Black, white Baptist churches merge

A few short months ago, members of Gage Park Baptist Church realized they had reached a crossroads.

The congregation had met for years at 3601 S.W. 10th Ave., but over time, its numbers had dwindled. At the end of 2018, the mostly white church found itself without a pastor and with questions about its survival.

About the same time, Great Commission Baptist Church, a small, mostly black congregation that had been meeting across town in a crowded room at Hillcrest Community Center, 1800 S.E. 21st, was looking for a place to call home.

Both congregations were members of the American Baptist Churches USA denomination, which has an office in Topeka.

A local leader with the denomination knew of the churches' needs and suggested they enter into a conversation about possibly joining to form a single congregation.

Out of those discussions, the churches agreed to get together for a couple of "trial" services earlier this year.

Things went so well that the members elected to join, forming a new congregation, which they named New Life Baptist Church.

The newly formed congregation, with about equal numbers of black and white members, began meeting in early April at the building that had housed the Gage Park church on S.W. 10th Avenue. About 80 people attended services this past Sunday.

The church will celebrate Easter in a big way when it has its official launch with the 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday, April 21.

Members said they marvel at how God brought them together and how smoothly the merger has gone so far.

"God is a master strategist," said the Rev. Clarence Newton Jr., the church's pastor. "He has taken two unlikely churches that would merge and made it into a masterpiece."

Newton was founding pastor of the Great Commission Baptist Church, which began meeting about three years ago.

Before the congregations merged, he said, he recognized some of the challenges that could result from members of the two churches getting used to different styles of worship.

But a few weeks into the merger, Newton said he couldn't be more pleased, particularly with the way the music has come together.

"We fell right into the groove," he said with a laugh. "We might have to call Motown."

Members from the previous churches sat intermingled in the pews this past Sunday. Black and white members stood and shared during "testimony time" at the start of the service.

Newton said he is thrilled to see congregants coming together in a spirit of love and genuine concern for each other.

"It was God's design," Newton said. "I've got to give him all the glory."

Kitty Miller, a longtime member of the Gage Park church, said she was grateful to see new life coming to the building where she has worshiped for years.

She said that when the Gage Park church lost its pastor a few months ago, it wasn't in a position to pay a full-time minister.

Members of the Gage Park church embraced the opportunity to welcome another congregation into its building.

The resulting new church has members excited, as evidenced by the nearly full parking lot on Sunday morning.

As the churches discussed merging, Miller said, they found they were "so close on everything," including the number of members and even finances.

The best part, she said, is how the congregation has come together.

"Everybody is accepted and loved," Miller said. "It's been that way from the start. There isn't a person who doesn't come up to you on Sunday morning and welcome you and hug you and accept you."

Despite racial differences that exist in today's culture, Miller said, she is thankful New Life Baptist Church shows that people from different backgrounds can worship together in a spirit of unity.

"It's nice having a body of believers who care about each other," Miller said. "There's too much division because of color and race. There's no place for that in this world."

For more information, call 785-272-7771 or visit New Life Baptist Church's Facebook page.