Baptist Community 1
The Baptist Community Kathleen Miller University of Kentucky
CIS 110 Section 007 Allyson DeVito November 28, 2011
Baptist Community 2 Abstract The Baptist community is a denomination of the Christian religion. In order to better understand this community, I decided to observe Immanuel Baptist Church. During the course of exploring the Baptist denomination, I was able to learn more about their emphasis on serving others. Also, reaching out to the college-aged students is another major focus of the Baptist community and Immanuel Baptist Church. Due to my exposure to the Baptist community, I now have a better understanding of a different Christian denomination.
Baptist Community 3 Christianity-one religion, many denominations. This idea can be confusing to someone, especially if they are not Christian. There are many different denominations of Christianity such as Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and the list goes on. I was raised Catholic and now go to a non-denominational Christian church. Due to this, I have never had much exposure to the Baptist denomination of the Christian faith. I was very interested in learning about a different Christian denomination, since I went to Catholic grade school and high school. It was a chance for me to explore another denomination within the Christian faith when I otherwise would not have had the same opportunity. I was just curious to see in what ways the Baptist community differed from the Catholic community. Specifically, I wanted to learn what the Baptist services were like and what they taught. By observing and being involved in the Baptist community, I have learned different aspects of this Christian denomination and the ways in which they spread their faith. When I first started exploring the Baptist community, I was not really sure what I was expecting. Before I began researching my community, I had a few ideas in my mind of what I thought a Baptist service would be like. I thought that everything would be very traditional, proper, and strict. My stereotypes probably stem from the media and how they portray the Baptist community. However, I am not the only one to have these preconceived notions about the Baptist denomination. According to Nathan Cornett who works as the college and missions pastor for Immanuel Baptist Church, some of the major stereotypes are that Baptists can be seen as “judgmental” and “old-fashioned” (Cornett, Personal Interview, 2011). Despite my previous thoughts about the Baptist
Baptist Community 4 community, I set everything aside so I could be open to this new Christian denomination that I knew little about. I went to Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington in order to learn more about the Baptist community. According to Cornett, “Immanuel is a Southern Baptist church, and that means that we partner with other churches that are in the Southern Baptist Convention” (Cornett, Personal Interview, 2011). Cornett goes on to say “it’s a denomination that is Photo taken by Kathleen Miller
basically put together so
that we can help send missionaries, and we can partner together as independent churches to help take the message of Jesus Christ around the world” (Cornett, Personal Interview, 2011). The Southern Baptist Convention began in the year 1845, and today is made up of over 40,000 churches nationwide (“About Us-Meet Southern Baptists,” 2011). The first president of the Southern Baptist Convention was Dr. W. B. Johnson (Barnes, 1954). By doing research through Immanuel Baptist Church, I have gained knowledge regarding the Baptist denomination that I would have never known. One of the first things I learned was the style of the Baptist service. I was able to attend Sunday morning church services. The service was completely different from the Catholic mass. The worship leader started off the service by leading everyone in more contemporary praise songs. Following the worship, the preacher gave his sermon.
Baptist Community 5 Another observation I had was that many of the church members brought their Bibles to church so that they could follow along with the preacher. Some of these aspects of Immanuel Baptist Church are similar to the church I attend now, but completely different from my Catholic background. In addition to the service, I learned that the Baptist community strives to reach out to help others in need. On a Wednesday night when I attended the college bible study, Immanuel was hosting something called Room in the Inn. According to Cornett, it is a program for homeless people (Cornett, Personal Interview, 2011). On Wednesday night, homeless men come into the church and are fed dinner and given a place to stay the night (“Missions and Outreach”). According to Cornett, their
Photo taken by Kathleen Miller
service opportunities are “ways to help people grow closer to Christ” (Cornett, Personal Interview 2011). Another way that Immanuel is trying to improve the community is through the creation and delivery of Thanksgiving baskets. It is a chance to reach out to people in the Lexington area who may not be able to make Thanksgiving dinner possible. Volunteers packed boxes full of Thanksgiving dinner necessities and delivered them to the people. I was lucky enough to be able to help out with the delivery. Our group was in charge of hand delivering the Thanksgiving baskets to specific residents in a few apartment
Baptist Community 6 complexes near Immanuel. As I delivered these baskets, the gratitude I received from the people made it all worthwhile. Just knowing that I was doing God’s work and helping out those less fortunate really made an impact on me. All of the other college volunteers that were in my group were also very excited to be there and spread the love of God. This event was just another example of how service is a very top priority in the Baptist community, and specifically at Immanuel Baptist Church. In addition to understanding how the Baptist denomination reaches out to needy people in the community, I have learned how they reach out to college-aged students. Having college students being a part of a church can be sometimes difficult because of lack of time to sheer apathy. However, the Baptist community is making strides in order to connect college students to Christ and get them involved in the church. Since Nathan Cornett is the college pastor, he says that, “I am charged with seeing that college students grow closer, take that next step, whatever that might be, closer to Christ� (Cornett, Personal Interview,
