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Doing the Will of God By Planting Seeds of Revelation, Love, Faith and Power I Corinthians 3:8-9
The Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church was organized in 1905 by Rev. Gaston and members of the St. James Baptist Church. The first meetings were held on the Ouachita River in the northern section of Camden. At first, Sunday School and worship services were held at the home of Bro. and Sis. J. H. Childs.
Rev. Elijah Mayweather, the first pastor of Zion Hill, moved the church from the Ouachita River to its present location on Maul Road. A small frame building equipped with boxes crossed by boards for seats and kerosene-filled bottles for lights were erected.
In 1914, Rev. W. M. Criner was called to lead Zion Hill. Being a skilled carpenter, Rev. Criner immediately began making additions and improvements to the original structure. Renovation of the church, which was being called NEED MORE was begun. During this process worship services were held in the home of Bro. and Sis. George Cooper on Cleveland Avenue.
Dr. Samuel Morris became the first full-time pastor in 1952. Shortly after coming to Zion Hill, Dr. Morris offered to the church a program for the construction of a new house for worshipping God. This program was accepted by the membership and construction was begun early in 1959. The first Sunday worship in the new structure was held in the basement on October 18, 1959, and the first service in the sanctuary was on April 13 1960.
On July 28, 1974, Dr. L. E. Harding began his services as pastor. The basement was remodeled under his leadership and was ready for use on May 29, 1977. Dr. Harding led the congregation in purchasing and paying for a parsonage and a church bus. Also, a new wing was added on the north side of the building. This project was started in 1983 and completed in 1984.
Dr. Chester L. Thompson, Jr., began his tenure as our new Shepherd on April 19, 1987. Under his guidance, hundreds of members have been added to the church family, the indebtedness of the renovation has been liquidated, three men have been added to the Board of Deacons, twelve men and women have been called to the preaching of the Gospel, our Christian Education program has been upgraded and reorganized as a Bible Institute that offers accredited courses, a 47 passenger charter bus has been purchased, a second 15 passenger van has been purchased and we have acquired an activity center located on Monroe Street. Dr. Thompson has led the church to become an active participant in the greater Camden community and surrounding areas through a number of social programs such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, AIDS Awareness, youth Basketball, Food Pantry, CLothing Bank, and many other programs to meet the social needs of our city. Within a brief span of time, Dr. Thompson has done much to help the church family grow spiritually and we are looking forward to continued growth under him as he leads us forward to meet the challenge of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Ninety six years ago a handful of Christian men and women started the Zion Hill Baptist Church. Since that time this church has been blessed by God and has developed into one of the greatest churches in the state of Arkansas and the nation. Today, we have over 490 members, and numerous active auxiliaries. We share with fellow Christians throughout the world the privilege and responsibility of reaching out in Jesus' name and telling a sin-sick world to come to Jesus; that He cares for us all; and that the real victory is in Jesus. We are leaving footprints in the sands of time so that those who will follow us in carrying on God's work at Zion Hill will look back at what has been done and know that the accomplishments of this church were not made to glorify man, but were made to glorify our Heavenly Father. Also, we leave the message that all things great and small can be accomplished through prayer to God for guidance, belief and trust in God's Word.
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