Our History

Like many of the other African American churches in the 19th century, Mt. Sinai Baptist Church began as a part of a white congregation. Mt. Sinai traces its roots back to Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, which is located south of the Mt. Sinai on Erwin Road. From 1823 until 1870, many of the African Americans who lived in the Presswood Community were members of the congregation of Mt. Moriah. The Presswood Community would have been located in the immediate vicinity of today's intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard (formerly Airport Road) and Weaver Dairy Road in Chapel Hill, NC. As recorded by Mrs. Trice, African American worshippers also met secretly at a location away from Mt. Moriah. This location might have been the Rosemary School, which was the local district school. Dr Maddry recorded a different story in his book.

 

According to Dr. Maddry, unlike other white churches, Mt. Moriah created an area behind the pulpit for the African Amencan worshippers. Dr. Maddry described the area as 30 ft. long with pews and could accommodate up to 150 people. He reported that often times the preacher would turn in the direction of the African American worshippers and speak directly to them. Many of the Baptists churches referred to the African American members of their congregation as "servants" instead of ''slaves". Dr. Maddry recorded in his autobiography, "There must have been an innate sense of decency and a feeling of a common brotherhood of equality in Christ that made it incongruous to refer to their brothers and sisters in Christ, held in bondage against their will, as "slaves." 

 

As the African American membership grew, in 1850 Mt. Moriah appointed a "colored" deacon to assist a white deacon to attend to the moral and spiritual welfare of the "servants." This "colored" deacon, who was referred to as "Jack," was a servant of a brother Barbee. He reported to the white deacon any questionable behavior of an African American member. Jack and two other white deacons would meet the member and present the case to conference, where the consequences were decided. Mt. Moriah did not discriminate in punishing any member, white or African American for an infraction. Conference notes from Mt. Moriah are explicit in detailing consequences unruly, unchristian behaviors. 

 

According to Sister Trice, in March of 1870 the African American members requested use of Mt. Moriah as their place of worship once a month, separate from the white congregation. By unanimous vote, the request was denied. However, because of their determination, later in April of the same year, the request was made again and this time they were given permission to use the sanctuary the second Sunday of each month, 

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As the African American membership increased, the worshippers decided that it was time to get a place of their own for worship. They knew the Civil War had ended and that the world around them was changing. This time they requested a letter of dismissal to separate themselves completely from the Mt. Moriah. This request was agreed upon by the members of Mt. Moriah, but not before they adopted the following resolutions: [quote] (1) that Mt. Moriah would no longer be responsible for the colored brethren who held metnbership in this church, and (2) that they could no longer hold their meetings in this house. 

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Records show in 1871 a group of African American members of Mt. Moriah, led by Mr. Jesse Barbee, Ms. Bettie Trice, Mr, Henderson Jones and Ms. Isabelle Barbee, selected a site, purchased land from Mr. Anderson Couch and built a small log building near what is now our cemetery to house the first congregation of African Americans, and thus the beginning of Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church. White members from Mt. Hermon Baptist Church and Rev. George Purefoy, Deacon Abel Maddry and Brother Wiley Patterson from the Mt. Moriah assisted in organizing the first church. It was originally named St. Mary's, but later the name was changed to Mount Sinai. It was said that some of the brothers disagreed on the true meaning of saint, and eventually they all agreed that "mount" sounded more like a Baptist church than saint. Most of the African Americans from the Presswood Creek community settled in the Mount Sinai community and became landowners. 

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Rev. E. H. Cole was called as the first pastor of Mt. Sinai and he served the congregation for 29 years. Mr. Tom Couch, an African American who had been appointed and ordained a deacon at Mt. Moriah became the lead deacon at this new church. In the beginning the congregation met one Sunday a month. Later they had services twice a month and for a period of time services were held at 1:00 in the afternoon. It was not until the 1960s that services were held every Sunday at 11:00. 

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The small log structure, which was built in 1871, was expanded twice over the years to accommodate the growing congregation. As new members came, the congregation realized they needed a place near the church to baptize the converts. To meet that need, a pool was built near the creek. Remnants of that pool are still visible in the wooded area below the cemetery. Plans are in place to recognize the baptism fount as an historical site. 

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In 1926 additional land was purchased and a new larger building was erected on the present site. The members were asked to pay as much as they could each month to raise money to build this church and to purchase pews. According to records, $50 or $60 would be collected occasionally until $1000 was raised. Some of the material used in the building was cut from the land owned by the church. 

