First Baptist Barnwell is proof that a foreign mission field can truly be in your own backyard.
First Baptist Barnwell is proof that a foreign mission field can truly be in your own backyard.
Though tucked away in small, rural South Carolina, Barnwell has found a swell of multi-cultural families in the community. Particularly noticeable are the amount of Indian families in the town.
Dr. Stephen Burnette, pastor of First Baptist Church, first took notice of the families when they literally came to the front door of the church.
“They just popped up and showed up at church one day," said Burnette.
The increase is due largely to a state Department of Education program that brings teachers from other countries to lower income school districts. Currently, there are fifteen Indians teaching in Allendale and Barnwell; some have PhDs while most have masters degrees in subjects such as math, physics, chemistry and special education.
Burnette explained that most of the families are from southern India which has the largest Christian population in the country. Several families living in Barnwell are Christians.
“They are super folks, very smart, really compassionate people with tremendous hearts for God," said Burnette, adding that one Indian man led the congregation in praying for India during the recent season of prayer for South Asia.
Though opportunities in this country abound for the families, Burnette noticed living conditions were less than ideal for the majority of the teachers. Most were living in group homes in Allendale and are without children or spouses who were left behind in India.
Adopting the teachers and their families as their own, church members located stable housing for most of the families and provided amenities they needed such as dishes, a washer and dryer, school supplies, clothes and furniture among other items.
Burnette says the way the church has rallied around the families is overwhelming.
“We keep a list posted of everything they need and people bring [the supplies] by the church."
“India came to us," he says.
The Indian families are part of a multi-cultural trend the church began to notice several years ago, something unusual for a more rural community. Currently the church has one family from Peru, two from Jamaica, one Malaysian family and a Hispanic Bible study that meets one night a week.
“The different people from different backgrounds has just been a blessing from God," says Burnette. “There is a life transformation work here. It is pretty awesome what God has done."
