Revive — don’t abandon small churches

My home church, Bethel Baptist Church, located on the outskirts of Columbus, (Midland, Ga.), always observed Thanksgiving the Wednesday before with a home-cooked pot-luck supper. No, Kentucky Fried Chicken for these women.

I remember so well the Wednesday that fell after the Friday on which President John Kennedy was assassinated. Each year the President issues a proclamation, but most go unnoticed. Yet, due to the tragic event in Dallas Texas, it was important to read the proclamation which had been prepared before that fateful Friday.

Our pastor read in part these words from President Kennedy: “Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and in Massachusetts, far from home in a lonely wilderness, set aside a time of thanksgiving. On the appointed day, they gave reverent thanks for their safety, for the health of their children, for the fertility of their fields, for the love which bound them together and for the faith which united them with their God.”

When Kennedy issued the proclamation, the population of the U.S. had almost reached 200 million. Now, as the news reported recently, we have passed the 300 million mark.

Our country has grown in about every which way possible. But the very thing that Kennedy noted that unites us has not grown: faith. Religion has grown. Faith has declined. Religion has never bound a people together. We as American people are hurting for a faith that binds us. Government, and its inherent energy of politics, has not and will not bring us together. It divides more than anything.

Isn’t it interesting that the time we have been most united in recent decades was Sept. 11, 2001, and isn’t it more interesting that that which united us was our faith in God?

I recently heard news from my home church. Like many churches that have meant so much to so many of us, it’s struggling to survive – like pay the power bill, water bill, keep the grass cut, and so on. It’s the oldest church among Columbus Baptist churches, founded in 1828. Its contribution to the spiritual and moral well being of Columbus and the Kingdom of God can’t be calculated.

Its pastor and wife, The Rev. Ralph Horne and Marcy, young in the ministry, are trying to hold things together, something that superman couldn’t do. But God can.

This past Sunday Pastor Horne preached a message on the power of joy in the midst of deprivation and suffering. All around Columbus are mega churches and other churches that do very well – sending choirs to see the fall foliage, airing their services on television and radio, and even providing members with a tasty meal on Wednesday nights at a discount price.

But no one seems to care for the church that lit the fire for many churches to begin, was there to provide a place for the association to gather, and was a statement to the community that Bethel would always be there. Bethel modeled for the Columbus community that the pastoral door didn’t need to a revolving one, receiving the ministry of The Rev. C.C. Willis for 50 years.

Listen, the strength of America cannot be found in the mega churches and large television ministries. The strength of America, even as Alexis de Tocqueville observed many years ago can be found in the smaller houses of worship. We must not abandon our small churches for the sake of churches that can offer every variety of activity, program, ministry, etc.

Let me enlist you to write Rev. Horne and encourage him to stay at the helm. Only 10 people are coming Sundays. You may even make a donation to Bethel Baptist Church and encourage them not to give up. God has always used a small number to get his job done: their address is 7230 Flat Rock Road, Midland, GA, 31820. It’s Thanksgiving. Do something to show you are thankful.