Photo taken by Kathleen Miller
2011). One way that Immanuel reaches out to college students is through their Wednesday night worship. I was able to attend one of these Wednesday worship nights, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The worship was held in a small room in the church, and about twenty-five college students came. They began the evening with singing praise and worship songs. Then Nathan Cornett presented a mini sermon about loving God and
Baptist Community 7 each other. He related the sermon to lives of college-aged students so that we could more easily understand and apply it. Upon completion of speaking, the worship leaders led the students in a few more praise songs. After he had finished, the singers sang a few more songs. Even though it was not a huge production or very crowded, I still felt the presence of God there. I could genuinely see that Immanuel was trying to reach out to college students. Another way Immanuel Baptist Church is reaching out to the college students is through their contemporary service. Cornett said that this service is called “Pulse,” and it is geared toward the “younger generation.” He also said that the music played is “closer to what we are hearing on radio stations today” (Cornett, Personal Interview, 2011). I have attended two of the contemporary services at Immanuel in order to gain more understanding of the Baptist community. It is definitely a more modern worship service because of the current music. The experience resembled a concert because of all the guitars, singers, drums, and lights. I found that this was a great to draw in college students. Also, the sermon was very relatable, and it was delivered in such a way so that anyone could understand. After the service is over, Cornett leads a Sunday school for the college students. The topic discussed does not necessarily relate to the sermon given, but it still sends out a message that is relatable to college Christians. The Sunday school was a very relaxed and interactive environment, and everyone was sitting in a circle listening to Cornett discuss a certain Bible passage. It was a great way for college students to connect with each other in a Christian environment. Working with the Baptist community has really affected me personally in many ways. First of all, I have realized that I need to be serving others more than I have been. I like
Baptist Community 8 volunteering, it is just hard to set aside time to do so. However, by going to Immanuel Baptist Church, I have been given many options to help serve in the Lexington community. Another aspect of this community that has affected me is the fact that college students are actively participating in their Christian faith. It gives me hope that even though I live on a very religiously diverse college campus, there are still students that want to put Jesus first. In addition, by going to observe the services and other events, I have realized that I want to take my faith a step further. When I went to the services, I noticed that many people in the congregation had brought their Bibles into church. I had never really thought about this before, and would now like to do so. Finally, I have a new understanding of the Baptist denomination. I was able to see first hand a Baptist church, and from that I can see the denomination in a new light. The old stereotypes I previously had were proved wrong, especially the ones about the Baptist community being very strict and by the book. I now know, that at least with Immanuel Baptist Church, they are trying to be more modern to attract young people, and they have fun worshiping. Since this community has affected me so much, I think that I will still continue to be a part of it. I do not think that I will officially switch to the Baptist denomination or join Immanuel Baptist Church, but I will still be involved while I am here at UK. I will continue to try and go to church there on Sundays and participate in Immanuel’s volunteer opportunities. Every time I go there, I learn something new about Jesus, and I want to continue to learn more. I also like their style of worship and how they refer to the Bible so much. Therefore, I still want to participate in this particular Baptist community.
Baptist Community 9 Over the past couple of weeks as I have been intently studying the Baptist community, and I have had many different realizations regarding their take on Christianity. At the beginning, I had some ideas pop into my head when someone would mention a Baptist, but through this project, I have learned to set those stereotypes aside. The Baptist community is very involved with their surrounding community. Immanuel hosts a variety of volunteer opportunities in order to help others who may be in need. The Baptist community is also very involved in trying to reach out to the college students in the area. Immanuel Baptist Church is doing this through all of their college geared bible studies and worship services. This community has definitely left an imprint on me, and I have changed for the better by the experience. Now that I have observed a different aspect of Christianity, I can allow myself to understand the slight differences between the denominations. Through this study, I have learned that even though the Christian faith has many denominations, the important thing is that they are all Christian.
Baptist Community 10 References About Us- Meet Southern Baptists. (n.d.). 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2011, from http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/default.asp Barnes, W. W. (1954). The Southern Baptist Convention 1845-1953. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press. Cornett, Nathan (13 November 2011). Personal Interview. Baptist Community. Missions and Outreach. (n.d.). Retrieved 17 November 2011, from http://www.ibc-lex.org/#/connect/missions-outreach