Recently, I began communicating with a student at Fuller Seminary on the track for ordination. He has a new kind of church plant stirring in his heart. The Rev. Jamal Scarlett along with The Rev. Cameron Lemons are working together to plant The Grove Church of Lake Elsinore (CA). “Cameron and I started meeting together two years ago as we believed God was stirring our hearts toward multicultural ministry. I am Afro/Latino-American (Black Hispanic) and he is an Irish-American,” shared Rev. Scarlett.

When they met, they were both Southern Baptists. Cameron was a Youth Pastor at a local church and Jamal was a Worship Leader and Youth Pastor at another church. Over many coffee hours, they began a conversation about what it might look like to be a church that is multicultural. That is, a church that is not just multicolored, but sees diversity of culture as a ministry asset versus a liability. The desire was to be a church that reflected Revelation 7:9 where people of every nation, tongue and tribe worshiped and glorified the Lord together. Ultimately, this led to the call of planting The Grove Church with a missional imperative set on acts of kindness (feeding the hungry, caring for the lonely and the outcast) as well as seeking the restoration of all things, including reconciliation.

As these two pastors were praying for a vision for their church plant, they were led on a journey to Anglicanism.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Pentecostal • * Theology

1. art wrote: May the Good Lord continue to bless this growing ministry, with its rich and powerful mix. It appears to be every bit the kind of thing we all might be doing - given the relevant context and resources. Thanks Kendall for drawing it to our attention. Prayers for Jamal and Cameron. August 5, 6:35 pm | [comment link]

2. Already Gone wrote: One of the delights of becoming Catholic has been experiencing a parish that reflects the local community.  Here in Northern Virginia that means, among others, Anglos, Hispanics, Koreans, Vietnamese, and African-Americans.  If the names for which prayers are asked on the website of the Catholic Church in Lake Elsinore—St. Francis of Rome—are any indication, that would be true there too. August 5, 10:14 pm | [comment link]

3. MichaelA wrote: #1, I agree, this is something to give thanks for. It wouldn’t surprise me if other churches from the free evangelical and pentecostal traditions will also find Anglicanism attractive. So all the better that ++Duncan is encouraging talks with these churches so that they can find out if this is really for them. August 6, 12:46 am | [comment link]

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