Rejoicing, applause, singing and well wishes surrounded the 11th anniversary and birthday celebration of the Rev. Sonja R. Dawson, Esq., senior pastor of New Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles.
The grand occasion took place on January 23 in the NMC parking lot, which was accented with a floral canopy covering an elegant Victorian chair. The entire area was decorated in grey and white color by designer David Kevin Brannon to reflect the strength and endurance of Dawson’s ministry and the congregation.
More than 200 people attended the gala event that was billed as a drive-through celebration in light of the COVID-19 virus and adherence to social distancing guidelines. But, the pandemic didn’t stop nearly 200 vehicles from lining up for blocks on El Segundo Blvd. (and causing minor traffic jams) as NMC members patiently waited to drive into the lot to bestow cards, gifts and air kisses upon their spiritual leader.
Showing her delight at the overwhelming response, Pastor Dawson greeted the carloads of parishioners for more than an hour before pausing for a birthday song and to cut the colorful cake. In addition to the dessert, each attendee received a sealed and packaged, grab-and-go dinner.
“I just want to thank everyone – my sister, coordinator Sherri Williams, and all of the teams that made this happen,” Dawson said. According to Williams, the teams consisted of the ushers, feeding, picnic, helping hands, media, events and trustee committees.
“I don’t take it for granted. This is exactly what I wanted. I wanted us to come together and enjoy one another and look forward to returning to our sanctuary,” insisted the pastor, who explained that the renovation of worship center was expected to be completed in about two weeks.
Dawson was installed in January 2011 after being designated as pastor-elect by her late father, the Rev. Dr. Lonnie Dawson, who founded NMC and led the church for nearly 50 years along with his wife, Mrs. Mamie Dawson.
While she is one of the few women in the United States to head a major Baptist congregation, she has not let gender prevent her from achieving great things in Christ.
“I’ve tried not to focus on my gender. I’ve tried not to preach as a female pastor. I try not to talk about it. It’s apparent – why talk about it? People see who I am, but the Holy Spirit does the work,” declared Dawson.
“When the Word goes forth and pricks the heart of the people, as long as the Word blesses them and it’s effective, [people don’t care who delivers it]. That’s really how I feel. I don’t want to make it seem like I haven’t had hard times, but I had a strong foundation,” she admitted.
“My dad, Dr. Lonnie Dawson, trained me and helped me to deal with some of the challenges. He always told me, ‘You don’t have to defend it. God will do it. People will know when God has His hand on you. You don’t have to try to convince or persuade people. Let the Holy Ghost do the work.’
“Through the help of the Lord and through our dedicated and faithful people, we’ve completed every project. Renovating our sanctuary was a major undertaking and they did it in a pandemic. I knew that New Mount Calvary was a strong church and to see everybody in grey and white, just reminds me that we’re stronger than we’ve ever been,” Pastor Dawson said.
“It’s been an honor and pleasure to serve here for 11 years. I always knew God could do it.”
God has also kept NMC focused on their mission of serving the people, even during the pandemic. The congregation has hosted several COVID testing and vaccination clinics as well as rented buses to ferry community members to Kedren Vaccines and Watts Health Center.
Dawson estimated that NMC has aided 1,300 people get vaccinated and the church plans to do more. Conversations are underway with nearby schools to collaborate with offering vaccinations to students and their families.
Another unexpected benefit of the pandemic has been the explosive growth of NMC’s online ministry, added Dawson. As a result, the church is touching twice the number of lives, which significantly expands its membership of 1,000+ people
“In the next five-to-ten years, I’d like to see this ministry continue to grow and be a blessing to this community that has supported us all of these years,” the pastor said.
“God has blessed us and now, the Bible says to much it is given, much is required. I feel this is the season of equipping the churches that have been trying to do what the Lord has blessed us to do,” she said. “We want to try to help some people.”
