GREENVILLE — A free event “Declare Greenville” is taking place at St. Clair Memorial Hall, Friday, March 3.
Declare Worship Community, a 501(c)(3) ministry, is partnering with Darke County churches of different denominations, to bring an event of worship to Greenville. According to Caleb Ingram, 27, of Covington, bringing everyone together has two benefits. The first is found in the Bible – John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
“One of the main ways people should see the love of Christ, is to see his people loving one another,” Ingram said. “After this event, people will see people loving one another.”
Secondly, Ingram said it makes more sense to have different churches all working together to reach the community instead of at opposition. The first event, in 2012, gathered believers from several churches for a night of worship. Ingram was a high school senior.
“There was nothing extraordinary about this event, except that God’s people worshiped Him, and relationships were established,” Ingram said. “After that night God burdened the hearts of several of us, who served as worship leaders, to have this gathering be more than a one – time event.”
Declare Greenville is Declare’s seventh event. A few took place in Troy, a couple in Vandalia, and one was in Dayton. It seems Declare is doing something right, as the first event brought in about 400 people and the Dayton event, at the University of Dayton Arena, brought in 2,000.
According to the registration list, Greenville’s event will have an overflow. Declare and the Evangelical United Methodist’s (EUM) church will accommodate those people with a live simulcast at EUM’s downtown campus, Ingram said.
For the future, Ingram refers to Psalm 96:3, “Declare His glory among the nations.”
“It may be a lofty goal, but Declare plans to bring churches together throughout Ohio, in other states and internationally,” he said.
While this may be a new idea for some, Ingram came from a family of community worship. His parents started a church in their New Hampshire home when was about 8, he said. His dad, Jim, preached every Sunday.
“My dad had a heart to serve people and I have never known anything different,” he said. “I grew up in ministry, wanting to bless and serve people. God has always put this passion in me, to see His people work and serve together,” he said.
In addition to Declare, another non-profit ministry Crisis Relief Network will attend the event, reaching out to people needing repairs to damage on their homes and volunteers to help. Teams from different churches go in and give free labor.
“Bringing all these churches together – we can make a big impact in the community,” Ingram said. “It will be a blessing. “
“Declare Greenville” takes place at St. Clair Memorial Hall, 215 West 4th Street, Greenville on March 3 from 7 – 9 p.m. Registration is free at declaregreenville.org.
