Global service of Communion and baptism brings the body together
By Sam Collins

God has authorized his church to be on mission in the world—and the Church of God is responding by going around the globe with the love of Jesus Christ. That was the message that came through loud and clear during the Sunday evening worship service of the 2009 North American Convention of the Church of God.

The host for the evening was Bob Moss, senior pastor of Salem Church of God in Dayton, Ohio. In addition to being a well-known Church of God pastor and the former state minister for Indiana, Moss is the chair of the General Assembly, the largest, most representative decision-making body of the church.

This year the Church of God is celebrating one hundred years of organized missions outreach. During a slide presentation featuring pictures of many of the missionaries who have served over those years, singers filled the sanctuary with the words “wherever he leads, I’ll go” and “may all who come behind us find us faithful.” The audience also listened as a Church of God leader from India spoke of the joy he felt in knowing that India, a longtime recipient of missionaries, is now also sending those called to share the gospel.

The service featured global Communion and the ordinance of baptism. Through a streaming simulcast over the Web, congregations from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America were able to celebrate with worshipers gathered at Madison Park Church of God in Anderson, Indiana, site of the evening services during this year’s convention.

Reflecting the diversity of the Church of God in North America, Communion leadership was shared by, among others, representatives of the African-American, Hispanic, and Native American leadership of the church.

“Mission is more than going into another culture; it is the transformation that comes through Jesus Christ,” said Moss. Referring to Communion he said, “Despite any cultural differences, the Lord’s Table brings God’s children together.”

A version of this article appears in the Monday, June 29, 2009, edition of the NAC roundup/09 newsletter.  To view the newsletter in its entirety, click here (1.13 MB). The document is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat in order to read and/or print it. If you do not have Acrobat installed on your computer, you can download a free copy of Acrobat Reader here.