While missions trips have not been a focus for First Baptist Church, Vincent, in the past, an experience during the summer of 2002 changed that perspective.
Only the second missions trip organized by the church in 150 years, church members of all ages traveled to Chicago as part of national Woman’s Missionary Union’s (WMU) FamilyFEST. (See related story, page 9.)
“Our church has always been a very loving church in that we do a great job of caring for people who are inside our community regardless of whether or not they are members of our church,” said Lon Cullen, pastor of First Baptist, Vincent.
“But I think these missions trips have forced us outside the walls of our church and definitely the walls of our community to be more open to being obedient to the command of Jesus to go into all nations and teach all people.”
After working in a temporary housing facility for abused women and children on a missions trip in Jackson, Tenn., in 2001, Jean Cullen, pastor’s wife and minister of youth and families, saw the need for more eye-opening experiences within the congregation.
So she organized a FamilyFEST trip for the church to the Englewood area of South Chicago, one of the roughest areas in the city according to Jean Cullen.
“A lot of people in the church hadn’t had an inner-city experience,” she said.
“As some of the people said, you see it on the news and you know it exists on some level, but to actually experience it is a totally different thing.”
Nearly 30 First Baptist, Vincent, volunteers chose to participate in two different tracks of ministry that were arranged by the WMU.
Some participants worked in nursing homes, performing puppet shows and leading the residents in singing and worship.
Others chose to work with Holy Angels Baptist Church, a very small storefront church in “hard-core” Chicago, assisting in various capacities including cleaning and sorting clothes.
“The pastor and his wife have been there something like 40 years,” Jean Cullen said. “They’ve really dedicated their lives to this.”
After helping in the church, the group walked the streets, met people and invited them to the block party that they were holding the next day. At the party, volunteers prepared food, played games, dressed as clowns and performed puppet shows for residents of the community.
“We were able to work with prostitutes, drug addicts, children that were for all practical means homeless,” Lon Cullen added.
“As with all missions experiences you think you take away more than you give, but we worked on being incarnational in our ministry, showing people love, listening to them, supporting them and meeting them,” said Jean Cullen. “We handed out tracts and tried to share the gospel when we had the opportunity.”
Chicago FamilyFEST has had a powerful impact on many members of First Baptist, Vincent. Since the missions trip, some volunteers have continued to work with Holy Angels Church, sending school supplies, food and clothing to them. According to Jean Cullen, the church is considering partnering with Holy Angels Church and returning to Chicago for more missions work.
“It has really opened their eyes to the level and degree of need,” she said. “It has really created a love for missions and an understanding of how when we make a decision to follow Christ the call is to go and serve as well. That is something that people are starting to experience and become part of their daily walk.”
In addition, the trip has caused a large amount of First Baptist, Vincent, members to look into their own communities for missions opportunities.
“That was very eye-opening and very motivating to do more here because where we are located is the poorer side of Shelby County,” said Lon Cullen. “There are some very poor pockets around here.”
Overall, the volunteers learned to step outside their comfort zones and work with people unlike themselves both inside and outside of their congregation.
“We partnered with a black church and that was really good for us,” he said. “It’s a reminder that … whether one’s white or black, a southerner or a Yankee, we are all working together for the same end goal to reach people.
“It’s also motivated the older members of our congregation to work together with the younger as a team side by side,” Lon Cullen said. “I think that they’ve gotten to know each other better and to love each other and trust each other more.”
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