The church was chartered through missionary efforts in 1898, first meeting in vacant servants’ quarters and then in a small church building. As New Orleans and the surrounding suburbs expanded, the congregation outgrew its existing space and commissioned architects Charles Allen Favrot and Louis Livaudais to design a new church in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. To respond to episodic flooding and adapt the typology of the raised basement home to an ecclesiastical form, they positioned the sanctuary atop an educational space. The sanctuary’s dramatic cantilevered balcony reflects the architects’ expertise in structural steel. The congregation has maintained an ecumenical and socially progressive tone throughout its history. In 1976, it became the first Baptist congregation in Louisiana to ordain a female minister.

St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church now identifies as “an ecumenical ministry hub serving the city,” according to the congregation. At least 14 community partners, including another religious congregation, rent space at the church for below market rates. The church’s Community Engagement Team creates programming for education and advocacy around food insecurity, immigration, and criminal justice. St. Charles’ Criminal Justice Team highlights injustice surrounding mass incarceration by hosting book clubs, lectures, and conferences. St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church is now “known throughout the community as a congregation ready to partner to help bring greater justice and equity to the city and nation.”

A $250,000 National Fund grant with $594,789 in matching funds raised by the congregation contributed to the first phase of repairs to the church’s envelope and interior. Improvements included masonry cleaning, cast stone repointing, repairs to plaster, wood elements, stair tiles, ironwork, handrails, doors and roofing.  The work ensures the continued life of the St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church as a worshipping congregation and community resource.