On a hill in downtown Albany, just off the historic Second Street corridor, stands Metropolitan New Testament Mission Baptist Church, a congregation known across New York's Capital Region as "The Light on the Hill." Founded in 1943 by eight faithful believers and the Reverend Dr. John B. Holmes, Metropolitan has grown from a small storefront meeting at 170 South Pearl Street into one of Albany's most active and visible African American congregations, with deep roots in mission work, education, housing development, and community service. Today the church gathers at 105 Second Street under the leadership of its fourth pastor, the Reverend Dr. Damone Paul Johnson.
A Legacy of Faith and Service
Metropolitan's story began on July 1, 1943, when Reverend Dr. John B. Holmes and eight charter members gathered to plant a church in Albany's South End. The original charter included Reverend Eula M. Holmes and Sister Zola B. Holmes, the pastor's wife and daughter, along with Sister Zora B. Williams, Brother Samuel May, Brother Clarence White, Sister Alberta White, Sister Pauline Lucas McDonald, and Sister Martha White. The little congregation first met at 170 South Pearl Street before moving to 140 Second Street, where it continued to grow through prayer, stewardship, and unwavering faith.
After Dr. Holmes' passing in 1970, the church continued under the brief pastorate of Reverend Rexford P. Charlow (1971 to 1974) and then called Reverend Dr. Earnest E. Drake as its third pastor in 1975. Under Dr. Drake's leadership, the church was formally incorporated, expanded its ministries, and rebuilt after a devastating 1978 fire. On November 4, 1979, the congregation joyfully marched across the street into its current home at 105 Second Street, giving glory to God for His faithfulness.
The 1980s and 1990s marked an era of remarkable outward reach. Metropolitan launched the Drakeland Day Care Center to serve working families, and the church developed Idlewild Terrace, a senior housing complex that became the first minority-owned HUD project of its kind in the region since 1978. The church also completed Drake Manor, a twenty-unit housing development that continues to bless the community. In 1992, the congregation celebrated its first mortgage burning ceremony, marking freedom from debt and God's abundant provision. After twenty-six years of devoted leadership, Dr. Drake retired in 2001, was named Pastor Emeritus, and was called home to glory the following year.
A New Edifice and a Mortgage Burned Early
On January 31, 2003, Metropolitan extended the call to Reverend Dr. Damone Paul Johnson, a Fisk University and Colgate-Rochester Divinity School graduate who became the church's fourth pastor. Under Pastor Johnson's leadership, the congregation has grown spiritually and numerically, and a series of new ministries have been launched to reach every stage of life.
In 2007, Pastor Johnson led the church into Vision 65, a capital stewardship campaign for a new worship and ministry edifice on Second Street. In September 2022, the congregation held a mortgage burning service to celebrate the retirement of a multi-million dollar mortgage, fifteen years ahead of schedule. The new edifice now facilitates the ministry needs of a thriving congregation and the surrounding community.
Pastor Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Philosophy with a minor in Music from Fisk University in Nashville, a Master of Divinity from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, and, in May 2007, a Doctor of Ministry with a concentration in Pastoral Preaching from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, where he received the distinguished Dr. H. Beecher Hicks Jr. preaching award. He serves as President of the Empire Baptist Missionary Convention Congress of Christian Education, an auxiliary of the Empire Baptist Missionary Convention of New York. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity's Beta Phi Lambda Chapter, a guest lecturer at the University at Albany, and a former adjunct professor at Martin University in Indianapolis. He is the author of A Life Worth Rebuilding, Bonded Love: How God's Love Shines Through Imperfect Relationships, and Love Unlimited. He and his wife, Angela, share a life verse of Romans 8:28.
Sunday Mornings at 105 Second Street
Sunday worship is the heartbeat of the congregation. The main service gathers each Sunday at 10:00 a.m. and is livestreamed on Facebook, with past services archived on the church's YouTube channel so members and friends near and far can keep up. Visitors regularly describe the warm, Spirit-filled atmosphere and the way members greet newcomers as if they were old friends. One recent first-time guest wrote that "members of the church approached me greeting and welcoming me like they know me forever."
Inside the worship center, the Metropolitan Mass Choir, the Praise Team, and the Dance and Mime Ministry lead the congregation in a blended gospel and traditional worship style that draws on the rich heritage of Black Baptist church music. A separate Youth Church gathers children ages five and up in the chapel at 10:00 a.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of each month for a "real and relevant Word." The main service typically runs through the early afternoon, with a Casual Sunday and Metro Walk occasionally inviting the congregation to fellowship outdoors together.
The church calendar weaves the rhythms of the Christian year together with cultural celebrations: Palm Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Ethnic Awareness Sunday, Graduation and Scholarship Sunday, Metro Super Sunday, and College and Greek Weekend.
Worship and the Arts
The Worship and Arts Ministries serve to set an atmosphere of worship in every corporate gathering of the family of faith. The Metropolitan Mass Choir anchors congregational singing, while the Praise Team leads more contemporary selections. The Metro Stars and Drake Chorus welcomes children and youth ages four through seventeen, and the Dance and Mime Ministry adds movement and visual worship to services and special programs. Together, these ministries shape a worship experience that has been described as a praising church with something for everyone, where "God definitely stops by 105 Second Street."
Children, Youth, and Young Adults
Metropolitan's Youth and Young Adult Ministries reach young people from birth through age thirty-five through a strategy called REACH, designed to relate to youth and young adults where they are, show them God's love, and impact them for the better. Children ages five and up join Youth Church in the chapel on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, while older students participate in the EPIC Summer Sizzler Conference and the church's long-running summer camp.
