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Christians flock to Dade City
By MICHELLE JONES, Times Staff Writer DADE CITY -- Martin Luther King Jr. gave his final Mountaintop speech from the pulpit of a Church of God in Christ congregation in Memphis, Tenn., and in 1993 President Bill Clinton gave an address known as the Memphis Speech during the 86th National Holy Convocation in the same church building. The denomination, which is more than 100 years old, was formed and took its name from the scripture in I Thessalonians 2:14 that states: "From brethren became followers of the Churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus." The Dade City congregation recently hosted its 15th annual District Convention, and in doing this followed the admonition of earlier brethren to become followers of God through Jesus Christ. "It was definitely a successful meeting," said Mitchell Davis Jr., the district superintendent. About 500 people -- some from as far away as Ocala and Jacksonville -- attended the five-day convention. Each day breakfast and lunch were served to those who attended and anyone who came in off the street to dine at the church, a two-story building at 14627 Seventh St. Congregants met for prayer and teaching sessions in the mornings. Praise, worship and Bible lessons came during the evenings. At one of the morning sessions Beverly Williams led a prayer for unity. "In Jesus' name I rebuke jealousy," said Williams. "Remove any affliction and turn worries around." She laid hands on each of the children present and prayed for them. "Keep the enemy away," she prayed. "Don't let them follow strangers and bring peace and joy to them. Save them at a young age, let the blood of Jesus take control of them." As Williams prayed, an organ was heard in the background. She prayed for the teenagers, asking Jesus to give them understanding and help them to be obedient to their parents. "I claim every soul here right now," she said. Williams asked all the teenagers and children to march around the church three times. "March for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit," she said. Twenty-two children marched around the church as Williams prayed. Tyrica Larry, 16, was one of the teenagers that Williams had a prophetic word for. "The Lord has need of you. You are a special person," she said to Tyrica. "You are a leader and others will follow you when you submit yourself to God. The Lord loves you and the enemy wants to get you." After the prayer Tyrica said Williams had spoken the truth. During testimony time, Annie Key, 87, shared how she had had a bout with asthma the night before. "I'm feeling fine and I'm so glad God has blessed me," she said. "I'm so glad I'm saved. God is a good God." The teaching on this particular morning was about forgetting, reaching, pressing and standing. It was researched by Mary Wallace and taught by Missy Sampson. The first scripture used was from Philippians 3, verses 13 and 14. "Keep your eye on Christ," said Sampson. "We are going to have our troubled times, but with Christ we can go forward. Jesus, don't ever give up on us, we should never quit, we should always strive to go forward." Other scriptures included Exodus 14: 13-15, I Kings 4:24 and Genesis 27:45. Throughout the week they had activities, including a basketball tournament, a demonstration of the new voting machines, and arts and crafts. A SouthTrust banker came and opened savings accounts for the children after discussing the importance of saving money. "We fed the spirit, the physical bodies and taught about practical living," said Davis. "It was definitely successful."
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From today's Pasco Times |
