Homer Edwin Young (born August 11, 1936), widely known as Dr. Ed Young Sr., is an American Southern Baptist pastor and author who led Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, for 46 years, growing it from about 2,000 members into one of the largest churches in the United States.
A two-time president of the Southern Baptist Convention and the father of three sons who all became pastors, Young retired from the pulpit in 2024 after a run that made him one of the most recognized names in American Baptist life.
Dr. Ed Young Sr. at a Glance
| Personal | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Homer Edwin Young |
| Born | August 11, 1936, Laurel, Mississippi, USA |
| Age | 89 (as of 2026) |
| Nationality | American |
| First spouse | Jo Beth Landrum Young (m. June 28, 1959, d. September 17, 2017) |
| Current spouse | Lisa Milne Young (m. 2020) |
| Children | Ed Young Jr., Ben Young, Cliff Young (three sons, all pastors) |
| Grandchildren | 11 grandchildren, at least one great-grandchild |
| Education | |
| University | University of Alabama (engineering, did not finish); Mississippi College |
| Seminary | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina |
| Ministry | |
| Title | Senior Pastor Emeritus |
| Church | Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas |
| Denomination | Southern Baptist |
| Tenure | 1978 to 2024 (46 years) |
| SBC role | President, Southern Baptist Convention (two terms, beginning 1992) |
| Broadcast ministry | The Winning Walk |
| Career | |
| Books | The 10 Commandments of Marriage, The 10 Commandments of Parenting, Healing Broken America, and more than a dozen others |
Early Life and Background
Ed Young Sr. was born Homer Edwin Young on August 11, 1936, in Laurel, a small town in southeastern Mississippi, to a family with little money.
He said he accepted Christ at age 12 through the encouragement of his pastor’s wife.
He first enrolled at the University of Alabama as an engineering major, a career path that changed course after a conversation with an atheist classmate pushed him to think seriously about his own faith.
Six months later, Young felt called to preach and transferred to Mississippi College to pursue ministry training instead of engineering.
He went on to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, to complete his theological education.
Marriage to Jo Beth Landrum
On June 28, 1959, Young married Jo Beth Landrum. The couple started their family and their ministry together in North Carolina before Young’s first pastorates took them further into the South.
Ministry Career and Second Baptist Church
Young’s first pastorate was in North Carolina, against his own father’s wishes that he pursue a different path.
He then moved to South Carolina, where he pastored Taylors First Baptist Church from 1968 to 1971 and First Baptist Church of Columbia from 1972 to 1978.
In 1978, Young moved his family to Houston, Texas, to take over as senior pastor of Second Baptist Church, then a congregation of about 2,000 members.
Over the next 46 years, he built it into a multi-site megachurch with more than 80,000 members across six campuses in the Houston area, plus an online campus launched in 2017 that livestreams sermons daily.
Young was an early adopter of the multi-site church model, and in 1999, Second Baptist became one church operating from two locations, a structure that expanded to six campuses by 2015.
Broadcast Ministry and Disaster Relief
Second Baptist launched its first weekly television broadcast in 1979, expanding to national television and radio by 1994 under the name The Winning Walk, a program that still airs today across North America and internationally. Young used the platform to teach on marriage, parenting, and Christian living for decades.
Young also became a visible figure in Houston’s disaster response network, helping organize church-based relief efforts after Tropical Storm Allison, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike, and Harvey, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He partnered with Bishop James Dixon of Community of Faith Church on Loving Kids, a joint ministry that paired mentors and tutors with students at three Houston elementary schools in the Acres Homes neighborhood.
Rise to Prominence
Young’s growth of Second Baptist into a national name coincided with his election as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, a position he held for two terms beginning in 1992.
That role put him at the center of denominational leadership during a pivotal decade for the SBC, and it cemented his reputation as one of the most influential Southern Baptist pastors of his generation.
By the time of his retirement announcement in 2024, Second Baptist reported an estimated 82,000 members, though independent surveys, including one from Outreach Magazine, put actual weekly attendance closer to 18,000, a common gap between total membership rolls and active weekly attendance at large churches.
