The southern Alabama town of Benton may only have a population of 49 but God is still moving in a mighty way. On May 6, Benton Baptist Church, a majority white congregation, partnered with Cutting Edge Ministry, a majority black congregation, for a joint service and fellowship lunch.
“Eleven o’clock on Sunday morning can be the most segregated time. … We wanted to have a mixed service where mixed services are hard to find,” said Lee Tate, pastor of Benton Baptist, in Selma Baptist Association.
Frank Boggan, pastor of Cutting Edge Ministry, said the service was a step to forgetting the past and moving into the future. According to Tate, racism can become an acceptable sin to many people.
“When you’re unrepentant of it, it stops the Lord’s work,” he said.
The service with Cutting Edge Ministry was a way to face racism head-on for his church and the community. Boggan said the fellowship filled people physically and spiritually.
It was a time of delicious food and community.
“We sat among each other, shook hands and hugged,” Tate said. “It was wonderful to get together and meet people we didn’t know.”
The pastors of both Benton Baptist and Cutting Edge are overwhelmed by their experiences that Sunday.
It was an extravagant event, Boggan said. “It was a blessing to see all of us come together as one and fellowship … to be as one people because there’s only one God.”
Exceeded expectations
Tate is amazed at what can happen when people break out of their normal routines.
“I’m still processing it. It was that good,” Tate said. “We had really high expectations and they were all exceeded. I speak for my congregation. We expected God to do something incredible and we sold Him short.”
Tate and Boggan hope the service demonstrated the importance of love, not just among fellow Christians, but among all the world.
“It’s important to love one another and pray for one another,” Boggan said. “God is love and we should love others like God has loved us.”
More than 150 people came together at Benton Baptist for the service and the pastors know this gathering is just the beginning.
“We will just continue to pray and believe in God for the best,” Boggan said.
He is confident that change is coming and Tate wants to stand alongside him and see how God will change Benton, Alabama, the United States and the world.
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