Mount Ararat Baptist Church was founded November 1961 in the home of the late Sister Annie Caldwell. The Late Dr. James Thompson Reeder was the first minister to be called and voted in as the Senior Pastor. Under his leadership the church grew leaps and bounds, and after years of continued growth, leadership development, young people becoming involved and finances increasing, Mount Ararat Baptist Church purchased our present location at 425 Howard Avenue in August 1965.
Dr. Reeder served as the Senior Pastor and watched the church grow for more than two decades until his retirement. Upon his retirement, Reverend Albert P. Curly served as the second Senior Pastor for one year. In 1994 after a long and prayerful search, Mount Ararat called Dr. Elliot Cuff to assume the esteemed role as the third Senior Pastor. Under his leadership many things were accomplished such as establishing the Family Life Center of Mount Ararat, Economic Development, After School Assistance Program, Computer Training, and so much more. With the help of his wife, Minister Virginia Evelyn Cuff and volunteers, Mount Ararat Family Life Center was able to provide a quality education to children in the inner-city community who would not otherwise be able to afford private training. In addition to all of the ministries, in August 1996, Dr. Cuff led a renovation of the sanctuary which resulted in various enhancements to the sanctuary and overall building. Dr. Cuff served faithfully for ten years before the Lord called him to lead another flock. The ministry was sad to see his departure, but welcomed the fourth Senior Pastor with open arms.
Through support and direction of Dr. Cuff, Reverend Steven Eugene Carter, who was raised, licensed and ordained at Mount Ararat Church was called with a unamamous vote to the Senior Pastor position. July 2004 Pastor Carter assumed the position and has since, because of the foundation that was laid, taken the ministry to greater levels. Pastor Carter adopted the motto “Loving God, Loving People & Impacting the Community.” As a result of leaders and members implementing this motto, the ministry has grown in excess of 1,500 new members and still growing. In addition, many ministries have been added to meet the needs of people in and outside of the church. Mount Ararat Church has also added additional services to accommodate the crowd who gathers on Sunday mornings for wonderful worship experiences.
Under the leadership of Pastor Carter, many things such as Development of Youth Choir, Establishing Involvement with Brooklyn Congregations Together, Young Adult Ministries, Involvement with Local Officials, GED Revised Program, Touro College Campus on site, Community Karate Youth Program, Enhancement of the Community and so many other implementations that have proven well for the church and the community. In addition, Pastor Carter started a two year campaign known as Renovation 24 for the overall renovation of the church. Renovation 24 has resulted in a complete overhaul renovation of the church sanctuary, which is now fully advanced in areas of technology. While undergoing this renovation, we held our worship services across the street in the auditorium of Public School 12. In addition to the sanctuary, the lower level restrooms were renovated as well as the fellowship hall fully renovated and renamed The James T. Reeder Fellowship Hall.
As a result of all of these new improvements and programs, Pastor Carter was led to change the vision of the church to "Empowering People to Live Beyond Life Limitations", which is inspired from John 10:10 that says, "The devil comes to kill, steal, and destroy; but I come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly."
We look forward to having many more years of impacting and changing lives through the glory of God. If you are looking for a place where love is expressed, forgiveness is felt, compassion is real and the presence is God is alive, we invite you to visit the Mount Ararat Church on any given Sunday in person or online.