Books and Publications
Young wrote more than a dozen books over his career, most focused on marriage, family, and practical Christian living. Notable titles include:
- The 10 Commandments of Marriage
- The 10 Commandments of Parenting
- Healing Broken America
- Romancing the Home: How to Have a Marriage That Sizzles
- Against All Odds: Family Survival in a Hostile World
- David, After God’s Own Heart
- The Purpose of Suffering
- Total Heart Health for Men, drawing on his own experience with heart surgery
Personal Life
Family and Sons in Ministry
Ed and Jo Beth Young raised three sons, and every one of them became a pastor. Ed Young Jr. leads Fellowship Church, a multi-site megachurch he founded in Grapevine, Texas, in 1989.
Cliff Young serves at Second Baptist as director of Second Films and remains a founding member of the Christian folk group Caedmon’s Call.
Ben Young, the youngest, worked as an associate pastor at Second Baptist and served as a chaplain for the Houston Astros before succeeding his father as senior pastor in 2024.
Jo Beth Young worked alongside her husband for 39 years after the move to Houston, teaching Bible studies and shaping the church largely behind the scenes rather than from the pulpit.
She died on September 17, 2017, at age 80, after 58 years of marriage. The couple had 11 grandchildren and at least one great-grandchild by the time of her death.
Marriage to Lisa Milne
In 2020, Young remarried Lisa Milne, who had worked at Second Baptist as a high school director and program coordinator since moving to Houston in 1978.
Public details about Lisa Milne Young’s exact age and background remain limited, since the couple has kept much of their personal life private, but she has continued to work alongside Young in ministry since their marriage.
Health
Young has been open about serious heart health issues, including angioplasty in 1988 and triple coronary bypass surgery in May 2010.
He wrote about those experiences in his 2005 book Total Heart Health for Men, using his own medical history to encourage other men to take heart disease seriously.
Theology and Ministry Philosophy
Young identifies firmly within the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, and built Second Baptist’s teaching around traditional Baptist doctrine, expository preaching, and strong positions on marriage and family.
His preaching over the decades leaned heavily on practical application of Scripture to everyday life, a style reflected across nearly all of his books.
In more recent years, Young became known for blending that traditional preaching with direct political commentary from the pulpit, a shift that drew both loyal support and sharp criticism as his ministry entered its final years.
Influence and Legacy
Young’s 46-year tenure turned Second Baptist into one of the largest churches in the country and made him one of the more recognizable faces of the Southern Baptist Convention for more than three decades.
His leadership in the multi-site church model, adopted well before it became common practice among American megachurches, helped shape how large congregations across the country think about expansion.
His influence extended into the next generation directly. All three of his sons built ministry careers of their own, with Ed Young Jr.’s Fellowship Church and Ben Young‘s continuation at Second Baptist both carrying forward elements of the elder Young’s communication style and media-driven approach to ministry.
Criticism and Controversies
Young’s final years in the pulpit drew significant controversy, largely tied to political commentary. In February 2024, he referred to migrants entering the United States as “undesirables” and “garbage” during a sermon.
The following month, he called then-President Joe Biden “godless” from the pulpit, criticizing a White House proclamation of Transgender Day of Visibility that coincided with Easter Sunday that year.
Young also called for the removal of local Houston and Harris County officials over rising homicide rates, prompting some critics to argue the church’s tax-exempt status should be reviewed, though legal experts said such comments were unlikely to trigger that outcome.
Second Baptist was also named in a broader Houston Chronicle investigation into abuse cases across Southern Baptist churches nationwide.
The reporting noted that in 2013, a former Second Baptist youth pastor, Chad Foster, was sentenced to five years in prison for criminal solicitation of a 16-year-old member of the church.
Young has separately faced criticism over his leadership role within the Southern Baptist Convention regarding denomination-wide efforts to prevent and respond to sexual abuse in local churches.
Dr. Ed Young Sr. Announces Retirement
On May 26, 2024, Dr. Ed Young Sr. announced his retirement as senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston, concluding 46 years of pastoral leadership that began in 1978.
