A Frayser church has been broken into eight separate times over the past eight weeks, with thieves stripping copper from air-conditioning units, hauling off televisions, and busting through windows and doors. Mount Zion Baptist Church has kept holding services anyway, even after losing its AC to the repeated break-ins.
Senior pastor Rev. Roosevelt Jackson says the first burglary struck in September, and as of Thursday, no arrests had been made, according to WREG. “They stole copper from HVAC systems, ruining the air conditioning units,” Jackson said, describing a pattern of theft and vandalism that has hit the church at 1621 Dellwood Avenue again and again since the end of summer.
The damage goes well beyond stolen metal. Thieves also made off with televisions and smashed windows and doors during the string of break-ins, per the same WREG report. The congregation has kept showing up for worship anyway, holding services even without functioning air conditioning.
Thieves Returned Again and Again for Copper and Electronics
The burglars' first move, according to Fox13 Memphis, was climbing into the church ceiling to rip copper out of the HVAC systems — a tactic that ultimately destroyed four separate units and ran up thousands of dollars in damage. The outlet reports the same church, located in the 1600 block of Dellwood Avenue in Frayser, was hit repeatedly after that initial break-in, with thieves coming back multiple times to grab televisions and even a microwave.
With the HVAC units wrecked, the congregation has had to worship in conditions that reached nearly 90 degrees inside the building, the outlet notes. Jackson has been seeking donations to cover repairs and bolster security at the church, though no fundraiser total or confirmed link was available at the time of reporting.
A Pattern Seen Elsewhere in Memphis
Mount Zion is not the only Memphis church to find itself targeted repeatedly. WREG previously reported that thieves visited Brinkley Heights Baptist Church in the Nutbush area 20 times over a single 13-hour stretch between 1 p.m. on June 19 and 2 a.m. the next morning, stealing one car and breaking into several others parked on the lot. Investigators said those suspects got onto the property by jumping a fence.
Burglaries Down Citywide, but Not for This Congregation
The repeated hits on Mount Zion come even as burglary numbers have been falling across Memphis. The Memphis Police Department reported that burglaries dropped 25% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, part of an overall 36% year-to-date decline in major crime representing more than 4,000 fewer offenses than the same stretch in 2025. MPD Chief C.J. Davis said at the time that all seven major crime categories tracked by the department had seen reductions.
Those citywide numbers offer little comfort to a congregation that has been targeted eight separate times since September. For now, Mount Zion Baptist Church continues to hold services while its pastor works to raise money for repairs and stronger security, with no arrests yet announced in connection with any of the break-ins.
