What started as a plan for several minister friends to somehow lead worship together turned into March Gladness, a multi-church series of revival meetings at Iuka’s First Missionary Baptist Church on Sundays last month.
“We all received the call to ministry at about the same time, but had never all worked together, and we decided to do a series in March and play on the March Madness tournament theme,” explained Pastor Jonathan Taylor, of First Missionary Baptist (FMBC.) “But then my friend Pastor Blake Scales said, ‘There’s too much madness in this world as it is - it should be March Gladness!’ ”
And so it was!
Sundays in March featured the Word brought by visiting preachers and worship teams who came, along with many of their congregation, to FMBC. Preachers coming in were Pastor Deondre Poole, of Central Grove Baptist Church in Kossuth, and Greater New Destiny in Guntown; Pastor Isaac Patterson of Oak Grove CME in Rienzi and the Sanctuary Church in Tupelo; Pastor Blake Scales and the choir from Greater Life United Baptist in Corinth; and C.J. Montgomery, newly called pastor of Spring Hill Missionary Baptist in Booneville.
Each week attendance was high, reported Taylor, including visitors from the other churches as well as Jones Chapel, Hopewell MBC in Rienzi, Macedonia MBC, and all the FMBC folks.
The pastors involved are all relatively young, explained Taylor, from 28-33 and that helped attract some younger people.
The biggest day, with more than 100 in attendance, the youth outnumbered the adults!
“It was a big success and a blessing,” agreed FMBC member Lena Mitchell. “A wonderful time of worshiping together.”
Plans are to do a similar event again, but move it around to all the participating churches, said Taylor.