Tsina Yilma owns a coffee shop in downtown Tucker. He’s also a pastor of an Ethiopian church.
One day, he mentioned to a customer that his congregation had grown and needed a bigger place to worship. That customer happened to attend First Baptist Church of Lilburn in Gwinnett County, the most diverse enclave in the state.
The customer called someone right away, and the Ethiopian ministry has called the Lilburn church home ever since.
It’s one of 12 “language congregations” the church has embraced with arms wide open.
The pastors of these congregations serve on the First Baptist staff as associate pastors. They and their members enjoy free and full access to the church’s amenities and facilities, as long as classrooms and such aren’t occupied.
“It’s not our place, but it is our place,” Yilma told me. “There is no obligation, nothing. As long as we are serving the Lord, they feel like we are fulfilling our obligations and that is wonderful. I sense that spirit from most of the congregation.”
Across the metropolis, traditional churches of various denominations are opening their doors to ethnic groups. Their purpose, in many cases, stretch beyond physical use of a building, though. The goal is to embrace the people and allow them to worship in their “heart language,” said Joel Harrison, executive director of the Atlanta Metro Baptist Association.
“There are other churches doing similar things,” he said. “We even have some traditional Anglo churches in parts of Atlanta that share buildings with African-American congregations. The concept is, ‘This is your community.’ How can you serve them in the heart language of the people? First Baptist in Lilburn is definitely a leader.”
Peter Hong, the Korean pastor, said he contacted a few “American” churches that wanted to charge $1,200 to $2,000 a month in rent.
“If I had $2,000, I’d use it for mission work,” he told me. “There’s no church like First Baptist Church of Lilburn. We can use their P.A. system, copy machines, paper, water and electricity. They support us 100 percent.”
French is spoken in the Haitian service. The Chinese speak Mandarin. There’s even a sign language group.
The Ethiopian congregation consists of about 50 members, many of whom only understand Amharic, the official language of the country. So services are held in the native tongue.
“We need to seek unity and that’s the message of the Gospel,” the Ethiopian pastor said. “Seeking and pursuing unity requires effort and intentionality. First Baptist wants to serve us and they ask can we do anything better. Such a spirit really helps our ministry.”
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