Mt. Zion Baptist Church in East Austin is positioning itself to offer a suite of services to the community that you may not have seen in other faith-based communities. The congregation’s aim to become a source of housing is only one of its initiatives. Building a gymnasium is written in its plans, too, and the criminal justice ministry it offers to people who are incarcerated is already up and running.
These plans are steered by the Rev. Dr. Daryl Horton, a pastor who has led Mt. Zion for four years. Horton’s history with the congregation, however, did not start there. His engagement with the East Austin faith community spans decades.
“I’ve been a member of Mount Zion for nearly 22 years. I came to Mount Zion just to be a member, to be supportive of my predecessor, the late Dr. G.V. Clark,” Horton said. “Shortly around the time the pandemic occurred, Pastor Clark and I sensed from God that I was to be his successor.”
A predominantly Black church, Mt. Zion was founded in 1873, and with over 150 years of history, it has weathered many storms – including the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused many houses of worship to close their doors.
“What the pandemic helped us to do is that it pushed us into the 21st century where we started live streaming,” Horton said. “We navigated the pandemic by trying to get the gospel out to people because they were confined.”
To make matters more challenging, Texas’ 2021 ice storm damaged Mt. Zion’s church building, nudging the church toward new avenues of growth and structural renovation.
“That was something we had not expected,” Horton said. “Because of the damage, we took advantage of that opportunity to actually redo a lot of stuff in our building and so we were able to redo our sanctuary and redo our sound system.”
The Rev. Daryl Horton makes announcements at the beginning of the service at Mt. Zion Baptist Church on March 23, 2025.
Renee Dominguez / KUT News
With significantly reduced COVID infections in the community and a new infrastructure indoors, Mt. Zion Baptist welcomes hundreds of congregants weekly while members’ and visitors’ overall health remain a priority. One of Mt. Zion’s most reliable collaborators is the School of Nursing at the University of Texas at Austin. Together the two have created the African American Mental Health and Wellness Program, otherwise known as the “AMEN Program.”
“We’re partnering with mental-health practitioners for those who would like to receive counseling or some other professional things. We can help to connect them and to help facilitate them getting those type of things,” Horton said. “When it comes to health, everything from vaccinations to testing to understanding prescriptions, our health ministry is really involved.”
Among Mt. Zion’s many additional partnering organizations are the City of Austin, Austin Public Health and the American Heart Association.
“We want to be a light in the world that sometimes seems dark,” Horton said. “We want to bring hope to our community.”
All are welcome to attend services hosted at Mt. Zion.
“We’re just excited about everything that’s taking place,” Horton said.
