Nine years ago at a Promise Keepers rally, Boyce resident
Randy Bond Sr. says he had a dream that God would unify blacks and whites in
his community.
Nine years ago at a Promise Keepers rally, Boyce resident
Randy Bond Sr. says he had a dream that God would unify blacks and whites in
his community.
At the rally, evangelist Tony Evans told Bond and thousands
of other men in the Denton, Texas, football stadium of Gods love for every
race. By the end of the program, Bond says his heart was burdened for the town
of Boyce.
“I talked about it over the years with some people in
the community, but the time never seemed right,” says Bond, who serves
as a deacon at First Baptist Church of Boyce. “This year, God said, Now
is the time.”
This month, the Louisiana Baptists dream became a reality
when the two races participated in a four-day tent revival in the Central Louisiana
town that has a population of almost 1,200.
“The goal of this was to bring unity and show that people
of both races could worship together,” Bond says. “This was a spiritual
renewal for the people of God.”
Bond estimates between 180 and 200 persons attended the revival
each night. Worshipers from various denominations came, including some who traveled
from surrounding communities, such as Alexandria, Hotwells and Cloutierville.
Bond says he is grateful for the support from all of the churches
and denominations, including the Louisiana Baptist Convention, which provided
the tent for the revival.
“For people to come to this, it says there was a spiritual
hunger for this type of thing,” Bond says. “They were hungry to praise
God, and the majority of them came every night.”
A pair of evangelists spoke on alternating nights – Randy
Bond Jr., a white former Missions Service Corps volunteer at the Canadian Baptist
Seminary in Cochrane, Alberta; and Doug Randle, a black associate minister at
Mount Herman Baptist Church in Taylor Hill.
Bond Jr. says he sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit at
what he called a “historic meeting.”
“Boyce has had a bad rap (in relation to racial problems),
and it would not surprise me for God to work in a town like this,” he explains.
“Its just like the Holy Spirit to take the small, down-and-out (town),
like Boyce, and do something like this. Now, you cant go anywhere in the
town without someone talking about what God can do in a town like this.”
A resident of Boyce 15 years ago, Bond Jr. admits he wondered
how the community would receive him the two nights he spoke at the revival.
While he was curious what the result would be, Bond Jr. says
he “had all the confidence God was behind this.
“There has been a black-white divide of churches here,”
he says. “(Now) God has ripped the railroad tracks spiritually that have
separated our churches.”
Randle says he felt “humbled” that God used him to
deliver sermons the two nights he spoke.
“It was exciting to see black and white people meeting
on the same page and not in opposition with each other,” he explains. “It
was unity, and there was a form of togetherness.”
Haywood Joiner Sr. is a member at Good Hope Missionary Baptist
Church in Boyce. He says this revival has been needed for the community he has
lived in for 50 years.
“Things are better than they used to be here, but we still
can do better, …” Joiner says. “If were getting together in
heaven, well have to get together down here.”
Bond Jr. echoes the sentiment. “To me, that (statement)
captured the feeling of this revival,” he says. “When were all
in gloryland, well be worshiping together.”
Bond Jr. adds that people in Boyce are hungering already for
another fellowship meeting.
“It seems like there is a hunger for people to do more
cooperatively,” he notes. “I feel the result of this revival is that
Christians will be more unified, and it will open the door for spiritual awakening.”
Pat Voss says he would like to see revival occur not only in
Boyce but across the entire nation.
“My hearts desire is for Louisiana to be first in
the nation on its knees,” says Voss, who has prayed for revival since 1998
and is a member at Hotwells Baptist Church in Hotwells. “I would love for
the fire to spread from Louisiana to the rest of the nation.”
Though the revival ended two weeks ago, Bond says he feels
God still has more in store for the community.
“The ice was broken,” he explains. “(But) The full job has not
been completed. Well come back at a later date to see where God leads
us.”