Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007

Meriden church celebrates growth with revival

by Sara Peterson-Davis

When Pastor Tony Smith agreed to preach one Sunday at the Meriden Community Church, he had no idea he’d still be there today.

“I’m still filling in and this is my 18th year,” laughed Smith, who moved from interim pastor, to part-time pastor and now full-time pastor at the church. “It’s been a very interesting tenure for a pastor.”

After retiring from a career in public education last May, Smith is enjoying his role as the church’s full-time pastor.

“It’s exciting to give more time,” said Smith, who, along with the church’s board, is looking at expanding the church and its presence in the community. “We have some exciting things going.”

Now as the full-time pastor, Smith believes the church is at a pivotal stage. In the last two decades the church has gone from nearly closing its doors to bursting at the seams.

To celebrate and recognize the unique position the church now finds itself, the Meriden Community Church will sponsor a revival Oct. 10-12 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct 14 at 10:30 a.m.

“We’re characterizing it as an old-fashioned revival for a modern generation,” Smith said.

The event will feature singing by the Gloryland Gospel Quartet and Lanny Smith, the pastor’s cousin from Lincoln, Mo. Pastor Smith will preach.

For those who have never visited the church before or heard Smith’s interactive and energetic style of preaching, church board President Grace Ann Dunn said they won’t be disappointed.

“Pastor Tony’s sermons keep you awake,” said Dunn. “They are very creative.”

Smith, his wife, Brenda, and their two children originally moved to the Meriden area so Smith could take a job as a special education teacher at Jefferson West Elementary.

While he was scouting out a house to rent, Smith met a member of the church at a local convenience store. The man offered to show Smith the church’s vacant parsonage, which was for rent. During the course of the conversation, Smith told the man that in addition to education, he also had a background in the ministry.

While he didn’t rent the parsonage, Smith did get an invitation to come back and visit the church some Sunday and maybe preach a sermon. After preaching a few Sundays, Smith took on the role of interim pastor.

Smith kept his day job. He eventually moved from Jefferson West to an administration position at Seaman USD 345.

Under Smith’s tenure, the Meriden Community Church grew.

“We feel like we’ve begun to blossom,” Smith said. “It’s really amazing when you look back. We see it (the church) as a spiritual lighthouse for the community.”

Smith points to the church’s efforts to reach out with organized pastoral visitations to community members, as well as the creation of the Golden Rule Preschool, monthly youth services, its on-going puppet ministry and the annual vacation Bible school.

Sunday services are getting more and more crowded. And when there is a special program, such as a gospel sing by the church’s own Four Square Gospel Choir, seating can be very tight, according to Smith.

Church leaders have explored the possibility of expanding the church into the empty lot next door to the present building. They have looked at building both an attached and a detached structure that would give the church a multi-purpose area, additional Sunday school classrooms and a large kitchen among other things.

“Right now we’re bursting at the seams for what we want to do,” Smith said.

In addition to classrooms and areas for fellowship, an expansion would allow the church to expand its preschool, which is at capacity, as well as better accommodate community groups who use the church. It would also allow Smith to have an office at the church, all of which Dunn believes are important.

“We really need something bigger,” she said. “We who have been here forever, we’ve just always made do. We truly want to make it a multi-purpose facility.”