The Reverend Dr. Cleopatrick Lacy
Dr. Cleopatrick Lacy is a native of Bladenboro, North Carolina. He is the son of the late Mrs. Annie Julia Ruffin Lacy, and the late Mr. Benjamin Lacy, Jr.. A committed husband and father, Dr. Lacy is married to Portia H. Lacy of Richmond, Virginia. He has two adult children, Patrice N. Lacy Smith and Patrick B.W. Lacy, a son-in-law, Jeremy Smith, a daughter-in-law, Jamondi Dallas Lacy, and a grandson, Jackson Jeremy Smith. He preached his initial sermon on Sunday, July 30, 1967, and was ordained Sunday, December 29, 1968.
Obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1972, he matriculated at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, Georgia earning a Master of Divinity from Morehouse School of Religion in 1975. Following his tenure at ITC, he earned a Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio as a Drs. Henry H. Mitchell-Edward L. Wheeler Fellow in 1991 with the Dissertation entitled, “From Sermon to Service: The Role and Impact of Preaching in a Historic African-American Church.”
From 1974 – 1975, Rev. Lacy was interim Pastor of Ben Hill Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia. In 1974, Rev. Lacy was invited to Lusaka, Zambia by the All-Africa Conferences of Churches to serve as a guest of the conference. From 1975 – 1977, he was Co-Pastor of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, Houston, Texas with Dr. William A. Lawson, Senior Pastor. After receiving the call to Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Griffin, Georgia in September 1977, Rev. Lacy established the Rites of Passage Program, in 1998 (An After School Program For Grades K – 5). In 2001-2002, the Zion Educational Programs, Inc. a 501(c) (3) was formed with a Board of Directors to give guidance to the Rites of Passage Program. Vans were purchased for the transportation ministry. Extensive properties were purchased for building and development. These properties included the Willis Building and Property which was paid off in 1990, and the Kelsey School Property which was paid off in 2002. As part of the ministry complex at Zion, the vision for a legal ministry for poor and indigent people was given by God. Dr. Lacy enacted the vision by providing space for the Georgia Legal Services in 1979. Under his leadership, the church staff, Deacon’s Ministry, and Minister of Music were added! Dr. Lacy celebrated his thirtieth anniversary as Pastor of Mt. Zion on Saturday and Sunday, September 15 -16, 2007, and his thirty-fifth anniversary on Friday, September 14, 2012 and Sunday, September 16, 2012. He observed his fortieth Pastor’s Appreciation on Sunday, September 17, 2017.
Having been given a gift of instruction, Dr. Lacy has served as adjunct faculty at ITC in the area of Homiletics (1990-1995, 1997-1998 and 2004-2010). Since 1987, he has served as a national instructor for the Progressive National Baptist Convention Congress of Christian Education in the areas of Mission Education, Evangelism, and he has preached and lectured for the PNBC Ministers’ Division. He was the first African American to deliver the Baccalaureate Sermon at Griffin High School in 1979.
Dr. Lacy has numerous honors including the 1979 Greater Griffin Area Ministerial Association Minister of The Year, the Ft. Valley University Griffin Alumni Chapter Outstanding Community Leadership (1981), National Negro and Professional Women’s Club Academic Achievement and Community Service Award (1991), The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Community Service Award in 1991 and 2005 (Xi Beta Omega Chapter), and The James C. Bellamy Scholarship Board Humanitarian Services Award (1993). In 2000, Dr. Lacy served as Grand Marshall for Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade in Griffin. On June 14, 2002, he served as the First Annual Banquet Speaker for the Fayetteville Cumberland Alumni Chapter of Shaw University in Fayetteville, North Carolina and received the key to the city. He received the 2009 Morehouse School of Religion’s Benjamin Elijah Mays Leadership Award. In 2012, Dr. Lacy was awarded God’s Trombone Award from Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s 13th Annual Creating Opportunity Conference.
He holds membership in the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the American Baptist Churches, USA and the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. Presently, he is a Board Member of the WellStar Griffin Spalding Regional Hospital, UOA (Urban Outreach Association), a member of Men of Action of Griffin, and former President of the New Era Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia, Inc. (2007- 2010). He is a strong advocate of home and global missions, and the preaching of God’s Word.
He was honored as Pastor Emeritus of the Mount Zion Baptist Church Griffin, GA on November 17, 2024. Additionally, he was presented the Rev. Olden Hixson Stinson Presidential Award November 12, 2025 by the New Era Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia, Inc.