.

​

Under the leadership of Rev. Bunton, many improvements were made to the new edifice and many ministries were birthed and rebirthed. The church enjoyed a thriving ministry. On October 18th, 2015, Rev. Bunton retired from 39yrs of service in the vineyard.

In December of 2016, Elder Ulysees O. Wingo, Sr. was called to serve as Interim Pastor. After six months of teaching and preaching, on May 5th, 2017, Elder Wingo was duly and officially elected as the new Pastor of Antioch Baptist Church. In the short time that Pastor Wingo has been serving as lead-servant, the church has experienced a new surge of energy and has rekindled the fire that positioned Antioch as a leading church in the city. Under Pastor Wingo’s leadership, we are facilitating intentional growth, engaging in intentional and purposeful ministry, and deliberately spreading the love of Christ to all generations. We have also purchased a new church van, installed new LED lighting throughout the entire campus, excavated and rebuilt a brand new parking lot (ADA), replaced the roof on our administration building, repointed the brickwork on our buildings, made necessary repairs to our garage structure, and are presently revisiting our plans to build a new Life Center on our church's property.