“The Lord’s Team”
Full Gospel United Pentecostal Church
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
By Anna Stamborski
Not all football teams are created equal. Some have one star player that gets all the publicity. Some are infamous for consistently losing year after year. And still, there are a small few that have an electric feeling to them – those teams when you can tell that the players are committed to each other and committed to making each other look good, the ones where there is a bond of respect and love between the players and the coach. All parts of the team are running at their highest capacity to get them to victory. After spending months getting to know them, I think this best describes the energy, intentionality, and community at Full Gospel United Pentecostal (FGUPC) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I envision God as the head coach, in relationship with all, but expecting the quarterback, Pastor Allmon, to be the tone-setter. He supports setting up the “players” to make catches, tackles, and touchdowns. FGUPC doesn’t view victory as having more congregants, gaining more popularity, or even simply supporting the Baton Rouge community. Ultimate victory for this conregation means bringing people into a relationship with God. They’re committed to each other and work hard in all seasons to become the best team they can be. Each player plays a key role and is necessary. They trust their quarterback and their head coach. Victory is in their sights and they believe they will accomplish it, even as they face challenges.
This majority Black church was started in 1954 as an “unincorporated colored religious organization” by the late Elder Sylvan and Emma Mackey. In 1969 when Elder Sylvan Mackey passed away, Pastor Jimmie Wade and his wife served as “Pastor of the church” until 1982. The church was called “Ethnic Presbyter of the Louisiana District of the United Pentecostal Church International.” From 1983 to 2012, Bishop Richard Allmon Sr. and his wife Lois Allmon were elected as “Pastor of the church.” By the time Allmon Sr. passed away in 2012, FGUPC had moved to their current location and bought 19 acres of land across the street. There they built the S.E. Mackey center, a full-service community center. In 2012 Pastor Ryan Allmon Jr. and his wife Brittany Allmon were then elected Pastor. Even throughout all these transitions, the church has remained financially stable and has always kept its doors open. Fundamental tenets of FGUPC, as stated by Bishop Allmon Sr., were: “Integrity First,” “Forward Movement,” “Committed and Faithful,” and “Excellence in All We Do.” Full Gospel now has around 250-300 congregants, including 40-50 youth. They have a weekly Sunday service, “Children’s Church,” prayer on Monday and Wednesday nights, and Connect Groups on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, they have daily live-streamed devotionals on their Facebook page, YouTube, Twitter, and Periscope. Full Gospel really does then live up to being a “place to hear truth, a place to connect, and a place to belong.” While they heavily focus on supporting their Full Gospel community, as we will see later on, they are also intent on making themselves, and the support they give, indispensable to the greater Baton Rouge community.
It strikes me that churches tend either to focus heavily on supporting their own congregants’ personal relationships with God and being holy and set apart or to heavily emphasize serving the greater community. However, I have found that Full Gospel seems to show us a third way, one that strives to do both. Finding that the people of the greater Baton Rouge community are not having their holistic needs met (spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental), FGUPC has created a church in which people are brought into a community of like-minded believers who are expected to both pursue individual holiness and have a positive impact on those outside of the church’s walls. There is a deep sense of urgency that comes from being in the presence of the Lord and wanting individuals to experience that healing; however, it doesn’t stop there. FGUPC wants to help the greater community to experience structural healing as well; for example, through professional counseling services or providing support after a flood. But just how does a church balance the focus between addressing spiritual needs by sharing the gospel with others and supporting meeting physical needs in the community? “We Exist to LOVE God, LOVE each other, and REACH those far from God.” This is FGUPC’s mission, and everything they do, whether a fun community outreach or deciding how to adapt programming during the COVID-19 pandemic, is funneled through this mission. This isn’t some mission statement that only the pastor knows; every person in the congregation can state it. Pastor Allmon even prompted the congregation to join him as he said it during the Sunday service I attended online. Additionally, congregants in the focus group shared that everyone knows their place in the mission, and Pastor Allmon wants to make it extremely clear how people can get plugged in and keep growing. How congregants go about accomplishing this mission is through being F.E.D. agents: agents of F-Fellowship, E-Evangelism, and D-Discipleship. Everyone plays a part in this continuous cycle, and those who join are also expected to be a part of this process. The idea is that everyone is expected to be “diligent, living in [our] purpose” and “[doing] your part.”
