In 1839 the Afro-America citizens
of Altoona were given a school house as a place of worship. Herein was the beginning stage of the Mount
Zion Second Baptist Church. There are no
records of their progress until 1873.
In 1873, Rev. William Codville was
the pastor of the (white) First Baptist Church.
Under his pastorate, the Second Baptist church (Mount Zion) was
organized by the African American members who were given letters expressly for
the purpose of establishing a church.
Through the years we have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with our
‘Mother Church”.
The humble beginnings of Mt. Zion
was a store front building located on 17th street between 10th
and 11th Ave. Later a
property on the corner of 5th Ave. and 22nd St. was
purchased in 1889 at the cost of $1,200.00,
The property included 2121 5th Ave. a home to be used as a
parsonage to 22nd St. a double house fronting on 22nd St.
was also included. The congregation held
meetings in one side of the double house whilst the main church was being
built. The first pastor was the Rev.
Jacob Roberson.
Mt. Zion was one of the stations of the Underground Railroad that enabled
slaves to escape to freedom. The room
adjacent to our choir loft was used as a shelter. This door was hidden behind a large dresser.
The initial Head Start of Blair County was started there by Rev. Charles Hickerson and his wife
Delores.
On November 1947, using an 11
month plan, formulated by Rev. William Fambro, $4,274.64 was raised to clear
the congregation of a 20 year debt. Rev. Delta Alpha Terry, a former pastor
returned as a guest speaker. He chose
the subject “The people had a mind to work” Nehemiah
4: 1-10.
Mt. Zion was an active member of a group of multi-faith churches known as
the Sixth-Ward Ministry. We participated
in many spiritual, social and community events.
We extended our missionary work to Haiti and Kenya. We sponsored the orphanage – “Life is Wealth”
and gave financial aid to pupils. In the
community Mt. Zion sponsors our Thrift shop; free clothes is available to
support Meals on Wheels, Community Action, The Food Bank and the Salvation Army;
and not only financially - our members volunteer their time also. In addition, we are fully immersed in the
NAACP, Prison and Addiction ministries.
Bible study classes, retreats, seasonal revivals, pastoral visits, pre-marital
counseling, ordination studies for clergy and the diaconate ministry were
started by our former pastor Rev. Dr. Calvin Edmonds who retired in 2011.
Since his installation in 2014, based
on our mission statement to go into the community to share the word of God, our
Pastor Reverend Keith R. Moore has introduced Christmas day and Sunrise
services, community health fairs, feeding the homeless, Mt. Zion Taking Control
Scholarship School for all youth age 11-18, In addition to our re-introduction
to the Central Baptist Association and American Baptist Churches of
Pennsylvania & Delaware.
Mount Zion Missionary Baptist
Church of Altoona PA. is the oldest African-American Baptist church in
continuous operation in Blair County and is also one of the oldest in
Pennsylvania. To God be the Glory and
the Honor!
