Rooted in Faith.
Growing in Love.
Living with Purpose.
Mountain of Pleasantness Baptist Church, formerly known as Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, is a vibrant and welcoming faith community in Albany, New York. For generations, we’ve stood as a place of worship, refuge, and spiritual growth — committed to preaching God’s Word and living out His love.
We are a Bible-centered, Christ-focused church family devoted to honoring God through worship, teaching, service, and fellowship. Our mission is simple: to glorify God by building lives of faith, hope, and compassion — impacting our community and the world with the message of Jesus Christ.
Reverend Christopher J. Carter, Sr., Pastor
As Pastor of the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church of Albany, Reverend Christopher J. Carter, Sr., provides visionary, spiritual leadership and shepherds the congregation with wisdom, grace and compassion. His passion for biblical truth and community outreach is evident in every sermon, initiative, and interaction. Pastor Carter leads with a deep commitment to prayer, discipleship, and transformative power.
Pastor Carter was raised in ministry, built on Jesus the Christ our Savor with a great love for family. His great-great-grandfather, Reverend John Raphael, ministered at True Vine Baptist Church in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, in the 1800s. His great-grandfather, Reverend Paul Walker Raphael, was Pastor of the Second Baptist Church 6th District in New Orleans, President of the First District Baptist Association, and one of the original organizers of the Colored Baptist Seminary, later becoming Union Baptist Seminary. But it was the guidance of his uncle, godfather and Pastor, Reverend John C. Raphael, Jr. of the New Hope Baptist Church, New Orleans, Louisiana, which inspired Pastor Carter to continue to serve diligently in ministry for more than 20 years.
It is Pastor Carter’s God-given privilege, vision, and mission to faithfully and diligently preach, teach, counsel, funeralize, support, provide guidance and leadership, and represent Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in various venues and capacities, both virtually and in person, all in accordance with God’s immutable word. As a former police officer with the New Orleans Police Department, Pastor Carter’s ministry is shaped in rich experiences along with a deep commitment to God’s people, particularly young people. In the climate in which we currently live, Pastor Carter is passionate about leading all people to grow in the knowledge and will of Jesus Christ.
A true family man, Pastor Carter often shares that his primary calling is to his family and his children, for his home life is the first ministry God entrusted to him. Along with the love and support of his parents, Pastor Carter is a father to four individual blessings from God: Destiny, Christopher, Jr., Christee and Christian.
Pastor Carter continues to graciously and humbly answer the call of God as He illuminates the path He has ordained for him.