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MISSION STATEMENT
To present Christ in a caring,
contemporary, creative and sharing way to all people in a
spiritual environment, where people practice their
profession of faith in Christ, a people in the process of
redemptive transformation, developing people to spiritual
maturity.
Membership
Discipleship
Stewardship
Leadership
Purpose and Vision Statement
The purpose of this congregation
is to
visibly strive to exemplify the formation and fellowship of a
Christian faith
community, as God empowers people for His Kingdom principle,
through discipleship, evangelism, mission and preaching.
Worship
Proclamation of the Gospel
Discipleship
GENERAL INFORMATION
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
During the dark
days of slavery, prayer was a critical element in the lives
of our people. They prayed that God would help them in their
struggle for freedom. In a certain section of Norfolk,
County on a farm called Lenox, two slaves, Jacob Cargo and
Elijah Lively, sought permission to hold public prayer
meetings to ask God to protect and bless them. The first
meeting was held in the slave quarters of Jacob Cargo, and
from 1861 to 1863, these prayer meetings moved form place to
place.
Sometimes meetings were held in the brush arbor or "bush
harbor." This was quite common in the ante-bellum South
where the practice of slave religion was often an
underground or clandestine activity. Moreover , when Jacob
Cargo and Elijah Lively asked permission to pray for
protection from Yankees, they were undoubtedly speaking a
double message or coded message that would allow them to
praise God and not jeopardize their own safety. Thus, the
embryonic stages of Mount Pleasant were beginning to form.
After the Emancipation Proclamation, prayer meetings were
held in the home of Peter Catney.
To accommodate the growing body of believers, the first
regular church building was constructed on what is now
Newport and Birmingham Avenues. In 1913, when Mount Pleasant
acquired its present site, we continued to use our original
location as the church's cemetery. The church's present
parsonage was built adjacent to the church on the corner of
Mount Pleasant Avenue and Baltimore Street.
Over the years, Mount Pleasant has licensed and/or ordained
several persons to the gospel ministry. The first Pastor of
Mount Pleasant, Reverend Zachariah Hughes (1878-1914) was called to the
church as a licensed minister and ordained by the church. He
served as pastor for thirty-six years. Rev. Garfield R.
Malloy served 1914-1939. Rev. Howell McClendon served
1940-1956. Rev. William H. Crews 1958-1966. Rev.
Ben A. Beamer served 1967-1975. Rev. Dr. James Harris
served 1975-1990. The church was named
after Mount Pleasant Farm in Gloucester County, Virginia. On
September 1, 1996, Mount Pleasant was blessed with Reverend
William L. Davis, Jr., coming to us from Mount Olive Baptist
Church in Lewiston, North Carolina. Reverend Davis was
installed as Pastor on November 4, 1996.
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