WS Chronicle

In above photo: (L-R) Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley, executive secretary-treasurer of The Lott Carey Global Missional Community; Pastor Alyn Waller, Lott Carey vice president and pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church; the Rev. Pamela Holder of New Faith Baptist Church; and Pastor Gregory T. Headen of Genesis Baptist Church. (Photo by Timothy Ramsey)

By Timothy Ramsey

For The Chronicle

The Lott Carey Global Missional Community is holding its 118th annual Convention, through today (Thursday, Aug. 14) at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center, 3121 Gate City Blvd. in Greensboro.

It started Monday, Aug. 10.

The event is free and open to the general public.

The convention, which includes many events, such as disaster relief, fire prevention and blood donor drives, cater to ages as young as 6.

As many as 3,000 people are expected to attend.

“We train the children so that they become mission-minded adults,” said Lott Carey Vice President Alyn Waller of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

David Emmanuel Goatley, the executive secretary-treasurer, said, “We as an organization help churches to extend the Christian witness throughout the world.”

The Lott Carey movement was founded in 1897 in Washington, D.C. by African-American Baptists who were committed to foreign missions.

Their focus is to inform and inspire one another to invest further in Christian missions around the world.

The organization was named for Lott Carey, who was born a slave in 1870 in Charles City County, Virginia.

Carey purchased his freedom in 1813 and led a missionary team to Liberia in 1821 that engaged in evangelism, education, and health care.

Carey was a well-respected leader as well as missionary until he died in 1828.

He was the pastor for the first Baptist church in Liberia, the Providence Baptist Church in Monrovia.

The Hope Missions Program for the children ages 6-13 will center on age appropriate missions, oriented service, and learning opportunities, such as preparing disaster kits for families who are not able to do so themselves.

There is also a youth program called the International Youth Development Program for 14 to 17 year olds as well as an Emerging Leaders program for 18 to 24 year olds young adults, who are on the threshold of independence seeking to grow and develop as leaders in their communities and throughout the world.

And finally there is the Pastoral Excellence Network, which is a community of former, current, and aspiring pastors who work together to explore leading edge ministry opportunities as well as health and well-being.

A seminar on Thursday afternoon will focus on maximizing voter participation to show churches how to engage and empower voter participation and education to make sure votes are cast and counted.

Also included will be a focus on how to show individuals to become debt free.

The Women in Service Everywhere Unit will be discussing anti-human trafficking and partnering with government and nonprofit agencies to help stem the tide of modern day slavery as most who are victims are women and children and forced into a commercial sex trade.

They also seek to make sure the victims are not looked upon as criminals and to bring the persecutors to justice.

Lott Carey also seeks to help those in the immediate aftermath of disasters as they have built over 300 homes and donated a million dollars in aid to Haiti after the earthquake of 2010.

They also were at ground zero after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans 10 years ago this month.

And as the Rev. Pamela Holder, one of the organizers, stated, there is one thing everyone there shares in common: “A meal to get fed physically as well as spiritually.”

Lott Carey is under the leadership of President Rev. Dr. Gregory Moss, senior pastor of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Charlotte.

For more information about Lott Carey, based in Landover, Maryland, and the annual session, visit www.lottcarey.org or call 301-429-3300.