January 1, 2001

Nation's capital offers diverse
opportunities for Baptist witness
___WASHINGTON, D.C.--The nation's capital is a different kind of place. It is neither North or South, East nor West. It is a blending--politically and culturally.
___"There is kind of a blending, a pluralism that does not exist in other places," explained Duncan McIntosh, director of church health/education for the District of Columbia Baptist Convention.
___"It is like no place I've ever been to," said David Hardin, an intern from West Virginia. "It's a little bit of everything all mixed together."
___Baptist work in Washington reflects the variety.
___"We are a very, very diverse convention," said Gloria Grogan, director of Baptist Women/ special ministries, "and yet our diversity is our strength."
___Robert Cochran, director of evangelism for the D.C. convention, noted another aspect of the convention's openness to diversity. "We were started before the Southern Baptist Convention," he said.
___Today, about 10 percent of Baptist churches in the D.C. convention send their missions money solely to the SBC, while another 10 percent send it only to the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. Most of the rest divide it equally.
___"No Baptist will be denied the opportunity to work in the nation's capital," Cochran said.
___And there is a lot of work to do.
___People in Washington "really don't care if you go to church or not," said David Lohff, pastor of Forest Heights Baptist Church. "It's not a cultural expectation."
___People "care deeply about being spiritual," about dealing with their "inner self," he said. But "they have either dismissed Christianity outright or had negative experiences."
___In that environment, Virgie Martinez has found Christian women who are "enthusiastic in sharing the gospel. They're seeking creative ways" to communicate the message.
___Martinez, a member of Agape Baptist Church, is working with Woman's Missionary Union to translate "Heart Call" materials. "My vision is to reach out and train women," she said. "We need prayers to empower us to really do the Great Commission as God has commanded us to."
___Jean St-Ulme has found another group that is responsive to the gospel--Haitians. He is pastor of Eglise Baptiste du Calvaire. Worship attendance has climbed to above 450, but the church is committed to reaching out to 45,000 Haitians living in the area.
___And while that ministry is well on its way, Tony Brown is in the early stages of a different kind of ministry. He is pastor of Metropolitan Outreach Ministry, which is reaching out to most needy people in the community.
___"God has a real call on my life to make a difference in that area," Brown said. "I'm determined I'm going to be out there where they need me."

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