My wife and I attended Tabernacle Baptist Church for a couple of years before we decided to become members. But we felt like we were fully part of the family long before we became “official.” We kept coming back because of the people, meaningful worship, and ample opportunities to serve. The first time we visited, we immediately noticed was that the people there were genuine and hospitable. They welcomed us, and when we came back the next week, many of them remembered our names!
Worship every Sunday is an opportunity to offer our best back to God, and it truly feels authentic —it is never showy or done just to draw people in. It is also intergenerational and interracial. On any given Sunday people of all ages and ethnicities offer praise to God through music, scripture, and prayer. It feels a little bit like what I imagine Heaven might be like.
My wife and I have both found ways to serve through Tabernacle. There are numerous opportunities to serve there. But in many ways, a church should become a “springboard” toward service outside of the church building itself. A church does not exist for itself, but rather to equip its members to share God’s love in the broader community. Tabernacle embodies this sentiment. My wife and I are better prepared to share God’s love in our daily lives because we are a part of the community at Tabernacle Baptist Church.
-Art Wright, Affiliate Professor of New Testament at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond
