The church began as a Sunday School class started by mothers in 1896.
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” – Acts 2:1-4, NRSV
“Habla Espaῆol?” (Do you speak Spanish?) On a Tuesday morning at Jeanette’s Closet, I get asked this question a few times by shoppers. “Un poquito,” (A little) I would reply.
Even with the mangled Spanish that I spoke, I could see the face of the person asking me light up with a smile. It was as if a door was opened, and I was welcomed into a room where something good was about to happen.
In my own experience, I felt that hearing words spoken in my first language, Hiligaynon/Ilonggo, by a person who is not a native speaker warms my heart. It is like beautiful music to my ears. And I am all ears, eager to listen for more.
Imagine how the people felt when they heard the eleven disciples speaking in their language. Yes, some mocked them and accused them of being drunk, but many were amazed!
They were all ears when Peter explained what was going on, quoting from the prophet Joel and sharing the message about God sending Jesus to fulfill the prophecies that God’s chosen would come to save all who believe.
All these were made possible because of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised he would send to empower his disciples and send out the church (God’s gathered people) to fulfill God’s mission of making disciples of all nations.
Because they heard the Good news in their language by the power of the Holy Spirit, there were three thousand who repented, gave their lives to God, and were baptized that day.
On that day, three thousand joined the 120 disciples not just to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved – but also to learn and live the way of life that Jesus taught by his words and deeds.
That was the first Pentecost that we now commemorate as the birthday of the Church, made possible by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Like the first disciples, our most important work is to be people of prayer and patient waiting. It doesn’t mean that we stop working on becoming better and more committed disciples.
But we need to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit and learn the language of God’s love.
And if you feel led, you can even learn a new language to reach out to someone and share the gospel in their heart language.
I pray that in this season of Pentecost, we will find the joy of learning from the Holy Spirit. May the Holy Spirit empower us to take this time to learn new things that will make us powerful witnesses of God’s reconciling love.
Let us pray that the online ministry that has connected us to those outside our church family will grow and flourish.
Let’s unite in the Holy Spirit as Christ’s hands and feet in our community through Jeanette’s Closet and new ministries such as the Prayer Place, ESL classes, and children’s bilingual story-telling time that we plan to offer to our community.
Let’s also pray for God’s blessings on our fathers and graduates. May each of them seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in all their endeavors.
Whatever season we find ourselves in our lives, may we be encouraged to learn and grow, with the Holy Spirit as our Teacher, just like the mothers that started the Sunday school class in 1896 that became Central Baptist Church of Woodbury.
Happy Father’s Day to all Dads!
Congratulations to all our Graduates!
And a Blessed Pentecost season to All!
Yours in Christ’s love,
Pastor Carla
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