Franklin Avenue B.C. wants to bring smiles to the community
5th October 2015 · 0 Comments
Franklin Avenue Baptist Church is gearing up for its First Annual “Laugh & Praise” concert and comedy show, an event that aims to bring families together for some good, clean fun and Holy Spirit-filled music.
Organizers say the event, slated for Friday, Oct. 23, is designed to fill a void in the lives of those who seek opportunities to enjoy family-friendly entertainment and fellowship throughout the city, but I didn’t recognize a lot of Christian entertainment where the whole family can come out and have a great time,” the Rev. Johnell Thomas, Franklin Ave. Baptist Church’s Pastor for Membership, explained to The Louisiana Weekly. “We started this before Katrina and it has snowballed. This is our very first time that we’re going to have a concert and a comedian.”
Among those slated to participate are Gospel recording artist Joshua Rogers, winner of BET’s “Sunday’s Best,” New Orleans native Angel Taylor from the Stellar Award-winning and Grammy-nominated Gospel recording group Trin-i-tee 5:7, comedian/ventriloquist Willie Brown and a local spoken word artist.
Brown has appeared on both “Comedy Café” and BET’s “Comic View.”
“You can’t beat the price,” Rev. Thomas joked about the event, which is free and open to the public.
Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. and the show will kick off at 7:00 p.m. Franklin Avenue Baptist Church is located at 2515 Franklin Avenue, New Orleans, La.
When asked to relate something funny he either witnessed or experienced during church service, the Rev. Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, said “During May, June and July, we have what’s called ‘Dress Down Sundays’ where people can just come dressed as they are,” Luter explained. “The problem is some folks take that literally. One Sunday I had to get up to the pulpit and say, ‘Listen ladies, y’all gotta help the brothers out. I know we want to dress down but sometimes instead of me thinking I’m in church, sometimes I think I’m in a Popeyes restaurant ‘cause all I see is breasts, legs and thighs.’
“The church just cracked up and people remind me of that all the time,” Luter continued. “I’ll say a lot of crazy things like that just to make people feel welcome. Church folks are funny — there’s a lot of funny things that happen in church.”
Franklin Avenue Baptist Church is currently the largest congregation in New Orleans and hopes that those who worship at other churches throughout the city will also come out to support the event and recommit to taking up the challenge of reaching people where they are.
“The goal is for people to be ministered to from a Christian perspective, that they’ll see the Church in a different light,” Rev. Thomas explained. “Right now, some people see the Church in a negative one. I think in the times that we’re living in, people need the Lord.
“What a great opportunity to come out and have a great time and see the Church as a wholesome place where they can come out and feel positive about coming to church.”
“We’re using this event as a hook, so to speak,” Rev. Luter added. “A fisherman doesn’t go out and try to catch fish with a naked hook — you put a worm, neck bone or shrimp on it. We hope to have a lot of folk here who never come to church on Sunday morning but will say, ‘Man, they got a comedy show — we’ll go to that.’We want them to see that they can come to church, they can laugh and enjoy themselves. Hopefully, they’ll come back on a Sunday morning. …That’s our goal — to use this as an evangelistic outreach.”
Luter said he hopes the event will also show families how much fun they can have together as a unit.
“This is a family event,” Luter said. “You can bring the entire family, from the youngest kid to the oldest senior soldier and have good clean fun. And after they leave this place, they can talk about this event all night long and through the weekend. Part of what we’re trying to do is get families to come back together.”
Thomas said “Laugh & Praise” will offer something for everyone. He said that in addition to the little ones enjoying the talking dummy, “it’s also going to be good for teenagers and senior citizens.
“It’s a blessing all the way around,” Thomas added.
The Louisiana Weekly asked Rev, Luter how Franklin Avenue B.C. manages to maintain its connection with worshippers as the church continues to grow.
“We’re very personal with folk,” Luter told The Louisiana Weekly. “It’s very unusual when you come here to Franklin Avenue to see me as a pastor going around before, during and after service shaking people’s hands, greeting guests and members. Giving that personal touch.
“I think people find that amazing,” Luter continued. “One guy told me, ‘Man, I never seen a pastor with a church this big shaking everybody’s hand.’ People don’t have to come to your church, so when they come I think you should make them feel welcome. We try to go out of our way to make people feel welcome — that’s that personal touch that we give them.
“We also try to encourage people —if they come here and join the church — to get involved in small groups. There’s no way that you can feel like you’re part of a church this size without getting involved in smaller groups and ministries. Whether it’s a Sunday School class, women’s ministry class, men’s class, a mentored class or sports activity — you have to get involved. One way we keep our growing church small is to encourage people to get involved in smaller groups. That’s something we’ve concentrated on and something that, by God’s grace, has been pretty successful for us.”
This article originally published in the October 5, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
