I love the ethnic diversity of inner cities. In Philadelphia, a group of Baptist state convention executives and editors were treated to a quick glimpse of contemporary Baptist life in the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania-South Jersey (BCPSJ), where Anglos make up just 47 percent of the population, and ethnic churches are leading a wave of new growth.
We were hosted by Nazarene Baptist Church, which is 10 miles north of downtown Philadelphia but took an hour to reach in rush-hour traffic. A buffet meal provided by the members of 13 ethnic congregations included Korean versions of sushi and dumplings, Ukrainian holubtsi (stuffed cabbage) and potato pancakes and Filipino egg rolls and chicken fritadas. A table labeled “African American” contained fried chicken, green beans, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, pulled pork barbecue and potato salad. If that's African-American food, then I was raised on it.
Spiritual nourishment came in the form of music from the Nazarene Baptist choir (African American), the Keystone Baptist praise team (contemporary) and a Ukrainian choir that sang beautifully in Russian.
Duce Branch, aka “The Ambassador” and teaching pastor for Epiphany Fellowship shared a hip-hop version of Jesus' final days, rapping about the cross in a mind-boggling sequence of rhymes. Epiphany senior pastor Eric Mason talked about how Epiphany seeks to reach a generation that was raised in the hip hop culture.
John Cope spoke of how Keystone Baptist Fellowship was started as a “high impact” church that now runs upwards of 800 attenders and how it sponsored the Epiphany Fellowship.
Ben Mishin, pastor of the Lifeway Baptist Church, said his primary goal on arriving from the Ukraine was to “melt into the melting pot of America” before God called him to lead a Ukrainian congregation—one of 12 in the Pennsylvania-South Jersey convention. Many Ukrainians came to the Philadelphia area following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Instead of “melting,” however, they exist as a Russian and Ukrainian-speaking community of more than 30,000. The advent of the Internet made it easier for immigrants to remain in touch with people in their native country, which has encouraged the preservation of language and customs from back home, Mishin said.
Church leaders in the Pennsylvania-South Jersey area face many challenges, ranging from traffic congestion and the high cost of land to the pervasive ethnic diversity and general shortage of evangelicals (just 2 to 3 percent of the population). In spite of the obstacles, Southern Baptists in the area are seeing impressive growth. Stan Smith, director of missions for the convention, said most of the growth has come since 1995. He credited much of the growth to partnerships with Baptist conventions in Florida, Virginia and other states. Membership in churches affiliated with the Pennsylvania-South Jersey convention in 1995 had grown from 20,000 to 23,000 by 2005, he said—but new churches that have started or affiliated since 1995 have added an additional 31,000 members.
Baptisms have also grown steadily, with Anglo churches showing a small but steady increase, ethnic churches doubling and African American baptisms skyrocketing since 1995. The ratio of members-per-baptism varies from 11 to 13 in the BCPSJ churches, he said, compared to about 42 for Southern Baptists as a whole.
During colonial days, Philadelphia, with its promise of religious freedom, was a favored home for early Baptists, who were persecuted in most other colonies, with the exception of Rhode Island. The first Baptist association in America was started in Philadelphia in September of 1707, so this year marks the 300th anniversary of that event.
Today's Baptists affiliated with the BCPSJ, according to executive director David Waltz, are continuing to “labor in the fields God has given us.” The fields are more likely to be covered with concrete than crops these days, and the laborers have their work cut out for them. It is good to see how faithful they have been, and continue to be.