Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it — and what a story it is to tell. Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church. Houston's Greater Third Ward.

And a congregation that's been showing up for its neighbors since the late eighteen hundreds. Let that settle in for a second. The late eighteen hundreds.

That is a long time to keep your word to a community. The marker says tradition holds that the Reverend Gilbert Green and several area residents organized this church — and that first, they met under a brush arbor, right here at this location. No walls, no roof to speak of.

Just a gathering of people and the intention to build something lasting. The Reverend Green became the first pastor, presiding over what was then known as Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church. Early pastors understood what their congregation was up against.

The marker is plain about it: members often had to work in very low-paying jobs. So from early on, those pastors turned the church's face outward, toward the wider Third Ward, toward the people who needed more than a Sunday sermon. Community programs flourished.

And they flourished especially under one man: the Reverend Moses Leonard Price, the longest serving pastor in the church's history — nineteen thirty-eight to nineteen eighty-four. Forty-six years. The Reverend Price was involved in numerous community, social, and religious organizations, and he focused the members' time and resources especially toward education.

Under his pastorate, the church opened a kindergarten. Started a scholarship fund. Implemented a summer enrichment program offering tutoring for area students.

Nineteen fifty-eight, they built a new sanctuary on the adjacent block — and then turned right around and opened an educational building on the former site. The ground itself kept working. Members ran a food pantry.

Offered donations to the needy. Developed a program to build affordable homes right there in the neighborhood. And beyond the pastors, the marker is careful to say, a number of members themselves have been vital community leaders.

Several former members have gone on to become pastors of other churches, carrying whatever was kindled here out into the wider world. A brush arbor became a sanctuary. A gathering became a movement.

And Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church — the marker says — continues to serve as a spiritual, social, cultural, and economic leader in Houston. Started under open sky, still standin'. That's the story.

What the marker says

Members of Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church have served residents of Houston’s Greater Third Ward since the late 1800s. Tradition holds that the Rev. Gilbert Green and several area residents organized the church, which first met under a brush arbor at this location. The Rev. Green was the first pastor of what was then known as Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church. Early pastors encouraged growth in the African American congregation, whose members often had to work in very low-paying jobs. Soon, the congregation turned toward serving the Greater Third Ward. Community programs flourished, particularly under the Rev. Moses Leonard Price, the longest serving pastor for the church (1938-1984). The Rev. Price was involved in numerous community, social and religious organizations. He focused the members’ time and resources especially toward educational programs. Under his pastorate, the church opened a kindergarten, started a scholarship fund and implemented the summer enrichment program to offer tutoring for area students. After building the current sanctuary on the adjacent block in 1958, the church opened an educational building on its former site. Members have also run a food pantry, offered donations to the needy and developed a program to build affordable homes in the neighborhood. Besides the church’s pastors, a number of members have been vital community leaders. Several former members have also become pastors of other churches. Today, Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church continues to serve as a spiritual, social, cultural and economic leader in Houston.