Encountering Christian Brothers and Sisters

One of the blessings of travelling and visiting other parts of the world is to meet other Christians and to see God at work in other types of churches and environments.

We visited an MB church in Hattiesburg – the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church. It is the church attended by Miss Mattie, the lady whose house we are building and it also happens to be an all black church. If that brings to mind all kinds of things you have heard about some black churches, you are right. We had such an experience. And it was an amazing Sunday morning.

The atmosphere was very informal, extremely lively and loud, and incredibly full of energy. It seemed like everyone was totally involved, whether singing, proclaiming “Amen!” or responding with many supportive verbal comments while the pastor was preaching. There was not a quiet subdued moment; no down time. If people were not responding, the pastor would say things like, “Am I by myself here?” or, "I'm not hearing you." When he was making emphatic points in his sermon, individuals from the group of ministers and deacons who were sitting on stage as well, would stand up and raise their hands. A few members of the worship band would just add a few short notes of music after each point to create emphasis. You would not sleep through that sermon!

And the band! It seemed like they could have been professional musicians! They were 5 young men who could seemingly play anything, anytime, without any music. Some of them seemed to be playing throughout almost the entire service, during the singing time, choir accompaniment, announcements, prayer time and the sermon.

Other interesting aspects of the service were the special welcome for visitors, when we stood and the congregation sang a song for us, as well as the offering time, when everyone parades to the front to present their gifts. Hmmm. Things we should try at SMBC?

Overall we were part of an experience where people were very involved worshipping God and meeting Him. We felt blessed and were warmly received.

We also attended the Temple Baptist Church. It was huge with a multi-thousand seat capacity, a 75 voice choir and a full 25 piece band presenting the music. Everything was smooth and professional. One of the interesting aspects of the service was the baptism of 4 members that happened right at the very beginning of the service, before any welcome or call to worship.

Last Wednesday we had a unique and interesting experience. There are a few other people working on the house we are building. They are a United Methodist Church group from up north which has come to help with a few aspects of the construction, like laying of a few floors. The local U M church that is hosting them invited our MDS group to their church for a supper. It was a remarkable evening. The supper was open to anyone and had been prepared by the

church’s men’s group. They do this regularly. After the meal there is a children’s ministry as well as a youth program taking place. The adults stay. We sang a hymn and people were invited to share prayer requests. It was amazing. Fifteen to twenty people shared needs and concerns. This was out of a group of perhaps 60 people in attendance, which also was amazing as they have perhaps a hundred attending Sunday morning. The pastor spoke on a short section of the Apostles’ Creed, part of a series that was being continued each Wednesday. It was inspiring, and something we could have heard in any MB church.

God is alive and well and is building His church throughout the world. He is leading His faithful followers abroad and afar, and in ways that can often be different from what our typical experience might be. To observe that is refreshing and encouraging.