Mount Pleasant Baptist Church of Herndon will continue its 147th anniversary celebration season at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, with guest speaker Dr. Lance Watson of St. Paul’s Baptist Church, Richmond. He is host of the telecast “Positive Power” on TV ONE Network and authored “Being Healthy From Now On,” “Maximize Your Edge: Navigating Life’s Challenges,” “Meet Me in the Morning” and the soon to be released, “That Was Then, This is NOW.” Saint Paul’s congregation of over 15,000 has been noted as one of the fastest growing churches in the nation by Outreach Magazine.
The Anniversary theme, “Reaching for New Horizons While Unified with a Purpose” is a consistent posture as the church continues to grow. During the next several years, Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church seeks to expand its territory, which includes teaching the value of good stewardship. The celebration services and revival leading up to the anniversary will be a time of spiritual renewal, reflections, refreshing and just praising God.
Mount Pleasant Baptist Church of Herndon was established in 1866 with a rich legacy that continues to spur the church to service in the Herndon community. Over 70 ministries and programs provide services, and training in areas to include family life, nurturing and support for the needy, prison ministry, international family life fellowship and outreach, college counseling and scholarships for youth, and fellowship for the senior citizen community. The Mt. Pleasant Academy provides a sound education for primary grades. Over the past 18 years, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church has sent missionaries to communities throughout the world where they have built churches, schools, water wells, assisted in farming and supported countries in crisis including Haiti. During this milestone, Sr. Pastor James L. Graham, Jr. said the church’s primary mission is based on Matthew 28:19-20, which calls Christians to go into the entire world and make disciples. Graham, Jr., also said the church believes that God is calling the congregation to be a more proactive source of counsel for the community and regional leaders as they make decisions that impact this community and region of the country.
Each year Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church brings world-renowned speakers to keynote its “Wonderful Worshipping Wednesday” series, which lead up to the anniversary celebration on Sunday, Sept. 22 and final Worshipping Wednesday on Sept. 25. Other speakers featured are Dr. Gina Stewart of Christ Missionary Baptist Church, Memphis Tenn.; Dr. Matthew Watley of Reid Temple in Silver Spring, Md.; Dr. Leonard L. Hamlin Sr. of Macedonia Baptist Church, Arlington, Va.; Pastor Anthony Maclin of The Sanctuary at Kingdom Square, Capitol Heights, Md. and Dr. Cynthia Hale of Ray of Hope, Decatur, Ga.