![]() We made sure to
arrive earlier than the scheduled service start time, which we obtained from
their website. First impression, as we sat in the parking lot, was that there
was a greeter at the door who was
dressed very casually. We then observed other parrishoners arriving and they
were also casually dressed. As I was wearing a suit, I took into account what the
other Ambassadors suggested which was to shed the jacket. This coincides with our
intention to blend and adapt and not draw any more unnecessary attention to
ourselves other than that of being first-time visitors. After all, as
Ambassadors , we mean to be the best representatives that we can be of our Lord
and savior Jesus Christ. Upon entering the
vestibule/lobby we observed that, of the members that we saw, it was about 95%
white, at the moment, all of the participating KUMN Ambassadors were black. To
act as if this is an insignificant factor would be doing an injustice to the descriptive of our
mission. As many have observed, one of the most segregated times of the week in
America is Sunday morning. This dilemma could very well be a significant factor
to resolving the very glaring problem of race relations in not only the church,
but our society as a whole. After all, one of the highest priorities for those
addressing the ills of society is trying to understand why these violent and deadly flare-ups are occurring, where understanding is the keyword. Overall, we were
given a very warm and genuine reception by everyone we encountered. Pastor
Stout met us as we entered the sanctuary with a very warm and personable way.
It gave us all a sense of being at ease. He introduced himself to our junior
Ambassadors who are teens, and noted how he would have introduced them to their
youth Pastor but, as Vacation Bible School had just ended, he and the other
youth were on a mission trip to Detroit to help participate in rehabilitating
and revitalizing a Detroit neighborhood. This gave us the impression of the
extent of outreach that was occurring there. The service
consisted of a participatory worship which was supported by
audio-visual technology which made it
easy to follow along and participate. There was also a segment which included
the children who'd participated in the VBS program which just ended with about
15 to 20 elementary age children participating accompanied by audio-visual
effects. The message preached
was a part of a series on the Judges from the book of the same name. This
week's focus was on Gideon found in the 6th and 7th chapters of the book of Judges . Points of significance gathered from the text were,
concerning faith: have it, act on it, thrive in it, and remain true to it. Ultimately,
in contrast to how when Gideon died, the children of Israel forgot GOD, then
failed to serve HIM, established the lesson that we today must remember to pass
on our faith to younger generations -- a very poignant message which addresses
the problems we now face today in our society. All in all, from
this Flash Fellowship excursion, we found this church to be extremely welcoming
and warm. Therefore, as this will be the aim of each venture, if you like a
warm, casual, family-oriented, Christ -centered environment to worship you will really like 12th Street
Baptist Church. |