Two men, one white and one black, began serving as pastors of their respective congregations in 1993. Ever since, they’ve led their churches and communities in crushing barriers between their races.
But make no mistake, the crushing has not been by might or power of man, but through the love of Jesus Christ.
Randy Johnson, Cypress Shores Baptist Church pastor, and Howard Lee Nelson Sr., Mount Ararat Missionary Baptist Church pastor, are continuing to build on a foundation of racial harmony. This foundation was laid when Cypress Shores Baptist laid its own foundation as a church 27 years ago.
Mount Ararat, a church of about 900 members, had its genesis in the Theodore community 108 years ago. The two churches sit just a few miles apart. Mount Ararat is at 5201 Washington Blvd., and Cypress Shores is at 4327 Higgins Road.
In the early 1970s when the churches began conducting services together about once a year, the racial complexion of American society was vastly different from today, though challenges to racial harmony remain in 2002.
“About 1972 or so there were a lot of racial problems at Theodore High School, where many of our kids from here went to school, and we were concerned for their safety,” said William E. Whitfield, founding pastor of Cypress Shores. He served as pastor until 1992.
Racial integration problems existed at many area schools in the 1970s; Theodore High just happened to be where most of the youth and children from the two churches went to school.
So Whitfield, pastors of several other area churches of various denominations and a few lay people gathered for a prayer meeting to address racial issues. One of those early meetings of blacks and whites was at Mount Ararat Church.
“We had a really good prayer meeting there and so we decided to have an interracial service,” Whitfield said. “We would meet at Mount Ararat, and their choir would sing and I would preach. The next year they would meet here at Cypress Shores and our choir would sing, and the Mount Ararat pastor at the time, B. J. Parker, would preach.”
Today, Nelson and Johnson continue the tradition, spurred by their love for Christ and a genuine friendship the two shared before they were pastors at the two churches.
That friendship is obvious from watching the two talk with each other. After the interview ended, they continued to joyfully joke with each other and resolutely plan for the upcoming Feb. 10 Racial Reconciliation Sunday service.
Today, the widely attended service is followed by a fellowship and dinner on the grounds. But it was not always so well attended.
“The first time, only about six people (from Cypress Shores Baptist) showed up. I was a little disappointed, but with the way things were then (1972), we were fortunate to get six,” Whitfield said.
“The next year we met here and probably had about 10–12 people, and Mount Ararat came with about three busloads and a big choir,” Whitfield said.
Parker and Whitfield had a good relationship, sometimes going to a local restaurant to talk over a cup of coffee.
Whitfield would later visit Parker, who became ill and had to be hospitalized.
The comradeship between pastors continued when Johnson became pastor at Cypress Shores in 1993 and Nelson became pastor at Mount Ararat the same year. With this change, the congregations increasingly opened up to racial relationship changes. This was evidenced by greater participation in race relations events and a more genuine fellowship and acceptance of people, regardless of color.
“Probably 10–12 years ago, if a black man had walked into this church, he would have been treated coldly.” I don’t think the race curtain is totally gone, but I don’t think there’s animosity toward anyone who walks into this church, no matter what their race,” Johnson said.
In 2001 the two churches began a new interracial tradition in the form of an interracial men’s prayer breakfast, and on a Sunday other than Racial Reconciliation Sunday, the two pastors fill each other’s pulpits.
“Brother Parker and Brother Whitfield paid the price to get it to where it is today and we’re just expanding on that.” Johnson said.
Johnson said that joint worship today is so much more than two church congregations entering the same building; he said it’s “blended worship,” with whites and blacks singing in a large, blended choir.
“We had a joint choir two years ago for the first time, and it worked out really well,” he said.
Other ideas being discussed are a joint Fourth of July or Labor Day picnic and more men’s ministry involvement. “We’ve gone beyond the worship service. We have fellowship afterward,” Johnson said.
Nelson continued the discussion of fellowship, saying, “Years ago it would have been unheard of for a black man to give a Christian hug to a white woman, but now it’s common,” Nelson said. “This is right here in Tillman’s Corner, Cypress Shores and Theodore, and it’s because of this fellowship that we have,” Nelson said.
“The key is educating our people. We had to break down a lot of barriers, fears and peer pressure from without. Brother Howard and I just tuned all that out. We didn’t care what people thought,” Johnson said.
“My children have been raised to know that all humanity is humanity. The only difference is the color of the skin, but that just houses what’s on the inside,” Johnson said. “When you teach people right from wrong, knowing that the truth will stand, you can’t go wrong,” Nelson said.
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