Philadelphia has a plethora of famous pastors and renowned churches. Zion Baptist Church is arguably one of the most highly esteemed churches in the city and internationally, due largely to the late great “Lion from Zion,” the Rev. Leon Sullivan. Now Zion has a new senior pastor elect, the Rev. A. Carl Prince, and he has the spiritual DNA, the brilliant intellectual aptitude, and the social consciousness to advance Zion to new heights of ministry success.

Prince was called as pastor elect of Zion in January. Shepherding a church with such a far-reaching and prestigious history does not intimidate Prince, “This is nothing new to me, urban ministry is my forte. I served in Virginia in a church with over 6,000 members, which was Cedar Street Baptist Church of God, in Richmond,” under the leadership of the late Rev. Benjamin Robertson, said Prince.

“Cedar Street Baptist Church of God “was a multilevel and multifaceted ministry that had tentacles throughout the nation. It had its own seminary, it had its own grocery store, it had its own daycare. It had multiple ministries and multifaceted ministries. And so, coming to Zion, having been a former city official, the first Black elected city official for the city of Richmond, in the commonwealth of Virginia, I came to Zion prepared for this process, this pastorate. Zion has a rich history internationally, due to Dr. Sullivan, and all he did with OIC,” he said.

Prince respectfully acknowledges and reveres the great ministry legacy of Sullivan, and he has an equally impressive vision for the church, “I come with a strong practical theology that integrates inspiration with social transformation, I think that may have been one of the positives” that bolstered his candidacy to lead Zion as its new senior pastor.

“Zion’s legacy has always been integration versus isolation, and so I’m going to be very interested in living out that legacy, to the extent that we can establish partnerships with the city of Philadelphia, establish partnerships with the governor’s mansion, establish partnerships with the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., establish partnerships with the international community, not just in Africa,” including Asia, Latin America and Europe”, said Prince.

The Rev. Raymond Blue, a member for 35 years, said one of his greatest life highlights at Zion was being licensed to preach. Blue was one of the youngest deacons ordained under Sullivan’s leadership, “I served as vice chairman of the deacon board (and) I was one of the youth leaders…” Blue believes that reaching out to the lost in the community is one of the highest priorities of the church, “to teach and preach the Word of God.”

Kenneth and Cynthia Fullenwellen are a happily married couple and longstanding members of Zion. They are involved in supporting the youth ministry. Commenting about their longevity at Zion, Cynthia said, “I was born at Zion, I’ve been there 53 years.” Her husband Kenneth said, “I’ve been a member for 22 years, since 1990.”

Cynthia affectionately recalls the leadership of Sullivan, “He didn’t allow people to get in the way of his vision, he didn’t allow people to become stumbling blocks between him and the mission that God gave him to do.”

Commenting on Prince’s teaching and preaching style, Kenneth said, “He has a lot of energy, he preaches to the young people, the senior members – the whole group. He tries to get everybody involved…he treats everybody like family.”

The Fullenwellens admire Prince’s passion for community outreach. “Last weekend we had our first community day…the kids were excited, we had pony rides, water slides, a bouncey-bounce,” music, food, free haircuts and school backpack and school supplies giveaways, said Cynthia. The Fullenwellens said more than 500 youths and adults from the community participated in Zion’s community day event.

Nijah Richard Debrest, 26, a very articulate and focused young man, has been a member of Zion for over 15 years. His past ministries have included being the former director of the Junior Golf Ministry, “I also ran on the track team, and I was also part of the choirs.” As a single Christian, Debrest considers secular music, obeying the Word of God, and promiscuity some of the challenges that his peer group grapples with, “People my age say that it’s not necessary to be in a relationship; they’re risking a lot…looking for short-term satisfaction.”

“I’ve been a member for about 10 years,” said Destiny Green. Over the years, Green, 26, has served in leadership roles for the youth ministry and youth choir, “I set up different youth programs, to try to get more youths (to attend church), to show youths that they can have fun while we’re in church, we’re not all stuffy.” Her youth-oriented ministry activities include a Christian café, open mic events, youth sleepover with games, movies and someone sharing the Word of God.

Frank Richardson, Jr., 49, is the newly appointed chairman of the deacons board, “I’ve been a member of the church since 1993,” he said. “I was young and adventurous” and he didn’t have a solid faith-walk at that time, but “in 2001, after reading a book called ‘’Left Behind’’ (by Tim LaHaye), I rededicated myself (to the Lord).” Richardson cites Zion’s former television ministry as one of its most impactful community outreach endeavors. Also, during Sunday morning services, “we take 15 minutes to greet one another, especially our visitors. We give our visitors the opportunity to speak to our congregation, to share where they’re from and what brought them to Zion,” said Richardson.

In celebration of Prince’s installation, every Thursday in September Zion will host a guest preacher t during a 7 p.m. service, culminating in the actual installation service on Sunday, Sept. 30. Guest preachers will be:

• Bishop Keith W. Reed Sr., pastor of Sharon Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Sept. 6
• The Rev. Winston Ridley Jr., pastor of Greater First Baptist Church, Washington, D.C., Sept. 13.
• The Rev. Delman Coates, pastor of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church, Clinton, Md., Sept. 20.
• The Rev. John Kinney, dean of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology/Virginia Union University, Sept. 27.

On Friday, Sept. 28 Millicent Hunter, presiding bishop of the Baptist Worship Center, will be the keynote preacher for the installation gala. On Sunday, Sept. 30, the Rev. Edmund H. Whitley Sr., pastor of Hood Temple AME Zion Church, Richmond, Va. (father-in-law of Prince) will preach the 10:45 a.m. service (NOTE: There will not be a 7:45 a.m. service that Sunday); Dr. H. Beecher Hicks Jr., from Metropolitan Baptist Church, Washington, D.C., will be the keynote preacher for the 4 p.m. installation service. Emma Chappell is the chairwoman of the installation committee.