Mike Campbell

There are rumbles being heard across the Deep South. From a small pulpit in the heart of Jackson, Miss., one man’s voice is striking a vibrant chord, stirring the hearts of hundreds of people in the city and beyond. His message is simple. He’s talking about the kingdom of God. “We are to be a missionary people. We are a sent people,” he tells his congregation. “The kingdom of God is not about right-wing or left-wing politics, about one specific ethnic group, or about restoring the ‘glory days’ of America. Our focus is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.” 

So what, exactly, is so shocking about his words? Walk into most Presbyterian churches these days, and you’ll find homogenous congregations. Though we live in a multi-cultural, diverse country, our churches tend to be segregated, even if unintentionally so. This new church plant is doing something different. Led by a multi-ethnic group of elders, including Rev. Mike Campbell, Redeemer Presbyterian Church is actually putting into practice what it’s preaching, purposefully opening its arms to all people of different races, cultures, and socioeconomic status. It’s committed to being a multi-ethnic church that remains true to the Reformed faith. For its location, in a Southern city where racial and economic divides remain stark, this is a scene that would have been unimaginable to some a few years ago. 

The idea for this barrier-breaking church began in August 2003, when Trinity Presbyterian Church decided to move to larger facilities at a new location. The new church plant would be established in the old building. Church planters wanted to develop a multi-racial church that would represent people from all across the spectrum of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Located in the heart of the Broadmoor and Broadmeadow neighborhoods of North Jackson, the church has established itself in a diverse community, one where million-dollar homes and government projects exist within a few blocks of each other. 

From the beginning, Redeemer Church looked for an African-American pastor. Bryant Taylor, chairman of the pulpit-nominating committee, and Wy Plummer, head of the African-American Movement in the PCA, helped to narrow the search to Mike Campbell, and introduced him to his future congregation. 

A native of Blue Field, Va., Campbell had served for seven years at Pinelands Presbyterian Church, a multi-ethnic congregation located in Miami, Fla., when Bryant Taylor first contacted him. At the time, Campbell thought that God might be leading him to work in Virginia, and he couldn’t quite picture himself living in Jackson, Miss. Nevertheless, he agreed to look at Redeemer’s vision proposal and was impressed with it. “God really placed it on my heart,” Campbell said. “I went through the interview process, and I became totally convinced that God was leading me here.” 

“Mike’s goals and ours really meshed,” added Wynn Kenyon, long-time member of Trinity Church and a member of Redeemer’s search committee. “He specifically wanted to work in this type of ministry.” 

Redeemer began worship services in November 2004. Since then it has been averaging about 200 people each week. Redeemer draws a mixed crowd from all areas of life. Word-of-mouth has been the primary means of attracting visitors. 

Considering that only a small percentage of the 3,000 pastors currently ordained in the PCA are African-American, one might wonder why Campbell was drawn to this denomination. Campbell felt called to ministry early on, while working with the homeless in high school. “I grew up attending a United Methodist church. My first exposure to the Presbyterian denomination was in college,” Campbell said. While pursuing a Bible and religion degree at King College, a Presbyterian school in Bristol, Tenn., Campbell worked as a youth minister in a local church. After college, he attended seminary at Gordon Conwell in South Hamilton, Mass., and then at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, Mo. “I decided to move to the PCA while I was at Covenant,” he said. 

Campbell believes that the prevalence of segregation in the American church today has a lot to do with church history. “The beginning of the black church in America came from blacks being shunned by white churches. Some of the PCA’s history has been difficult,” Campbell said. 

“Humanly speaking, it’s easier for people to be around people like themselves,” he continues. “The PCA is aware of the biblical mandate of Scripture, that the Church not only reflect the kingdom of God, but also is the kingdom of God and should reflect the values of the kingdom, not self-interest. The kingdom is multi-ethnic.” But if churches aren’t deliberate and focused in their intentions, they find themselves attracting and retaining a homogenous group of people. Campbell wants to make sure that Redeemer’s emphasis is not exclusively on reconciling black and white, but also on other ethnicities. “Jackson is overwhelmingly black and white. The truth is, most times when I have seen churches do this black/white thing, other ethnic groups come too, because the principles of being loving and humble apply across the board,” he said. 

There are several concerns that arise when establishing a multi-racial church. Will political differences between people of different ethnic backgrounds cause division? Will differences in musical tastes cause division? How does a church make racial reconciliation a priority, but keep it from overshadowing everything else? These are questions that Campbell has been wrestling with since pastoring the multi-ethnic congregation at Pinelands Church in Miami. He realizes that it’s important for Redeemer not to let the issue of racial reconciliation overshadow everything else. “My model for ministry is to preach and teach the whole counsel of God. Whatever Scripture teaches, I’m there. I’m spending the first three months focusing on racial reconciliation in order to establish a foundation for what our church is about. If you come to the church a year from now, you might not hear anything about that in the sermon. It’s a significant aspect of the gospel, but don’t allow it to become everything.” 

Redeemer describes itself as “a PCA church in theology and practice” while, at the same time, recognizing cultural barriers and seeking to overcome them. “We’re going to be moving towards a style of worship and other aspects of ministry that lend themselves to being multi-ethnic,” Campbell explains. “For example, we do a lot of standard, traditional hymns. We’ll incorporate gospel music into our mix. We want to try to contextualize the music.” 

Thus far, everyone agrees that things are going smoothly for Redeemer. “What I’m getting is that the city of Jackson, and the PCA, are ready,” Campbell said. “I’m getting nothing but positive vibes. No doubt, we’ll run into some obstacles, but in principle, people are really coming into it.” It’s becoming more evident to Campbell, especially when he talks to young people, that there is a huge need for more diverse churches like Redeemer. “Young people recognize that America is a diverse hodge-podge of people,” he says. “Their day-to-day lives are full of diversity, and they wonder why the church should be any different.” 

Tara Rosenberg is prime example of a young person who wonders why the demographics of the church should be any different from the other aspects of her life. She regularly attends Redeemer and is excited about what’s going on there. “Growing up in a public school, I’m used to being around people different from me,” she says. “The fact that I’m able to worship with different people, that’s a huge plus in my book.” She sees the challenges of reconciling different political and cultural views as beneficial ones for Christ’s Church to face. “Worship isn’t about making us happy or pleasing our tastes,” she commented. “What’s most important is that God’s Word is preached faithfully.”