The Annual Youth Summer Camp, now in its sixteenth year, runs for six weeks each summer with weekly rotations in literacy, STEM, arts, and recreation. The church partners with Active.com for online registration and offers both an Early Bird Discount and a Sibling Discount to keep the camp accessible to families.
Greek-letter organizations and college students are honored each year during College and Greek Weekend, which kicks off with Friday Fellowship at APEX Entertainment at Crossgates Mall and continues with the Power Table Minority Professionals Brunch and Sunday worship with a College and Greek Day emphasis.
The Men's Movement and Women's INC
The Men's Movement at Metropolitan is designed to enlist and coordinate the manpower of the local congregation, cultivate the Christian life of laymen through study, worship, fellowship, and service, draw un-churched men into fellowship, and inspire men to support the total program of the church in the local congregation and the community. Activities include the Cut and Care men's wellness experience and periodic teaching gatherings.
Women's INC, Women in the Name of Christ, exists to encourage women, build relationships, and glorify God through prayer, Bible study, ministry missions, and social events. The ministry equips and encourages women to evangelize the surrounding communities and bring others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Women's INC sponsors gatherings such as Breathe and Bloom, a women's wellness experience held in partnership with the Health and Wellness Ministry.
Caring and Support Ministries
Several ministries nurture the spiritual, emotional, and practical well-being of the church family and its neighbors. The Marriage Ministry hosts events such as a Valentine's dinner and a Virtual Date Night and Couples Bingo to strengthen couples at every stage of life. The Health and Wellness Ministry partners with the Blueprint for Wellness Screening, which offers a comprehensive health panel with biometric measurements and risk screenings for heart disease, diabetes, and thyroid issues free of charge and open to the public.
The Edna L. Hamilton Missions Ministry extends the church's outreach beyond Albany, and Progressive 500 supports the church's continued growth and connection among its membership.
Service and Operations
A network of volunteer ministries keeps the church running smoothly each week. The Host and Hostess Ministry welcomes members and guests. The Viola Bonds Ushers Ministry assists with seating and the flow of worship. The Security Ministry provides a safe environment, and the Technology and Audio/Visual Ministry bridges media and ministry, using information technology to enhance the winning of souls and the development of Christian disciples. Worship livestreaming, online giving, and Realm-based member services all flow through these teams.
Christian Education and Scholarship
The Christian Education Ministry is committed to nurturing a deep and growing understanding of God's Word across all ages and stages of faith. Through structured study, engaging dialogue, and foundational support, the ministry equips the church family to root their identity in Christ and apply biblical truth in their homes, careers, and community. Metro U is a periodic Wednesday teaching series that draws the congregation deeper into study between Sundays.
The Clovis A. Drake Scholarship Ministry recognizes graduating high school seniors and college students each year on Graduation and Scholarship Sunday. The scholarship ministry, along with the church's annual observance of the forty-day Daniel Fast beginning on Ash Wednesday, gives shape to a year of discipleship that is rooted both in Scripture and in the lived experience of the congregation.
Reaching Outward: Ministry to the Community
Metropolitan's outreach to its Albany neighbors runs through several regular channels. The Food Pantry is open on the second Saturday and fourth Tuesday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Food is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, and all are welcome. The food pantry is one of the most visible expressions of the church's ongoing commitment to the surrounding neighborhood.
Each summer, the church distributes hundreds of backpacks filled with school supplies through the Back-to-School Bash. Expectant and new mothers in the community are blessed at Mothers to Bee, a community baby shower that supports mothers with diapers, baby wipes, infant formula, and fellowship. Vacation Bible School welcomes children, teens, young adults, and adults to grow together in God's Word over a week of evening classes preceded by a family dinner. The Shepherds Care Ministry Brunch brings together senior adults for fellowship and care.
For members and friends who want to invest in the church's mission, online giving and text-to-give options are available. The congregation's giving affirmation summarizes its theology of generosity: "We give because we are blessed and we are blessed because we give, therefore we are never without."
What We Believe
Metropolitan's Articles of Faith lay out a traditional Baptist confession rooted in historic Christian orthodoxy. The church believes the Holy Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions are tried. It confesses one living and true God, infinite and eternal, in whom three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are equal in every divine perfection, executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
The congregation teaches that humanity, created in holiness, fell by voluntary transgression and is now in need of salvation. Salvation is wholly by grace, through the mediatorial work of the Son of God, by faith in the Redeemer's blood. Justification, regeneration, sanctification, repentance, faith, and the perseverance of the saints are central to the church's proclamation of the Gospel. Election is received as a most glorious display of God's sovereign goodness.
Baptism is understood as the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a prerequisite to church membership and to the Lord's Supper. The church practices the ordinances of Christ, is governed by His laws, and recognizes as its scriptural officers bishops or pastors and deacons, whose qualifications are defined in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. The first day of the week is observed as the Christian Sabbath, set apart for worship, the means of grace, and the rest that remains for the people of God.
The Church Covenant
Members of Metropolitan enter into a written covenant that has shaped the congregation since its founding. They promise, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love, to strive for the advancement of the church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort, and to promote its prosperity and spirituality. They engage to maintain family and secret devotions, to religiously educate their children, to seek the salvation of their kindred and acquaintances, to be just in their dealings, and to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage.
The covenant calls members to watch over one another in brotherly love, to remember each other in prayer, to aid each other in sickness and distress, to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech, to be slow to take offense, and always ready for reconciliation. Members who remove from Albany are encouraged to unite with another church where they can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's Word.
After more than eighty years of ministry on Second Street, Metropolitan New Testament Mission Baptist Church continues to reach upward to God, inward in spiritual growth, and outward in love and service to the community, a Light on the Hill for Albany and beyond.