“Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?”
That’s either a chorus of owls, the theme song from CSI, or a classic rock song (1978) from The Who.
It’s also a great question. So often, we ask, “What do you do?” rather than “Who are you?” Maybe the reason we ask that is because it is so much easier to answer. If we define ourselves by our vocation, we may not be clear on who we really are. And if we are not clear on who we are, how will we be able to communicate it to anyone else?
A few months ago, in response to an intriguing email, I had lunch with Pastor Terry Terry of Friendship Baptist Church, located just outside Boyd, Texas, on County Road 4698. He thought I might be interested in the story of their church.
The earliest records of the church indicate that the land was purchased around 1878 and construction began on the building around 1890. The earliest known photo of the church shows the building across from the cemetery around 1906.
On Pastor Terry’s first Sunday at Friendship in 2009, there were 9 people present—including his family. When the church recently had a dedication service for their newly remodeled sanctuary, there were over 180 people present and the church continues to grow.
This church has everything going against it that church growth “experts” identify as necessary. The building is over 100 years old. It is across the road from a graveyard. It is down a county road in the middle of nowhere and has zero “visibility” as far as drive-by traffic is concerned. It has a mixture of dirt and gravel for a parking lot. And it has the words “Independent” and “Fundamental” on the sign out front.
It also has the words “Friendship” and the phrase “A Place Where Everybody is Somebody.”
When Pastor Terry came to the church, he challenged them to live up to their sign and started showing them how to do it. They don’t complicate things at Friendship. They have Sunday School, Worship Services, and Youth Ministry. Their service is very traditional, with hymns and the King James Bible. Terry told me that he knew there were plenty of churches around who had lots of bells and whistles and the latest and greatest. And he is glad those churches exist and is thankful for their ministry. He just believed that there were enough people around who had a craving for “church like it used to be.” Apparently, he was right.
Pastor Terry encourages his members to get out and build relationships in the community and he leads by example. Most mornings will find him drinking coffee and having breakfast at the same local cafe. Many days include lunch at another (our waitress was a new member of his church). He buys his gas at the same local station so he can make friends with those who work there.
I told him during our lunch that what impresses me most about his—and Friendship’s—story is that they simply know who they are and are not trying to be anyone else.
I’m out of space, but I’m not out of story. More to come next week.