While getting to know the church, Pastor Allmon, and some of their leaders, I wondered where all their energy came from. Why were they so urgently wanting to follow God? The more I got to know them, the more I realized that this energy was founded on their particular view of Scripture, God’s presence, and God’s calling. They view God as actively working in the world, wanting to engage with people in personal relationships and bless them. While listening to First Lady Brittany’s devotional, I heard these beliefs overtly preached. Her devotional was squarely centered on the conviction that God is active and should be a part of every decision congregants make. As Desiree, a leader in the church who grew up attending FGUPC, put it, in response to God’s activity, people are “sold out for God” and actively try to grow in their walk with God and to bring others with them. Interwoven into many conversations was a theme of congregants seeing God do miracles and bless them for having faith and engaging into that God was calling them. Even after learning about their view of God and God’s role in each person’s life, I had an “Aha” moment when pondering how this church structured itself in such an organized, decentralized, growth-centered space. As a former teacher and camp director, I knew there had to be a reason for how intentional Full Gospel was! Churches don’t accidentally become like this. That moment occurred when I was first talking with Pastor Allmon, and he mentioned he had been in the military. I remember interrupting him and shouting, “Oh, this all makes sense now!” He shared how his military background affects his desire to have a decentralized structure. If someone, including himself, was unable to accomplish a goal, “the mission still has to be completed.” While Pastor Allmon is seen as having a vision from God for how God wants to work through FGUPC, he is not the sole proprietor of power. It might not surprise anyone to know that Pastor Ryan is also a personal trainer. He has a passion for training, equipping, and growing others up into their highest potential. Desiree spoke precisely to this dynamic. She said he always shares with you what he expects from you and then always pushes you “to take it further.”
Just like you’d expect him to say, Pastor Allmon shared “we’re mission-driven” when explaining how Full Gospel functions. Therefore, I paint FGUPC on their terms – how they love God, how they love each other, and how they reach those far from God.
While talking to church leaders and new congregants, the common denominator of what drew them to FGUPC and kept them there was feeling God’s presence. Whether it was during a Sunday service or the people they interacted with, they felt God moving, working, and active. Congregants have a specific view of who God is and how God functions. During this season of COVID-19, there has been a renewal of seeking after God. As they seek after the Lord, they also find God actively responding in small and large ways.
Myra, a former administrative assistant who is now studying computer science, explained, “In this season, God is doing something. He’s wanting to speak to us. You know, He’s wanting to get something out to us. We need to realign on our focus, realign our vision, our purpose.” When it came to her personal experience, she shared that “God really worked’ on her during this pandemic. When the pandemic hit, she asked God, “What are you doing? What are you trying to say like, what is going on?” Myra said she entered into a season of prayer and “[blocked] everything else out, just [to] give Him more space. To see what it is that He wants me to do.” She found that God spoke directly to her fears and insecurities. She had a “fear of saying something wrong or fear of not meeting expectations.” She then shared that God then brought to mind Matthew 10:28, when Jesus spoke about not being afraid of what can physically hurt you. She said that she used to be shy and timid, but God was calling her to stop fearing. God was telling her, “If you do mess up, I’m not going to make you ashamed.” With this sense of fearlessness, she adapted and now supports leading the daily devotionals broadcasted on the Full Gospel social media platforms! While this might seem small, I believe this is an excellent example of how Full Gospel has trained congregants to want to be in communion with God, step out in faith in what God is calling them to do, and experience blessing because of having that courage.
Other congregants have also spoken of God moving during this time. A couple that experienced infertility just had a set of twins. Julie spoke about how a woman came to church limping and in pain. The ministers then prayed for her, and afterward, she took a “few laps around a church!” Desiree spoke about congregants getting promoted and getting raises. There is no doubt that this church is experiencing miracles and blessings, and they credit it to their faithfulness to God and doing the will of God. Jonathan, the self-proclaimed “back-up guy” who has played most roles at Full Gospel, summarized this dynamic beautifully: God’s “showing us today [that] as long as we continue to do what we’re called to do, and, you know, stay in the capacity of what we can . . . God will be moving.” With all this blessing going around, however, I wonder what it is like for folks who are going through rough times and don’t seem to be finding blessings coming out of it. Myra shared her perspective with me on this question. Because God is in control, one can never hit a low point. While it “might be lower than where we are, it’s never low.”
Secondly, they are called to love each other. Jada has been attending FGUPC for the past four years, and when describing her first time visiting, she spoke of the love that she felt in that space. She said there was something different about the atmosphere that made it feel like she belonged. This sense of love and belonging for each other has been years in the making. Melissa, a long-time Full Gospel member and lay leader, spoke of the intimate relationship she had with Pastor Allmon Sr. and First Lady Allmon. As a college freshman, she remembered attending FGUPC many years ago with her boyfriend (now husband) and spending time with the Allmons. She remembered that they “opened up their home, they opened up their heart to allow us . . . [to] learn about God, learning about life.” She spoke of spending hours in their house being taught and studying Scripture. Melissa said that the Bible studies and discussions were “off the chart.” She considered both Bishop Allmon and First Lady Allmon a second father and mother.
Julie spoke similarly of Mother Allmon. She remembers her staying after church and “just constantly praying.” Mother Allmon modeled this for others, and others followed along. Julie said, “No matter how long it takes you to get it, someone . . . is always there to help.” She spoke of a moment of deep despair when she was “on my bathroom floor one night, I mean, I was just crying out to God and one of the sisters from the church literally came to my house at 12 PM [sic] at night and laid out on my bathroom floor with me.” She summarized it perfectly: “Who we are in the congregation just in two words – I would say family and I would say community, because, I mean, we really are a family.”
