Our Pastor
Pastor O’Hara C. Black is the Senior Pastor/Teacher of the Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church of Orlando, Florida. He leads a fulltime staff of seven in serving a growing church of over 1000 active members. Mt. Pleasant reaches a cross section of Central Florida through various ministries to the whole man. He and his wife, the former Stephanie V. Moffett of Columbus, Georgia have one son Harrison Delano born on July 2, 2006 and one daughter Harmanie Denise born October 24, 2008. Pastor Black holds a Bachelors Degree from Florida A & M University and a Masters Degree from Bethany Theological Seminary.
Pastor Black is the son of Pastor O’Harold and Mrs. Essie Black and a native of Havana, Florida. He was licensed to preach in 1992, ordained in 1995, and has been pastoring for over 12 years.
He has been Senior Pastor/Teacher of Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church of Orlando, Florida since November 6, 2005. Since his arrival, Pastor Black has guided the Mt. Pleasant Church to new levels of relevance and effectiveness in the Lord. He has led the Mt. Pleasant Church in the enhancement of the Family Bible Study and the completion of numerous capital improvement projects to enhance the infrastructure and aesthetics of the church complex. He also reorganized the Youth Ministry into numerous sub-ministries, renaming it the Y.E.S. Ministries and led in the calling of a fulltime Youth/Assistant Pastor. But most of all, Pastor Black constantly promotes an exciting worship environment and effectively places an emphasis on explaining and systematically teaching the Word of God.
Pastor Black ministers faithfully to the Mt. Pleasant church and is known for his community involvement. He has served as guest minister for the Orlando City Commission, the Orange County Commission and the Florida House of Representatives in Tallahassee, FL. Pastor Black is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the Orange County Branch of the NAACP and the African American Council of Christian Clergy (AACCC). He is also very active in the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. and serves as the Director of the Young Pastor’s/Minister’s Division and Late Night Services Coordinator of the Progressive Missionary and Educational Baptist Convention of Florida. He has preached at all levels of the convention, including having preached for the National Convention in September 2007. During his ministry, Pastor Black has received numerous awards and recognitions; among them being a Good Citizenship Award from the Orlando Police Department, where he serves as a volunteer chaplain, for his help in calming counter protesters during a Neo-Nazi rally.
Pastor Black is an anointed preacher and teacher. He is highly sought after to preach and teach God’s word at revivals, workshops, conferences, etc. and has ministered all over the country and in Haiti, during a 1999 mission trip. Pastor Black is dedicated to continuing his ministry in the “Spirit of Excellence” that God requires.