“We were in shambles,” says the Rev. Louis M. Murphy Sr. “The church was really, really struggling.”
BY JEFFREY ZANKER and PHIL LAVERY
NNB Student Reporters
ST. PETERSBURG – When Louis M. Murphy Sr. became senior pastor at Mt. Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in 1999, he found a congregation in turmoil.
The charismatic minister who had built Mt. Zion into a huge, dynamic church had suddenly resigned. The institution’s finances were in tatters, and most of its 2,500 members had left to join other churches.
“We were in ashes, in shambles, $84,000 behind on our mortgage,” said Murphy. “The church was really, really struggling.”
Murphy, now 56, did not have much formal training as a minister, and he and his wife initially resisted the congregation’s entreaties to become pastor.
But he felt he had received a divine calling, Murphy said, and four years as a Boy Scout executive had made him focus on the needs of the community – a focus that “became a springboard into the ministry for me.”
Now, 16 years later, Mt. Zion is once again a force in St. Petersburg’s predominantly black neighborhoods.
It claims 4,000 members, which makes it the largest African-American congregation in the city. On the sprawling campus around its sanctuary at 955 20th St. S, the church runs an array of education and social programs that touch the lives of hundreds more.
It has paid off its mortgage and embarked on a fund-raising drive – called Vision 300 – to buttress its social service efforts, buy additional property and build a new sanctuary someday.
“It’s been an awesome experience serving” as pastor, Murphy said. “It’s been most gratifying and fulfilling to humbly serve so many great people.”
With the hiring of Murphy in 1999, the church began a comeback.
Murphy never intended to become a minister.
He grew up in DeLand and attended Florida A & M University – where he was drum major for the famous Marching 100 Band – and the University of Central Florida. He eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Chaminade University while serving as a Marine in Hawaii.
When he returned to Florida, he also had a wife from Hawaii.
Filomena Murphy was “always the anchor of the family,” the pastor once told the St. Petersburg Times. While she bore and raised their two children, “I was partying with the boys and hitting the nightclubs.”
Over the years, Murphy held jobs with the St. Petersburg Housing Authority, the Times, Florida Power Corp. and the West Central Florida Council of Boy Scouts.
When he was laid off at Florida Power, he began to re-examine his life and started attending church at Mt. Zion, he said. His next job, four years with the Boy Scouts, made him face the needs of the black community. It was an education that served him well when Mt. Zion called him to be senior pastor.
With the hiring of Murphy, the 71-year-old church began a comeback. Building on the programs of their previous, troubled pastor, Murphy and church leaders increased their membership rolls, paid off the mortgage, started a private elementary school, and re-established Mt. Zion’s place in the community with faith, persistence and an array of educational and social programs.
Beyond the walls of the church, Murphy also became a leader in efforts to increase voter registration, confront violence, and spur reinvestment in Midtown.
The church family celebrated Murphy’s 16 years as pastor with a program on May 20.
When cancer claimed his wife in 2008, Murphy said, his faith was shaken.
“Those close to me saw my struggle,” he said. “It’s been a challenge and a struggle that tested my faith, but with the help of the Lord I pulled through and the church stuck with me.”
More than 200 members of the congregation were at the church on May 20 to celebrate Murphy’s 16th anniversary as pastor with a program that included the Mt. Zion Drumline and Color Guard, singing, mime, testimonials and dinner.
Murphy “has been a good spiritual influence on me,” said Dwayne Hamlet, who is a male tenor in the church choir. He said Murphy’s ministry has had a huge impact on his life and given him a goal to be a “blessing to others.”
Murphy “is all over the city of St. Petersburg to do better for us in the community,” said Avis Carter.
Murphy’s son, Louis Murphy Jr., a church member and wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was there to help his father thank the congregation.
The pastor grew tearful when he spoke.
“It has been a humble experience and privilege” to serve, he said.
Information from Mt. Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church and the Tampa Bay Times was used in this report.