His retirement marked the culmination of more than six decades in Christian ministry, during which he became one of the most influential pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention.
He was succeeded as senior pastor by his son, Dr. Ben Young, while his legacy continues through the countless lives, churches, and leaders shaped by his faithful ministry.
Net Worth
There is no reliable, independently verified net worth figure specifically tied to Ed Young Sr. Several low-quality websites list a net worth estimate of around $11 million, but that figure appears to have originated from reporting on his son, Ed Young Jr., and has been repeated inaccurately across aggregator sites that conflate the two men.
Given the confusion in public sourcing, Flicxa does not attach a specific net worth figure to Ed Young Sr.
Awards and Recognition
- President, Southern Baptist Convention (two terms, beginning 1992)
- Decades-long national and international broadcast ministry through The Winning Walk
- Recognized as one of the architects of the modern multi-site church model in American evangelicalism
Interesting Facts About Ed Young Sr.
- He originally enrolled in college as an engineering major before a conversation with an atheist classmate redirected him toward ministry
- He led Second Baptist Church for 46 years, one of the longest tenures of any megachurch pastor in the country
- All three of his sons became pastors, an unusually complete ministry succession within one family
- He wrote a book about heart health after undergoing his own triple bypass surgery in 2010
- He handed his pulpit directly to his son Ben in 2024, describing the move as “stepping up, not down”
Timeline of Key Events
- August 11, 1936: Born in Laurel, Mississippi
- June 28, 1959: Marries Jo Beth Landrum
- 1968 to 1971: Pastors Taylors First Baptist Church in South Carolina
- 1972 to 1978: Pastors First Baptist Church of Columbia, South Carolina
- 1978: Becomes senior pastor of Second Baptist Church, Houston
- 1988: Undergoes angioplasty for a clogged heart artery
- 1992: Elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention for the first of two terms
- 1999: Second Baptist becomes a multi-site church with two campuses
- May 2010: Undergoes triple coronary bypass surgery
- 2015: Second Baptist reaches six campuses across Houston
- September 17, 2017: First wife, Jo Beth Young, dies at age 80
- 2020: Marries Lisa Milne
- May 2024: Announces his retirement and names son Ben Young as his successor at Second Baptist
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Dr. Ed Young Sr. remarry?
Yes. Young’s first wife, Jo Beth, died in September 2017 after 58 years of marriage. He remarried in 2020 to Lisa Milne, who had worked at Second Baptist Church since 1978.
Is Ed Young Sr. still the pastor of Second Baptist Church?
No. Young retired as senior pastor in May 2024 after 46 years, handing leadership to his son, Ben Young. He has said he may still preach occasionally at the church’s invitation.
What happened to Ed Young’s daughter?
Ed Young Sr. does not have a daughter. He and Jo Beth Young raised three sons: Ed Young Jr., Ben Young, and Cliff Young. The frequently searched story about a daughter’s death refers to LeeBeth Young, the late daughter of his son, Ed Young Jr., who died in 2021.
What denomination is Ed Young Sr.?
Ed Young Sr. is a Southern Baptist pastor and a former two-term president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
How old is Ed Young Sr.?
Ed Young Sr. was born on August 11, 1936, making him 89 years old as of 2026.
Who is Dr. Ed Young Sr.’s second wife?
His current wife is Lisa Milne Young, whom he married in 2020. She previously worked at Second Baptist Church as a high school director and program coordinator, starting in 1978. Her exact age has not been publicly confirmed.
Final Word
Ed Young Sr. spent 46 years turning a mid-sized Houston congregation into one of the largest churches in America, then handed the pulpit directly to his own son rather than an outside successor. His final years in ministry drew as much attention for his political commentary as his decades of preaching, a reminder that even a long, stable tenure can end with a very different kind of headline than it started with.
Read Also
- Rick Warren Biography: Age, Ministry, Wife, Net Worth, Books & Legacy
- Voddie Baucham: Biography, Family, Death, Books, Church & Legacy
- Jack Hibbs Biography: Age, Wife, Church, Religion, Books & Ministry
- Greg Laurie: Biography, Church, Wife, Net Worth & Legacy
