CHURCH HISTORIES Terrebonne Parish, LA BAPTIST - NEW ZION BAPTIST CHURCH Submitted by: Cynthia Daigle Source: The Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press, Houma, LA. Last modified: 10 MARCH 2008 ================================================== NOTE: Most histories were submitted by the church to the Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press as part of the newspapers Sesquicentennial Edition. Not all churches submitted histories. ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** ================================================== BAPTIST - NEW ZION BAPTIST CHURCH Location in 2007 - 263 Grand Caillou Road, Houma, LA The Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press Houma, LA, Oct. 8, 1972, Sunday, Section E FAITH OF SLAVES RAISED NEW ZION (picture of church in paper) The New Zion Baptist Church was organized during the days of slavery. Isaiah Lawson was the young man who out of many slaves had the special privilege of going to school and had learned to read pretty well. It was he who helped to create this church and was chosen pastor by his white master. The ground was donated by this master and the church was built though friends of freedom. When everyone knew for sure that he was free to come and go as he pleased, each flocked to the church to thank God for what had been done. The name of the church just built was Little Zion and the young pastor was marvelously preaching the gospel. With him was a singer, Ryal Coleman. People walked long distances through rain and mud to get in the service and the only music was clapping of hands and patting the feet. Long weeks of revival were held and everybody called on God. After about 12 or more years of this, Rev. Lawson felt a call to the mission field so he resigned his pastoral work in favor of a young man, Scott T. Smith, who had just been ordained in the church. Rev. Lawson then began moving through the parishes preaching and singing the gospel of Christ having his colleague, Ryal Coleman, with him at all times. Then in 1884, God saw fit to call him home. Meanwhile, Rev. Smith was running the church and receiving young ministers from all around. Great services were held and new members were added constantly. Soon they found it necessary to build a larger church. This Rev. Smith proceeded to do, and everybody with him. In a short time the new church was erected and named New Zion. People began to grow wiser and larger in number until young ministers were led to build more churches nearer the center of population so they could get the same gospel without walking so far. Soon daughter churches sprang up on all sides; Mt. Zion, New Salem, Jerusalem, St. John and others. Then New Zion was referred to as the mother church. Good looked down and saw that these different branches needed to be held together by a strong band of Christian love. Therefore He led one of his smart men to organize an Association with meetings to be held every year. The first president was H. E. Cotton. These associations were held in rotation according to the district, and members made the pilgrimage every year. These were the years of great jubilee. Rev. S. T. Smith, after a dozen or more years as pastor, felt the call to another field. He resigned and went up several miles above town and organized the New Rising Sun Baptist Church. New Zion then elected a stranger, the Rev. William Johnson Jr., who stayed with the church two years making himself famous by bringing evangelist and musicians that stirred the community with their revival. Now, before Rev. Smith gave up, Sister Joanne P. Moore, a white missionary, came from her school in Baton Rouge and organized the Houma Mission Band. She went back and sent her little book, the "Hope" which we have been reading ever since. With this band and leaders like Sister Henrietta Williams, the women of the church went over the top doing whatever work their hands found to do. They made a great show in the association ever to the preset day. When Rev. Johnson accepted another charge God sent the Rev. T.L. Welch to take over with the promise of many long years to come. His son became superintendent, and choir and Sunday School grew to perfection. Upon the retirement of Rev. Welch, God sent the young Brother Forest Danks from the Mt. Zion Baptist Church. He served just a short while when the Lord called him home together with his former pastor Rev. C. S. Collins. Following his untimely death the burden of the church fell upon the shoulders of Deacon Matt Walker Sr. and he guided the church through a long hard period. Out of the depths of toil and hardship the church has grown under the leadership of our present pastor, the Rev. W.J. Danks and his congregation.