Christ Fellowship featured by Mid-South Baptists
Mid-South Ministry Profile
Christ Fellowship of Memphis by Stuart McCollough
I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your home, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.
— Matthew 25:35-36
In a city torn apart by racial tension, Christ Fellowship is seeking to bring people of different backgrounds together in one body to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of the people they come in contact with. They want to be a body of believers who exemplify Matthew 25:35-36. Their mission is to advance the kingdom of God against the darkness of this world
by loving God, embodying God’s love for each other and by proclaiming God’s love to the world.
Led by Pastor Kelvin Bowen 
and Associate Pastor Mark Morris, Christ Fellowship is striving to share the gospel both locally and globally. Both pastors have extensive experience in church planting, mission work and ministry. Pastor Bowen served as an associate minister at Healing Center Baptist Church for 14 years. He also serves as Executive Vice President for Memphis Athletics Ministry (MAM), an inner-city ministry of six
athletic facilities around the city that uses athletics as a tool to reach young people with the gospel of Christ. Mark Morris and his family served on the mission field for 14 years in Africa and Asia. They served as traditional missionaries for four years, he served as a Strategy Coordinator among unreached people groups in Central Asia and as a Regional leader of Central and Southern Asia for the International Mission Board. In 1997, Mark and his family returned to the United States where he co-founded All Peoples, a church consulting group which assisted churches to impact the least reached. He was on staff at Germantown Baptist Church from 2000-2007 and then served on staff at Saddleback Valley Community Church in California.
The church presently meets at the Stephen Olford Center on the Memphis campus of Union University. Christ Fellowship was already meeting under the leadership of Mark Morris. Bro. Mark and Bro. Kelvin were both basketball officials and had been friends for some time when they started throwing around the idea of beginning a multi-racial congregation. Knowing
that Sunday mornings were the most segregated time in America, both men had a desire to see blacks, whites and people of all races worship together. Sponsored by a predominately African-American fellowship – One Faith Fellowship – the church officially became a multiracial fellowship on December 14, 2008. The members have continued to cross cultural barriers
and face the challenges of blending worship styles and even preconceived ideas of what worship really is.
Christ Fellowship recently had two special services: a commissioning of 3-year missionaries being appointed to serve as Southern Baptist workers overseas and an Easter service where close to 100 people joined them for worship. The pastors want to see lives changed from the inside out and people come to know Jesus. They realize Christ Fellowship is among very few churches in the city and even the country that are trying to bring believers of diverse backgrounds together to worship and break down the walls of racial divide. They are excited about what God is doing and looking forward to what He is going to do in the future.
Comments
Leave a Reply