Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church ~ CRHC Local History Encyclopedia

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Missionary Baptist congregation held a dedication ceremony for Reverend Derrickson in the former Olivet A.M.E. sanctuary. He would continue serving his congregation as pastor for the next nineteen years. In 1994, after eight years paying a monthly lease to the City’s Redevelopment Commission for the building, Zion Hill leaders initiated a conversation to purchase it. The City set a price of $75,400. Zion Hill started at $1 but pointed out the over $20,000 monthly rent they had already paid plus nearly $50,000 they wished to invest in renovations. At the end of the year, the City and the Church settled on a $10,000 purchase price. Three years later, members of Zion Hill’s congregation celebrated full payment with a mortgage burning ceremony. Once again, after thirty years of massive nearby change and uncertainty about the sanctuary’s future, the 1917 Olivet building was fully owned and cared for by an African American congregation. Reverend Derrickson was 79 years old when he witnessed the congregation he built secured in its sanctuary. He had no intentions on leaving, stating then that he would continue, “as long as I've got health and strength.” Reverend Derrickson continued until his death in 2005 at the age of 86, capping a career of service to his congregation and to his family. Despite this loss, Zion Hill continued to engage the community. For example, in 2006, Zion Hill served as the headquarters and offices of a new, local chapter of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, led nationally by the Reverend Jesse Jackson. In 2017, in a sign of the warm relationship between Olivet, the oldest African American congregation, and Zion Hill as the caretakers of the sanctuary, Zion Hill hosted a 100th anniversary celebration for the building. Olivet’s pastor, the Reverend Rick Jackson, spoke at the celebration. This one location has now housed two long-serving African American congregations for over 150 years. Today, Zion Hill has been caring for the sanctuary for four decades, continuing their own service to the community and to the building’s longevity well into the twenty-first century. Additional resources: [None] Tags: Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Olivet A.M.E., Reverend Derrickson, Consolidated Negro Contractors Original author: George Garner Original editor: Aubren Kubicki Final edit approved: April 14, 2026 Additional edits: