Races, generations join in church merger

By RICHARD KOE
PORTLAND

Races, generations join in church merger Two Northeast Portland congregations, one 40 years old with mostly older African-Americans and one barely three years old with
predominantly young whites, decided to worship together last October and became a new church, the Genesis Community Fellowship. They celebrated their first Easter together in April at the Friends Center gymnasium on N.E. Morris St., just off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Genesis Community Fellowship is the result of a merger between Mt. Sinai Community Baptist Church and Crosstown Christian Community. Crosstown, which was founded with diversity as a goal, needed a place to meet. The young congregation, whose average age is 24, had little experience on what it meant to be a church. So its pastor, Hugh Halter, called on Pastor Donald Frazier of Mt. Sinai about sharing a building, which eventually led to sharing a vision.

Within a few months, the two congregations decided to merge, worshipping together in the Mt. Sinai building until they outgrew the space and moved to the Friends Center. After seven months, the Genesis congregation is about half African-American and half white. In addition, it has an equal number of youth, middle-aged working people, senior citizens, and even some singles.

Most are from nearby north and northeast Portland, but some come from the suburbs such as Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Gresham, and even Vancouver, Wash. Frazier is the senior pastor and Halter shares in the ministry with a strong emphasis on evangelism. Some people have left, but others have joined in, and the two pastors decided the best solution was to be themselves.

Coming together has not been easy. Mt. Sinai members gave up their church name and a building where they've worshipped since 1960, and Crosstown people gave up their freedom and flexibility. After months of give-and-take, both sides have shaken hands and are sitting together for worship and learning to understand each other's positions.

Frazier told The Oregonian newspaper that he received a heart for reconciliation while serving on the staff of Promise Keepers. He noticed that Christians weren't doing a good job of being salt and light and modeling what love looks like. Now he takes aim at prejudices that keep believers talking and mingling only with people like them, noting that we are chosen together, redeemed together, and face the future together.
The two pastors and their combined congregation now have only two to die for issues: staying grounded in God's Word, and presenting Jesus and his values. According to them, that means doing what Jesus would do,
and not otherwise.

Genesis Community Fellowship worships 11 a.m. on Sundays at 44 N. Morris
St., Portland. For more information, call (503) 281-9472.