History of HNW

July of 1973… with no building, property, or offices, five families believed God was able and willing to do His work through them. They decided to start a church in northwest Houston that would be dedicated to reaching people in their community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It would be called Northwest Memorial Baptist Church.

On their first Sunday, they met in two homes, and 19 people were present. Those founding families then made plans to contact every person in northwest Houston, and at their first service on July 1, 1973, in a local school, 236 people attended!

The church’s early outreach strategy hinged on a bus ministry where children from all over the area were brought in, and ministry began on the bus ride through songs, stories, and interactive teaching. By May 17, 1975, Northwest Memorial Baptist had a record high attendance of 969 people.

In 1984, the associate pastor, along with other church members, opened an adoption agency called New Life Children’s Services.

In 1990, an amendment was made to change our name to Houston Northwest Baptist Church.

Since the 1990s, we have sent out and supported multiple missionaries, planted a church near Seattle, WA, and continued to train and equip pastors for church planting in the Houston area.

In 2017, the HNW campus suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Harvey. The worship center, the only building that didn’t flood, became a hub for community disaster relief assistance. By 2020, the rebuild was complete with renovated adult and student space, a new “green space” at the site of the original worship center, and a new Commons area and Kids Building.

We’re excited to think about what God will do in the years ahead as HNW carries out its mission to make Houston more like Heaven by helping Houstonians become more like Jesus.