A Church that Embraces Diversity
By Anaelys Trochez
About seven years ago, a group of Seventh-day Adventists in the Chattanooga area longed for a church to call home. The worshippers wanted a place that welcomed curiosity, questions, diversity, and ideas. However, the church they sought did not exist.
Their solution: Make a church.
The first couple of meetings were held at Southern Adventist University in Summerour Hall. Slowly, but surely, the church began to grow. So, as a result, the congregation moved to different venues to accommodate its growing membership. The church currently has about 60 members.
On March 30th, reporter Estefania Sanchez-Mayorquin and I visited the SDA church. I was impressed with the young adult leadership within the congregation.
Impact Seventh-day Adventist Multicultural Church is all about embracing diversity, and that's why "multicultural" is included in the church’s name.
For example, the praise service features hymnal and contemporary music on modern instruments like acoustic guitars and hand drums. The praise team loves praising God and is willing to play music in different languages. Also, during a sermon, a young child was not timid to ask a question about a word found in biblical scripture.
By definition, multicultural means relating to or consisting of several cultural or ethnic groups within a society. Impact SDA Multicultural Church offers a unique opportunity in the Chattanooga area.