 

During the next several decades, a number of ministers served our congregation, they include: 

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* Rev. J. H. Dunston 1901-1925

* Rev. T.C. Graham 1926-1931

* Rev. E. Wimberly 1933-43

* Rev. J. R. Stanford 1943-48

* Rev. James A Stewart 1948-46

* Rev. C. C. Lawrence 1956-1960

* Dr. R W Perry 1960-1964

* Rev. A. T. Alston 1964-1987

􀀄􀀅* Rev. R. A. Woods `1987-1995

* Rev. M.J Mitchell 1996-2003

* Rev. J. R. Crudren 2005-2011

* Rev. Sherman R.  Tribbble.

* Rev. Lawrance Clark

* Rev. Kenneth Hammond 

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To meet the challenges of growth and increasing needs, changes and improvements were necessary. In 1968 the building was completely renovated. Our pastor at that time, Rev. A.T. Alston. was a licensed contractor and was the overseer for the project. The renovation included a full basement with kitchen and dining hall, new lighting system, new windows, air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and, of course, an indoor baptismal pool. 

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In 1987, MS:MBC was blessed to call the Reverend Dr. Ricky A. Woods. This preacher was also a Senior Economist for the United States Department of Labor. A number of notable accomplishments occurred in his tenure. The Ministrv of Christian Education was birthed in the Woods administration. The church budget was tripled. Two church vans were purchased. Several preachers of the Gospel were licensed. The Daughters of Abraham were also started. Worship was revamped to include hymns along with good gospel singing. And of course, solid, energetic preaching of the gospel took place and the church was filled. In 1995, Dr. Woods tendered his resignation to assume the pastorate of the First Baptist Church, West in Charlotte, NC. 

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1996-2003. To continue to address the needs of the church and to further upgrade the facility, the congregation, under the leadership of Rev. Marvin J. Mitchell, held groundbreaking ceremonies for the latest addition in April of 2000. The new wing was completed in October of 2000. This addition included a larger dining hall, pastor's office, complete with full bath, Sunday School classrooms, church office, conference room, and a deacons' lounge. 

After MSMBC reluctantly accepted the resignation of Reverend Marvin Mitchell, we found ourselves without a pastor. We were blessed to call the Reverend James Gardner. He began his work with us in 2005. This Volunteer State native brought excitement to the preaching moment. A number of persons joined the church during his tenure. After feeling that God had called him to move on, Reverend Gardner tendered his resignation at MS:MBC in 2011. 

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In the interim period, the congregation was blessed to have dedicated church members to continue the vital work of the church. This included both lay and ministerial members. We were also blessed to have the Reverend Dr. Lawrence Clark to serve as our interim pastor from 2012 -2013. He worked with our congregation to give us stability in a challenging season. Reverend Clark also was engaged in doctoral work at this time. Our congregation helped to provide a laboratory for his research. 

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In April of 2014, the congregational unanimously called the Reverend Dr. Sherman R. Tribble to serve as the under shepherd for out congregation. This native of Chicago, Ill was not only a seasoned pastor and preacher but also an educator, writer, musician, and believer. In his brief tenure, the congregation has joined with their pastor to move towards revitalization and re­tooling to serve the present age. Under his leadership, the congregation added to the ranks of deacons and trustees, strengthened its infrastructure by making needed building repairs, made considerable payments towards retiring long term debt, strengthened denominational ties, and he loved the congregation. In January 2020, Dr. Tribble's resignation became effective so that he could assume the interim presidency of Hosanna Bible College. At this time, the Reverend Dr. Kenneth Hammond, a long term pastor in the Durham and native of Greenville, NC began to serve as Interim Pastor. 

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We are blessed to have the history of Mt. Sinai documented in several places. One of the most reliable accounts was written by Mrs. Ella B. Trice a member of Mt. Sinai, who passed away in 1999 at the age of 108 and her account is recorded in The Negro Baptist Churches of North Carolina. The grandson on one of the white members of Mt. Moriah, Dr. Charles Maddry, includes a chapter in his book of the history Mt. Sinai in Dr. Charles Maddry, "An Autobiography". In the UNC Manuscripts Department, the minutes from conference meetings of the Mt. Moriah Church are on microfihn and there are notes that verify much of the information that was recorded by Mrs. Trice and Dr. Maddry. Mrs. Georgia Purefoy is also credited with documenting the history of Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church. Some of the latest updates were made by the Reverend Dr. Sherman R. Tribble. 

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