Retirement hasn't slowed down longtime pastor Ed Young-it may have launched his biggest ministry yet.
The former senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston has quietly transformed nearly five decades of preaching into a thriving online platform that is now generating an estimated $4 million a year, according to newly reviewed nonprofit tax filings. But the impressive financial success comes as his former megachurch finds itself at the center of an increasingly bitter legal battle over leadership, governance, and who really controls one of America's largest Baptist congregations.
Young stepped down as senior pastor in 2024 after leading Second Baptist Church for 46 years, leaving behind a ministry that had grown into one of the nation's most influential Southern Baptist churches. Before his retirement, church leadership approved the transfer of his extensive archive of sermons, commentaries, and ministry resources-materials that now serve as the foundation of The Winning Walk, his new teaching ministry.
That archive has quickly become a valuable asset.
According to IRS filings, Young's nonprofit, Power and Light Ministries, reported $5.4 million in contributions and grants during its first filing period while projecting annual revenue of around $4 million. Most of the ministry's spending has gone toward advertising and promotion as it expands its television and digital reach. The Winning Walk now broadcasts regularly and continues to distribute Young's decades of biblical teaching to audiences around the world.
But the timing of the ministry's rapid growth has attracted fresh scrutiny.
A group of longtime Second Baptist members has filed a lawsuit challenging sweeping governance changes made before Young's retirement. The plaintiffs argue that revised church bylaws shifted authority away from the congregation and into the hands of a six-member governing board-five of whom allegedly have family or financial ties to the Young family. They also contend those changes paved the way for Young's son, Ben Young, to become senior pastor without a congregational vote. Church leaders have strongly denied the allegations, insisting the governance changes were properly adopted and that the claims are without merit.
Interestingly, even critics involved in the lawsuit are not directly opposing Young's new ministry. Instead, they question whether such a significant decision-allowing decades of ministry content created during Young's tenure at Second Baptist to become the foundation of an independent nonprofit-should have been approved by a small governing board without broader congregational oversight.
The legal battle could have major implications beyond one Texas megachurch, raising broader questions about who owns sermons created during a pastor's ministry, how churches should handle intellectual property, and how much authority church boards should have when overseeing valuable ministry assets.
As Young's online ministry continues to grow, the courtroom fight over Second Baptist's future is only beginning. A trial in the governance lawsuit is currently scheduled for later this summer, ensuring that both the church and its former pastor will remain under close public scrutiny in the months ahead.