Lastly, their goal is to reach those far from God. Full Gospel seems to have found a home in the liminal space between being internally and externally focused. I like to frame it as being “distinct, but not distant.” When I asked Pastor Allmon about FGUPC’s relationship with the Baton Rouge community, his first response was: “We’re totally intertwined in our community.” There is a Full Gospel Foundation associated with the church whose mission is to “show our care and concern for the total man . . . by ministering to the mental, physical, and spiritual needs of our community through a multitude of services. We feel the best way to care for our neighbors’ souls is to care for our neighbors’ body.” The goal is to help meet the felt needs of community members through “professional counseling, housing rehabilitation, initiatives for seniors, and programs designed to serve battered women and children.” They have done this by creating the S.E. Mackey Center, a “full-service community fitness center.” Services include a fitness center, fitness classes, personal training, and special event rentals.
A moment that spoke of Full Gospel truly embodying part of their mission was in 2016 when there was a massive flood in Louisiana. Pastor Allmon was in Alaska with his wife on a mission trip when it happened. When they came back, “not only did our church flood, but people in our church’s houses flooded as well.” Pastor Allmon said, “I never led a church through a flood and all I knew to do was to work to help,” and that’s precisely what he did. He describes it as the, Flood comes, floods our entire sanctuary, floods our annex. Leaves only our SE Mackey center . . . here’s what I say, “Let’s take the pews outside. We’ll figure it out, we’ll get it empty. Let’s get some stuff in here.” Some supplies for our community because supplies were limited. Stores were out of bleach. Stores are out of shovels. Stores were out of water. Everything that you needed we quickly connected with a partner with an organization [and received]. And we served at least, at least 30,000 people, for the next seven days straight without doing anything to our building.
At that point, he shared, “I still [had] no clue how we’re going to recover as a church.” Because most congregants were affected by the flood, they couldn’t continue to support the church financially. The church had over $200,000 worth of damages, with only “$90,000 in the reserves.” He then said that the organization that sent supplies arrived on location to see what was going on. Pastor Allmon was with them and mentioned that he had to go to the church to pick up some supplies, so they all joined him. When they arrived at the church, they were absolutely shocked at what they saw. They were stunned that the church was in shambles and that Full Gospel chose to serve the community rather than clean up their own space. He responded by saying, “Well, there’s no need for me to complain about this when my community is a need and [what a] tragedy [it would be] to be having church and I got people with mold in their houses.” This organization then put out a message explaining all that FGUPC was doing for the community. Because of that message, someone anonymously donated $90,000 worth of sheetrock and $10,000 worth of tools and equipment to fix up the church. He shared that their church has now recovered, and when he reflects on that experience, he said, “obviously that was the right thing to do.” Myra reflected on the experience and took it even further, restating a theme I’ve learned Full Gospel congregants live by: “We were faithful in doing those things. God blessed us and elevated us back to where we were. . . I feel like we thrived in that, in that area when we were supposed to reach rock bottom. . . He provided for us because of the faithfulness that we had to the people of God.”
I’ve wondered what motivates this desire to serve their community. Pastor Allmon shared that he has a “burden for the city” and that he wants others in his community to experience the love experience he has had with God. Congregants also shared that “offering more services to the community” is viewed as “a way to bring people to God.” And this circles us right back to their mission statement; the flood of 2016 showed how the congregation exists to love God, love each other, and reach those far from God. Because they did that, they believe God blessed them.
Like an athlete, how one responds to a change in the game depends on one’s posture. FGUPC foundationally believes that God is actively moving and working, and if they remain faithful to centering God and living out God’s will for their lives, they will be blessed by God. These beliefs have seemed to be no different during this time of COVID-19. Nothing happens outside of God’s control; therefore, they can respond confidently, knowing that God is with them and, if they are faithful, they will be blessed. Rather than viewing COVID-19 as an obstacle, Melissa said “those challenges have also created great opportunity for God to really move in non-traditional ways.” She went on to say FGUPC has “grown a lot because of those challenges. Like, I . . . don’t know if we would have done some of the things that we’ve done.” Jonathan shared similar sentiments: “Nothing really stopped with us” because, as Pastor Allmon said, their posture as a church was “extremely adaptable . . . we were very, very flexible. And I feel like . . . we were prepared for the unprecedented” and that COVID-19 “kind of gave us the extra push to go ahead and do what we want to do.” Therefore, in the eyes of Full Gospel United Pentecostal Church, COVID-19, just like any other disaster or setback, hasn’t been a drawback. Instead, it’s a way to innovate, grow closer to God, and expectantly wait on the ways God’s going to move.
While I’m left with a sense of awe for how this church functions in loving God, loving each other, and loving the Baton Rouge community, I’m also left with some lingering questions. While they heavily emphasize personal agency and growth in their relationship with God, how does the church respond when folks aren’t aligned to the mission? With such a beautifully unified community, how do they deal with differences? Not only differences in giftings, but also differences in scriptural interpretation. As 1 Corinthians 12 speaks to honoring and needing diversity to make up the entire body of Christ, are differences at Full Gospel United Pentecostal Church framed as diversity or divergence? Going back to their website, might Full Gospel help people find a “place to belong” as while honoring unity amongst diversity? All in all, Full Gospel has shown that they are dependent on God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s movement. And as they seek to bring about the kingdom of God in their community, they will surely bring their committed, intentional, and energetic selves to the task.
