Globally minded church worshiping on Rabbittown Road

The first thing you notice about David Cofield is his warm smile, and these days he has plenty to smile about.
   
For nearly 10 years, Cofield has served as pastor of North Glencoe Baptist Church in Etowah Association. The church is located at 411 Rabbittown Road in Glencoe.
   
For six years the church had two Sunday morning services. Recent renovations allow the family life center to become a worship center on Sunday with a capacity of more than 500. Major improvements have also been made in the nursery and office areas.
   
This Sunday, July 30, is a big day for North Glencoe. Members will dedicate the new worship center, which it started using Mother’s Day.
   
The church will also call attention to the ministry of the state Baptist paper, since July 30 is being celebrated across the state as “Read The Alabama Baptist Day.”
   
Beginning last fall, North Glencoe started sending the paper to every family in the church. It was then the church began using The Alabama Baptist’s local edition service to deliver its newsletter.
   
Cofield said, “The cost ($35 per use) is great!” North Glencoe used the service every other week until recently, when the church went weekly to keep up-to-date with all of its summer missions activities.
   
Cofield said publishing weekly has been “very helpful” this summer. He noted members also benefit by receiving the newsletter of Etowah Association, which is included in the paper each week.
   
“Missions is very important to our church,” Cofield said.
   
He added 17 or 18 members will go on missions trips this summer in Nebraska, Missouri, Honduras, Venezuela and South Africa, three of them lasting four to six weeks. The church pays a portion of the expenses for each person.
   
“From the first of May until the middle of August, the church will have had someone on a special missions trip almost every day,” Cofield said. “I think that speaks a lot about this congregation.”
   
He said the church, which averages 375-400 in worship attendance, is now out of debt, and contributions are currently about $20,000 above budget needs.
   
Cofield noted that the Southern Baptist International Mission Board (IMB) recently designated North Glencoe as a Global Priority Church. In February, North Glencoe “adopted” an unreached people group through the IMB.
   
Cofield was one of 25 pastors who participated in a missions informational trip last fall. The church’s assigned group — the Turkmens of Turkmenistan —  caught him completely by surprise.
   
“At first I thought it was a joke. I had never heard of the place,” Cofield said. “But it has been a tremendous experience,” he added.
   
“According to one report, it is the 15th most persecuted country in the world (for Christians),” he said, adding all Southern Baptist workers were forced to leave Turkmenistan this year. The country has an estimated 500-700 Christians among a population of 4.3 million.
   
“We hope to get tourist visas and do prayer walks there,” Cofield said. He traveled to England and San Diego, Calif., last month to help prioritize needs of the people group.
   
“This church has always been very missions oriented,” Cofield said.
   
Concerning construction spending, “we haven’t added any roofs here,” he noted. The church has reworked available space instead.
   
“This church will be 40 years old next year,” Cofield said. “I believe (enthusiasm for missions) is the harvest of seeds that have been sown at our yearly missions conference and other things with a special missions emphasis here. … We have increased our percentage to the Cooperative Program every year since I have been here,” he said. “Our total income is between $600-650,000. Last year we gave $130,000 to missions work,” Cofield pointed out.
   
“I am proud of our church to have that commitment to go, to give and to pray. I know a church of our size cannot change the whole world, but we can make a difference.”