“Why…hang out with that black girl?”
Recently, we’ve seen the issue of racism and religious intolerance arise a lot. #BlackLivesMatter, Ferguson, Charles Hebdo, and so many other unknown issues happening around the globe that haven’t necessarily gotten as much media attention.
And, of course, the World Mission Society Church of God has not been exempt from this.
To harm its reputation and scare people from joining the Church, some people have spread the false claim that the Church of God is racist.
From personal experience, I can say that the Church of God is NOT racist. Far from it. And in fact, I know that some of the people making such claims witnessed firsthand the diversity of the Church of God, something that is not found in any other Church.
So I want to share this video testimonial of Nkiru, a member of the Church of God of West African descent. After hearing the false claims against the Church of God, Nkiru felt the urge to address the false accusations against it.
Check out her video and get an inside scoop on whether the Church of God is really racist or not. The video transcript is below.
Video Transcript:
Hi. My name is Nkiru and I am a member of the World Mission Society Church of God in New York City. And I decided to make this video to share with you my experience in the Church of God as an African-American. So I recently heard allegations about racism in the Church of God. So I just want to provide some perspective based on my own personal experience.
I have been a member of the World Mission Society Church of God for the past six years. More than six years. I was baptized in 2008 and I must say that when I first stepped foot through the doors of the Church, this was in the northern New Jersey branch, I was greeted with a lot of warmth. The first thing I saw were the warm smiles of the members and the members embraced me instantly.
And I began my Bible study. The woman who studied with me, she was Filipino and, I think part Indian. And she was so patient with me. She answered all my questions, and I had numerous questions. And she answered everything though the Bible and it was such a pleasant experience and I really appreciated it.
Even in between Bible study, I was fellowshipping with the sisters and spending time with them. And the members were constantly asking me if I wanted something to eat. They were always serving me beverages, delicious food, and they were always asking about my well-being. They were so concerned about how I was doing.
Actually my background is a West African background. And many of the members at that time in that particular branch were from Latin America so our cultures were very different. But even though, culturally, we have very different backgrounds, I never once felt separated from anyone. I felt that they always wanted to know who I was inside. And I really felt a sense of community there. We really shared different cultures and different experiences with one another.
Even my parents were not supportive of me attending the Church when I was first baptized. However, over the years, they themselves have had the opportunity to come to various church events and Bible study and services. My parents are from West Africa. And since coming to the Church of God, their views have actually changed.
My dad actually, he attended one of our recent events and he commented…I was shocked. He actually said, “If anyone wants to find happiness, they should come to the Church of God.” He said, “This is a very happy place.” And something inside of him, even he knew, he felt something in this place that was different than anything he’d experienced before.
So this is the experience that Iv’e had for the past few years. And this is very different from the experiences that I’ve had outside in the world. I was born and raised in New York. And being from New York, you’re used to a lot of cultural diversity, a lot of diversity in languages and different personalities.
And I’ve had numerous instances of racism throughout my life. Even as a child I was teased for being African. When I was in junior high school, I had friends whose parents didn’t want them to hang out with me for the simple fact that I was black. I had some friends whose parents blatantly told them, “Why do you have to hang out with that black girl?”
And even into my adulthood there have been situations where landlords have tried to deny me a lease for the simple fact that I’m black. And it didn’t matter that I went to one of the best universities in the country. You know, I was judged and discriminated against based on my outer appearance and this is just the nature of human beings. People are very physical and we judge based on outer appearance. You really can’t trust anyone. And this is the world that we live in .
However in the Church of God it’s the total opposite. Here is a group of people who genuinely, genuinely follow the teachings of Christ. They not only study the Bible diligently but really embody the Bible. And I have to say that in the past six years, I’ve really learned true love. I’ve learned the love that only comes from God. So I’m so happy and so grateful to be a part of this Church and I just wanted to share this experience.
And I hope that it helps someone who might be affected by, you know, any kind of slanderous comment that they might’ve seen or read on the web or any other location. If you have any doubts about the Church of God, I strongly urge you, just walk into one of your local branches. You’ll see you’ll have the same exact experience that I had. Members will greet you with warmth, loving smiles and you’ll have an amazing experience. So thank you for listening and take care.
