Local churches unite in worship, break racial barriers
Pastor John Girdley (left) and Bishop Wiley Thornton III (right) lead a joint service at Perfecting Holiness Non-denominational Church. Photo submitted.
Members of First Baptist Church in Greenville and Perfecting Holiness Non-denominational Church gather for a joint service. Photo submitted.
Published 6:00 am Monday, July 29, 2024
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
On July 14, two local churches further cemented a newly formed tradition of joining their congregations to worship together. The service was intended to form new relationships in Christ, all while breaking racial barriers.
“In 2023 I had pneumonia and got really sick. I coded three times,” said Bishop Wiley Thornton III of Perfecting Holiness Non-Denominational Church. “I was in the hospital over 60 days and I can tell you God placed those nurses in my path to keep me alive. There were white nurses, asian nurses, black nurses. I made up my mind then and there to fight all these racial barriers.”
Thornton explained that his path to this mission began when he met John Girdley, pastor of First Baptist Church (FBC) in Greenville during a prayer initiative. Thornton asked Girdley if he visited other churches and, if so, if he would visit Perfecting Holiness to lead a sermon. Girdley agreed, under the condition that Thornton would reciprocate and visit FBC to preach.
“So Pastor Girdley and I created a relationship, then a friendship. We call ourselves family now,” Thornton said. “It was just exactly what I was believing for.”
Greenville is so special but doesn’t even know it, according to Thornton.
“There’s so many people doing great things, but we’re all doing it separately,” Thornton said. “We need to understand that we’re better together.”
Pastor Girdley echoed these sentiments.
“We were having the 21 days of prayer initiative and he (Thornton) introduced himself and invited us,” Girdley said. “He invited our church to join them and we did that in March. Then they joined us…and then we joined them again. It’s been a great opportunity to create partnerships to come together in the name of Jesus.”
After their morning service, about 30 members of First Baptist Church went to Perfecting Holiness and joined their service.
“Everyone was so welcoming and gracious,” Girdley remarked. “This is something we definitely plan to continue. In the future, we could do missions together and serve together. It doesn’t matter what race or ethnicity you are, we can serve together side by side.”
Thornton believes their example is setting a precedent for others to follow.
“We’re setting an example and people are watching,” Thornton said. “These kinds of things are at the heart of a lot of people, but it just takes one person to step out and take a chance and allow God to do the work.”