Tearing Down Racial Walls

By Hattie Brown

Outreach ministry with River of Life Ministries, Laurinburg, N.C.

Racism and denominationalism have always been a part of my community.  One need only meander through my small southern hometown of Laurinburg on a sunny, yet segregated, Sunday morning and find that, unfortunately, in some ways, the culture has not changed from the turbulent days of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.  At the very least, the traditions have not changed enough.  Therefore, after my call to the ministry, God gave me a burden to see these walls of division torn down in my city.  God called me out of an exclusively African-American church that I had attended all my life into a non-denominational, multi-racial fellowship, River of Life Ministries, where the pastors are Caucasian, and I am African-American.

I soon realized that in order for the community to come together, the church must come together.  In the words of Dr. Marva Mitchell, it truly does “take a church to raise a village.”  We must make a concerted effort to get involved with one another, despite the racial, denominational, or social differences that divide us.  This is not simply some people’s “calling” or the special interest of some individuals, nor is division a problem only in the American South.  Every believer has the responsibility of seeking social and racial unity as well as the unity of the church at large.  We are all called to the “ministry of reconciliation” (II Cor. 5:18, NKJV).  In addition, we have not done our job as leaders if we do not strive diligently for unity. 

First, we must seek racial unity.  In our area, two ministerial groups have traditionally been in existence.  The Ministerial Alliance serves the African –American churches, while the Ministerial Association operates for the Caucasian assemblies.  I joined the Ministerial Alliance, hoping to find ways to bring all the churches-- African-American and Caucasian- together.  God has used me as a bridge between these groups, and I believe He will continue to work through me as well as River of Life Ministries.

Since my involvement, the churches have started to come together across color boundaries.  Recently on May 14, the Alliance and the Association met and agreed that separate groups of ministers desperately needed to be disbanded, and a new united assembly to serve all people should be established for the sake of our community. I explained that, my church, River of Life, is an example of how racial unity can and is working. As a result of this meeting, ministers representing both groups agreed to sponsor a Crusade in a local park during Memorial Day weekend.  In addition, members committed themselves to plan jointly the observance for Martin Luther King’s Birthday as a beginning of racial reconciliation.

The Crusade in the Park with a “Taking it to the Streets” theme was indeed a positive step in achieving racial unity.  I contributed to the Evangelism Committee by helping plan the speakers and program.  We also invited choirs as well as mime and dance teams from area churches.  The attendance was multi-racial, and we experienced a wonderful time of fellowship afterwards with plans to make this an annual event.  Most importantly, souls were saved, so we know that the Lord’s presence was with us and that He found pleasure in the harmony demonstrated at this event.

The recent outdoor crusade also served as a step in uniting the various denominations, and God is calling us to abandon division within Christ’s body as well. For example, we have established interracial monthly meetings at various churches, with a productive meeting held at River of Life in November of 2004.  We also hosted Holy Week services for all county churches there in 2004 as well as the National Day of Prayer in May 2004.  During 2005, I served as a member of the Scotland County National Day of Prayer Committee, with members of many races and denominations, and we celebrated with day and evening services on May 5.  These prayer meetings and other intercessory gatherings have targeted the spirit of racism as a stronghold to be broken off of our town, community, and region.  We believe that intercessory prayer remains the key to both racial and denominational unity.  

God is moving in our area, yet there is still more work to be done, especially in our community at large.  The sins of racial pride and denominational factions bring judgment.  Our county, in particular, has suffered great economic struggles, significant job losses, industry closings, increased crime, and exorbitant tax rates.  Jesus explained that, “if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand” (Mark 3:24, NKJV).  Therefore, we know that we must continue to devote ourselves to prayer and create opportunities to celebrate the beauty of our differences and uniqueness.  We know that Christ’s body has many parts and that each part has its essential function, and so we are called to acknowledge and appreciate its various members.

God is speaking to all of His people to come together, in order to conquer the walls of pride, fear, prejudice, religious tradition, and hypocrisy that the church has erected over the years.  We have one Lord, which is Jesus Christ, and we have a common cause, which is the Great Commission.  Never has its been more important for the church to unite and demonstrate the love of Christ.  We cannot afford to hide behind the walls of the church, while our villages are decaying.  We must do as Jesus did and seek those who are lost and dying and restore them to spiritual, physical, and emotional health.