Mt. Zion

By Robert Chappell – Madison 365 – Mt. Zion Baptist Church began in 1911 above a harness shop on East Washington Avenue, organized as a mission by a handful of pastors from Chicago and Milwaukee. The rent was $10 a month. A minister traveled from Chicago to preach on Sundays for $10 plus room and board. Next month, the South Madison congregation, now the second-oldest and largest predominantly Black church in Madison, will celebrate 115 years with a month of themed Sunday worship services, a new building design reveal, and a grand community worship service to close it out. Read…

By David Dahmer – Madison 365 – Some amazing Gospel artists will be performing at Mount Zion Baptist Church on Madison’s South Side on Friday, Dec. 8, as PeBoGa Productions hosts the 19th Annual Fall Gospel Fest. “Year 19. That’s amazing, isn’t it?” says Clyde Gaines, the organizer of the 19th annual Fall Gospel Fest. “It’s amazing to be around that long because when we first started, we were just doing this event to bring Gospel music at that level to Madison and not really thinking we would be doing it for 19 years. It’s been an incredible run.” Read…

By David Dahmer – Madison 365 – Mt. Zion Baptist Church, the largest African-American congregation in Madison, is an important institution on Madison’s South Side. Over the years, Mt. Zion has provided numerous important programs and services to support people in the greater Madison community. Much of that community work that they do now is under the MTZ Charitable Organization, established in 2021, which operates programs for underprivileged and impoverished youth in Madison to advance equity and accelerate their academic achievement. In an effort to let the community know more about MTZ, Mt. Zion will host “Building Hope Together: Introducing…