Pastor Terry Brown
By Cora Jackson-Fossett
Sentinel Religion Editor
[email protected]
A new service aimed at young adults starts Easter Sunday at Liberty Baptist Church, 1500 West 51st Place in Los Angeles. The worship, which begins at 12:30 p.m., is designed is to make the Gospel accessible to more people.
According to Pastor Terry Brown, “We are excited to share what I think is great news for young people in the community looking to get a dose of what Jesus is all about. We’re calling this new service the Cross Culture and we are not only looking for African Americans, but any people, black, white, Latino, Asian. We welcome all cultures because I believe we will have something for everybody.”
Pastor Brown explained that the service has multiple goals in its effort to reach the younger generation. “First, we will make sure that everything is removed that may be considered a hindrance to younger people worshipping in traditional settings, while at the same time, maintaining our commitment to the exposition of scripture and the major tenets of the Bible.”
Also, by holding the service at a later time than the customary 11 a.m. worship hour, he said, “Our goal is to give people who tend to perhaps sleep a little later on Sunday, an opportunity to come and worship. It’s scheduled, by design, not to last more than 90 minutes, so they can come in and get the essence of what the worship is all about, receive a strong word, and have time to go to the next function.”
While Cross-Culture will contain the usual components of worship including prayer, praise, singing and sermon, the dress code will be more relaxed and the young people of Liberty will be actively involved in various aspects of the service. In addition, younger ministers will often preach and Christian artists, including musicians, singers, praise dancers, will be invited to perform.
“We want to make sure we present the Gospel in all its flavors,” said Pastor Brown, adding that Cross-Culture is not competing with any existing ministry. He said, “I’m a pastor, so I do understand the value of my members attending the church where they’re committed to being.
“But, if after church, some people still want to worship, still want to get more word, or just be in the midst of other young people worshipping, our doors are open for that purpose. We’re not recruiting other church members, but certainly all are welcome.”
For information, visit www.dacrossculture.org or call (323) 295-3866.
