This article is one of the earliest written histories of our church which was printed as members prepared to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Sixth Mount Zion's founding. Provided by church clerk, Bro. A. W. Parham, the article reads as follows:
The Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church was organized September 3rd, 1867 on Browne's Island by the late Rev. John Jasper and Rev. Peter Randolph, with nine members. Wm. Banks, Ralph Hilton, James Barrett, Deacons, Peter Baker, Francis Cary, Henry Clarke, Abbie Clarke, Mary Wells, with Grandison Taylor first clerk of the church.
They at first worshipped in a horse stable, then in a private house next in a carpenter's shop. In 1869 they moved to the present site in a small church.
After remodeling it several times and then finding it too small to accommodate her congregation, in 1887 we built the present church at a cost of $24000, twenty-four thousand dollars. (The Richmond Planet, Volume 18, Number 37, August 31, 1901)
Reverend John Jasper was born a slave on July 4, 1812 on a plantation in Fluvanna County, Virginia. He was the last of 24 children. As a teenager, he worked for several masters in various capacities in Richmond and Williamsburg. In 1839, on his 27th birthday, he embraced Christianity and was baptized at the First African Baptist Church. He learned to read and write from a fellow slave and began to study the Bible. Sensing a call to the ministry, Jasper told everyone about his salvation and soon began preaching whenever and wherever he was allowed.
As a result of his belief in the inerrant word of God and his unusual oratory skills, Rev. Jasper was celebrated in Richmond and throughout Virginia. He first became known for preaching slave funerals, even though during slavery, the law prohibited Jasper from preaching without the presence of a white minister.
Rev. Jasper gained national fame in 1878 when he first preached the sermon entitled, “De Sun Do Move, Earth Am Square”. The sermon was praised by some and ridiculed by others because it questioned the “natural order of things”. Rev. Jasper delivered this controversial sermon more than 250 times, once before the Virginia General Assembly. Rev. Jasper preached for 60 years, 25 of them as a slave. He has been called one of the most powerful Negro preachers of his time.
Rev. John Jasper died in March 1901. The church opened its John Jasper Memorial Room & Museum in 1926, which houses 19th century artifacts associated with Jasper’s pastorate. Still today, Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church strives to continue the ministry work he started over 150 years ago.
