Welcome to Beulah Baptist Institutional Church. 

We are a warm and diverse congregation near Downtown Tampa, with a rich history of over 140 years of service to God and our community. 

Under the leadership of a loving, all knowing and almighty (sovereign) God, our mission is to accomplish the will of God through “Kingdom Building”.  One of our ministries most powerful gifts is a loving spirit of hospitality and care for the lost.  Bringing our individual gifts together under our current theme of “Total Involvement” we move from membership to stewardship and from stewardship to our ultimate goal, discipleship.   A disciple of Christ is one who (1) believes his doctrine, (2) rests on his sacrifice, (3) imbibes his spirit, and (4) imitates his example.
 
When the Civil War ended in 1865, freed blacks who attended services with their former owners were given financial aid by First Baptist Church of Tampa to build a separate church.  Beulah Baptist Institutional Church was founded in 1865, the first Baptist church for African-Americans in Tampa.  Since then our church has had 4 locations and fourteen pastors.  All pastors have had a strong focus on education and civil rights. 

In Beulah’s more recent history, the late Rev. Dr. A. Leon Lowry (Pastor Emeritus, 1956 - 1995) was former Hillsborough County School Board member, former state leader of the NAACP, lifelong scholar, and one of the theology instructors for the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at historic Morehouse University in Atlanta, GA  Our current pastor, Rev. Dr. W. James Favorite’s passion and vision have taken him from the walls of Beulah out into the local communities of Tampa, and to the state, and national political arena at large.  He has served on many local committees since moving to Tampa in 1995, including Pastors on Patrol, the African American Family Support Initiative, Childcare Facilities Advisory Board, the Tampa Urban League board, and a host of others.  He recently completed four years of service as President of the Congress in the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Southern Region. 

Our future projects include Senior Housing initiatives, Job Preparation and Technology Training, continued sponsorship of Jamaica Outreach ministry, Summer Instructional camp, after school e-Library facility, and expanding the number of disciples and “kingdom workers” through our ever growing evangelism ministry.