The Mount Kingdom Missionary Baptist Church was conceived through the placement of God’s word into the heart of the late Rev. Otha Simmons.  With labor and much prayer, the Mt. Kingdom Missionary Baptist Church began on December 15, 1963 at 2138 Piety St. in New Orleans, LA, at the home of Brother John O. Simmons.  Those present at its birth were Rev. Otha and Sis. Ruthie Mae Simmons, Sis. Ester Simmons, Sis. Joyce Smith, Bro. Sylvester Ross, Sis. Lonnie Moses and Sis. Erma Ross.

Mt. Kingdom took its first steps on December 29, 1963 and held its first worship service at the Law Height Hall located at 2655 Piety Street.  On that day 39 members were added to the church.  After worshiping there for 3 months, God favored Mt. Kingdom and on March 15, 1964 the church marched into its new home at 3756 Louisa Street.  The church was set apart and dedicated by the Southern District Baptist Association.

As the church grew and matured at a fast pace, Mt. Kingdom nurtured many ministries in which its members could serve, such as the Deacon and Deaconess Ministries, the Junior Deacon ministry, a Senior, Young Adult and Sunbeam choir, Usher Ministries 1, 2 and 3, the Pastor’s Aide and the Home Mission Ministry.  These ministries provided assistance during worship and enhanced Kingdom building by visiting and ministering to the sick, assisting the needy and comforting the bereaved.

In addition to those members who started the journey with Pastor Simmons, there were many who helped to guide the youth of Mt. Kingdom and who worked diligently beside Pastor Simmons, they include Bro. Hubert Causey, Sis. Mary Williams, Bro. Delos Hart, Sis. I. Brent, Bro. Nelson Dexter, Sis. Juanita Jarvis, Bro. Douglas Price, Sis. Melanie Williams, Bro. Henry Robinson, Sis. Bobbi Ethridge, Bro. John Hence and Sis. Ruby Foster.  There were also many sons of the house who, after accepting their calling, left Mt. Kingdom to begin their own journeys as Pastors.  They were the late Rev. Sylvester Ross, the late Rev. Willie Bridges, Rev. Willie “Dove” Causey and Rev. Willie Moore.

Through Mt. Kingdom’s ministry, there were many who accepted Christ, confessing Him as their Savior.  There were also many weddings and baby dedications celebrated by the membership.  It was not unusual for the church to leave morning worship and head out to area churches to fellowship for an anniversary or special program.

Mt. Kingdom also hosted many events and activities of fellowship through the years, some of which were fundraising events like the annual “Behold the Bridegroom Cometh” pageant, the State Rally, the choir’s annual picnic to Pensacola, Florida and the production of an album.  Others, like Thanksgiving Morning Worship and New Year’s Eve Watch Night Service, were simply another opportunity to give praise to God for His many blessings.

As we continued to mature and grow, Pastor Simmons saw the need and was led to enlarge the sanctuary by adding onto the existing structure doubling its size.  Pastor Otha Simmons continued to do the work of the Lord until 2001 when he retired from the office God had called him to 38 years before.

After Pastor Simmons’ retirement, God sent one whom He had called and qualified to work in His vineyard, one who was predestined to be the Pastor of the Mt. Kingdom Missionary Baptist Church. And on June 29, 2001, Rev. Darrick R. Johnson became the Pastor.

Pastor Johnson brought his youthful brand to the ministry – enhancing the music ministry, putting emphasis on Christian education by ensuring that quality supplies are available for the Sunday School and Vacation Bible School Ministries and taking special care of the youth of the church.  He also established Tuesdays as “Family Night in the Word” and continued to bring powerful men of God to revive us and him with God’s word annually.
The Core of Mt. Kingdom’s mission was and continues to be - teaching and preaching God’s Word and leading the unsaved to Christ.  Pastor Johnson began to introduce other instructional opportunities through the Association, conferences and ministerial alliances.

Under Pastor Johnson’s watch, the city of New Orleans experienced the worst natural disaster in American history – Hurricane Katrina.  Mt. Kingdom’s building was completely decimated.  From December 2005 to January 2006 Mt. Kingdom accepted the offer of Pastor Lonnie Williams of  St. Mark B.C. in Algiers to hold worship service at their house of worship. For several months afterwards, worship services were held at the Johnson and Barnes community center at 2120 Magnolia Street in uptown New Orleans.

The building was gone and the members were returning to New Orleans - one family at a time. Led by the Holy Spirit, Pastor Johnson endeavored to rebuild the church. He painstakingly navigated the processes at city hall to obtain the required permits, met with contractors, and negotiated contracts to get the church rebuilt. Finally, on Sunday, November 30, 2008 Mt. Kingdom held its Dedication service in its newly erected Sanctuary at 3756 Louisa Street. The theme "From Devastation to Restoration" was a true testament of how good the Lord has been to The Kingdom Family.

Under Pastor Johnson’s leadership new ministries were started, COG Youth Ministry, Men of the Kingdom, Women of the Kingdom, Greeters ministry, Kingdom Care ministry, a liturgical dance ministry and a media ministry providing CD recordings of the weekly service.  He also has 3 sons in the ministry, Minister Patrick Johnson, the late Minister Curtis Davis and Minister William Hardy.