For the better part of the last decade, Owensboro has served as a resettlement site to a growing number of refugees. That has led to the need for gospel-centered environments that cater to speakers of other languages. Enter Bellevue Baptist Church and the director of their Missions department, Danny Gray.
“We believe that engaging internationals in Owensboro fulfills the church’s commitment to the Great Commission,” Gray said. “We have been very active over the years doing local, state, and international missions, which includes church planting. The nations are coming to us right now, which is a pretty cool thing that God is doing. Through the resettlement agency and The Welcome Project here in Owensboro, Bellevue and other local churches are understanding the simple fact that we can fulfill God’s calling without having to travel far at all.”
Recently, the need for a Congolese church arose specifically out of the organization called The Welcome Project, which helps assist asylum seekers that find themselves in Owensboro from places like the Republic of Congo. These asylum seekers come to Owensboro with nothing to their name. The Welcome Project helps fulfill basic needs like housing and food, and helps them to make the adjustment to life in the states.
Bellevue Baptist, according to Gray, has come into the picture to assist with this mission, and also to preach the gospel clearly in the asylum seeker’s native tongue. While COVID-19 has proven a challenge for all local churches to overcome, a new Congolese church body has flourished.
Launched just two weeks before the mid-March shutdown on Bellevue’s campus, the congregation had jumped out to a fast start and has maintained a steady number of attendees even in the midst of all the changes over the last seven months.
The Congolese people are led by Pastor Moses Mpamyabigwi who teaches in Swahili, while a translator also makes the message accessible for individuals who speak Lingala. Many of the Congolese people in this fellowship were born in Rwandan and Ugandan refugee camps. They share similar languages, but their backgrounds differ greatly. Gray says these individuals crave one thing the church has been able to offer them above all else: community.
“The Kentucky Baptist Convention is pushing multicultural planting throughout the state, so they’ve helped resource us and find pastors for all of our ethnic church groups,” Gray said. “We don’t have a ton of Congolese people in Owensboro, maybe 40-50 total people. To have 25-28 of those regularly attending our weekly services has really been a blessing. The church of the Congolese is in its infantile stages and we are hoping for more refugees from that population to come to Owensboro so that the church can continue to grow.”
Along with the Congolese congregation, Bellevue Baptist has planted a Karen Baptist church, a Burmese language church, and a Spanish language fellowship. Bellevue Lead Pastor Greg Faulls likes to say the church has five venues for weekly worship in four separate languages.
As these ministries grow, so do the opportunities for Owensboro natives to jump on board with the good work churches like Bellevue are doing here in town.
Already, the church has seen families donating bicycles for the purpose of transportation, teaching refugees how to mow their lawns, and helping with many other small household tasks and student tutoring. Gray says there are many more opportunities just waiting to be discovered.
“Right now, the service opportunities are primarily relational,” Gray said. “We want to know and love the people in the Congolese community. There aren’t necessarily big evangelistic events for that population, because of the small nature of that demographic. We want these people to be welcomed through relationships.”
That the pastor of the Congolese congregation drives up each Sunday morning with his wife and daughter from Louisville presents its own particular challenge for local needs to be met throughout the week. The commitment to weekly pastoral care, (like in-home visits and prayer), has fallen to local believers.
“It’s certainly been a learn-as-you-go process for the church,” Gray said. “Of course we welcome anyone into this work alongside Bellevue, as many local churches have already jumped in we await the many more churches and individuals who could.”
To learn more you can visit Bellevue Baptist’s Facebook page or visit their website at bellevueowensboro.org.
