Mt. Zion Baptist church embraces its past, present and future on 108th anniversary
When the opportunity to become pastor presented itself, the couple immediately knew Mt. Zion was where they belonged. That feeling was because of the people.
Before World War I, Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church found its roots in Cedar Rapids. A group of Christians wanted a Baptist church to call their own.
This February, Mt. Zion celebrates 108 years of worship in Cedar Rapids. Dr. Ray Coleman is the church's newest pastor. He calls Mt. Zion the greatest church in Iowa.
“One of the things we want to do is we want to help people not forget the past but we also want to stand on the legacy of the church, so we do our very best in just reminding people of how special this church is," said Pastor Coleman.
Pastor Coleman and his wife, Rhonda, moved to Iowa from Huston in October. The parsonage has been building memories for decades, now the couple is excited to help make more.
“How we can help our youth, how we can help our senior citizens, how we can be helpful during COVID, how we can help with education, how we can be helpful with finances and teach classes just whatever we can do to make an impact because at the end of the day we just believe that's what we are here for," said Pastor Coleman.
When the opportunity to become pastor presented itself, the couple immediately knew Mt. Zion was where they belonged. That feeling was because of the people.
“The first day we pulled up to the parking lot to come in and I believe it was for the interview. This member got out of her car and had the biggest prettiest smile and just welcomed us," said Rhonda.
Now their roots are cemented in more than a century of Cedar Rapids traditions.
"We knew this is where we belonged, we’ve got nothing but plans of making this home," said Pastor Coleman.
The Colemans also hope to make just as big of an impact in the community.
