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Show Faith Baptist congregation has 'quality' i 0 By MELINDA WILLIAMS BOUNTIFUL Faith Baptist Church "may not have quantity, but we have quality," the Rev. Jim Corkhill says about his congregation. The congregation meets at the American Legion Hall, 45 Q W. 300 South. Sunday School is at 9:45 a.m. Worship is at 1 1 a.m. and there is an evening service at 6 p.m. Faith Baptist Church is the only Independent Baptist Church in the South Davis Area. The church's first service was held on March 6, 1983. Only one family attended and average attendance the first year was only eight. There were times no one attended services, times Pastor Corkhill admits were difficult. But looking back, he says he thanks the Lord for being here and says the congregation "is all a pastor could ask for. Attendance averages 35-40. In spite of its small size, the congregation may be among the most unique in the area. A Russian family and a family from Singapore are members, and another Russian family attends. Pastor Corkhill finds their attendance has created a "sweet fellowship" among members, not to mention, some of the best church potluck dinners. He finds Utah's Christian community a very transient one. Often, he believes non-Mormons move because they are not comfortable living here, so they seek jobs elsewhere. The congregation has had up to a dozen families join and then later move away. That has hurt progress toward building, but he said they have a strong core group that has managed to put $43,000 aside for a building fund. While the congregation is still not in a position to build, Pastor Corkhill is looking to that day. The congregation is mainly young families baby-boomers, baby-boomers, who do not necessarily follow the traditional church of their parents, but think for themselves, Pastor Corkhill said. Because the congregation is so small, about 30 percent of the church's support comes from outside Utah. Besides his work with Faith Baptist Church, Pastor Corkhill teaches upper level art at the Intermountain Christian School and officiates of-ficiates at high school and county basketball games. His wife is a nurse at Primary Children's Hospital. In addition to supporting Pastor Corkhill, the congregation supports six missionaries. Pastor Corkhill said the church releases a monthly financial report to its members detailing where all church funds go. Pastor Corkhill is a graduate of Bob Jones University, Greenville, S.C. He was saved at age 19, after which, he says he felt a strong desire to tell others about Christ. So, he went to Bible College. After graduation, he wanted to minister in a place where there was a need. While helping a friend in his ministry, Pastor Corkhill heard there was no Independent Baptist Church in Bountiful. He decided to come here because he felt he had something to offer. He found Bountiful had only three Baptist Churches-none Independent It was quite different from Greenville, where there are over 300 Baptist churches. Pastor Corkhill says the Independent Baptist Churches were part of the Southern Baptist Convention some 50 years ago, but many pastors broke away from the convention when some of its views became more liberal. Today there are few Independent Baptist ministers who were ever a part of the Southern Baptist Convention. Now they affiliate as independent indepen-dent churches. But while there are differences among Baptists, the message of how one becomes a Christian is the same for Independent In-dependent Baptists, Conservative Baptists and Southern Baptists. Faith Baptist Church doesn't participate in most ecumenical activities. Pastor Corkhill says Independent Baptists Bap-tists believe in remaining ecclesiastically separate, but not isolated from more liberal churches. "We're being faithful to God's word, just as Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego, would not bow down to an image, we shouldn't bow down to false religions or endorse them," he said. He says he preaches a positive Bible message the same message preached in pulpits throughout the country. His doesn't mean members shouldn't participate in community com-munity activities, Pastor Corkhill said. "We delineate between be-tween community and religious participation." Pastor Corkhill has worked hard to build up programs-something programs-something many small churches do not enjoy. Among Faith Baptist Church's programs are "Care and Share" groups which meet monthly. The group meets in members' homes, where they share a short devotional based on the Bible dealing with practical living issues. The majority of the time though is spent in getting to know one another and sharing a meal. Part of the Sunday evening service is a children's church, which has accommodated up to 20 youngsters; and on Tuesday Tues-day nights a children's choir meets. The church recently hosted a Saturday afternoon activity for teen-agers affiliated with Independent Baptist Churches throughout the state at the Bountiful Recreation Center. The teens then went to Pastor Corkhill 's house for pizza. Teens from Faith Baptist also participate with other churches on camp-outs. "We try to have at least six major children's activities a year," Pastor Corkhill said. For adults, the church sponsors separate retreats for men and women. It also sponsors a turkey shoot. Pastor Corkhill emphasizes the public is welcome at church services. He beLieves most people will be quite comfortable com-fortable in worship with Faith Church's congregation. |