Mount Zion Baptist Church becoming Zion City Church
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STEUBENVILLE -- A downtown church that has served the community for more than a century is undergoing a change its pastor says will position it for its next chapter.
Beginning Saturday, the worship center located at the corner of Kilgore and North Seventh streets will become Zion City Church. That will represent a significant change for what has been known for the past 107 years as Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Bishop Jermaine V. Moore Sr. says the decision for the church to leave the Baptist denomination will put it in a position where it will be able to grow and expand.
"We are walking away from our denominational identity," he explained.
The change will become official Saturday, when the church’s new signage is revealed during a community outreach day. Scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m., numerous activities are planned for the event. Fire Escape Ministries of Kent will be on hand to pray with people, talk with them and encourage them, Moore said.
Free food and drinks will be part of the event, he added, along with free blessing gift bags, which will be available while supplies last. A DJ will be playing music.
Baptisms will be available, Moore said.
"We will have towels, we will have the change of clothes -- we will have everything right there," he added.
City crews will be closing Kilgore Street for the celebration, Moore said.
The church is changing its denominational identification, but it is not abandoning its Christian faith or biblical convictions, Moore said. By doing so, it will help make clear the church’s identity that Jesus Christ is at its center.
It represents a big change for the church that Moore has led for about the last 10 years.
"I came in and took the role as pastor of a Baptist church because I have Baptist roots, I was born and raised a Baptist," he said. "My understanding of Scripture and Christian history and understanding of Christ and what his mission is what has given me a framework for being strictly Christ-centered."
Attitudes around the world could possibly be a little different if everyone was working together to be theologically correct, he explained.
"What we see today is tribalistic groups with their own bumper stickers and ball caps saying that if you are not a part of us, stay away from us, rather than coming to an ecumenical meeting table to have discussions to see how we can actually be theologically united," Moore said.
To help build those bridges, Moore founded the One Body Covenant Fellowship in 2011. He’s the presiding prelate over the body, which is an interdenominational, multinational ecumenical movement.
"If Jesus was alive, he wouldn’t be Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran or Roman Catholic. He would be none of it," Moore said. "Even when you look historically in the first, second and third centuries, they endeavored to keep the church united."
Making the decision to become a nondenominational church came slowly, Moore said, and educating the members about what was happening was an important part of the process.
"It was unanimous -- not one ounce of opposition," he said. "It was the craziest thing -- even lifetime members said let’s do this. It has put a new wind in the people. When I first came, they were motivated and they were excited, but not like this. It’s so exciting."
Removing Baptist from the church name does not mean removing the Bible from the church, abandoning baptism, rejecting our history or discarding sound doctrine. It means that our primary public identity will be centered upon Christ and the local church rather than a denominational label, Moore wrote about the change.
While the name of the church is changing, its foundation is not, he added. By keeping Zion in the name, the church will be honoring its history of service to countless families and individuals while ensuring it will speak to future generations. The new name emphasizes that the church stands for the spiritual and practical transformation of the entire community.
Moore said the church has a long history of helping others, whether it was the free items that have been given to area residents or joining forces with Franciscan University of Steubenville to collect items to help those who had been touched by the tornadoes that hit the Dayton area in the spring of 2019.
He said moving the church in a new direction has helped him grow as well.
"I know some people might be saying, 'This guy was getting ready to move,' and I was, but it didn’t work," Moore said. "I believe, at this point, based on how all of this went, this is where the Lord wants me to be. It’s amazing, because I didn’t want to be here. I was ready to go, but I wouldn’t get to a larger city. He knows better than we do, and I’ve accepted this is the real reason.
"As soon as I accepted it and was fine with it, the floodgates opened and things started happening," he continued. "I’m like, man, it was just waiting for me the whole time to get over it and get on with his plan."
That plan, Moore wrote, includes creating a wide front door, one that will be open for the unchurched, younger generations, new families and Christians from different traditions, without requiring them to compromise biblical truth. It’s not about becoming less biblical to attract people, he wrote. It’s removing barriers so more people can encounter the Christ they have always preached.
"What we are doing in this, dropping our denominational label, is taking a step and showing other denominations that we are not against you. We are just recalibrating and refocusing our attention that’s more centered on Christ," Moore said. "We’re opening our arms to individuals who perhaps understand that God is not denominational, and who feel that denominations put God and Christ in a box. We’re taking that box away, and we can have a much larger mission reach.
"It’s not just for Blacks, it’s not just for whites, it’s not just for Italians and it’s not just for the Hispanic community, but for the human race," he added. "Everyone is invited to the church. You don’t have to be a good Baptist to come to our church. All you have to be is human."
It doesn’t matter what kind of clothes you wear or what car you drive or where you live, all are welcome, Moore said.
"It’s truly come as you are," he added. "Let us introduce you to Jesus and Jesus will be the one cleaning us, because we all need some cleaning."