By Tricia Hall
The Truth Reporter
The congregation of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church held their annual men’s celebration on March 13 in dignified and unified fashion at the historic St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. The 2022 theme was, “Men of God Walking the Walk that Talks Louder than your talk talks,” taken from Biblical scripture I John 1:6-7.
The men of the church were dressed in black suits. Pastor James Willis explained the purpose of the theme in the walk that men experience.
“This theme is about letting your actions speak louder than words. I applaud you for your efforts for clarifying your duty as a man of this church. We understand that light represents what is good, pure, holy and reliable. Darkness represents sin and evil. If we want to have a relationship with God. To demonstrate God’s character, you must walk speak louder than your talks. This is a sound illustration as to what men of God need in order to understand the will of God,” said Rev. Willis.
The Men’s Day Sunday service opened with a deacon-led devotional service, processional of dignitaries and call to worship, official welcome delivered by Eugene Woods, then responsive reading led by Deacon Darryl Reed. Then the men’s day choir sang several soulful selections as the serve included the reading of scripture and alter call.
The Men’s Day 2022 Chairman Deacon Bobby McDole officially welcomed all the congregational members and guests during the morning service, “We’re here to celebrate the men, thank God this morning,” said Deacon Bobby McDole.
The 2022 speaker was the church’s own Rev. Stanley Clark who is originally from Arkansas but was raised in Toledo and attended Toledo public schools. As a Libbey graduate, he continued his service by enlisting in the Army and earned the rank of Staff Sergeant. He received education from several institutions including University of Toledo and Toledo Bible Institution. He was the founder of United Vision Baptist Church in Toledo and currently serves as the Assistant Minister and Armour Bearer to Rev. Willis.
Rev. Clark gave several Bible scripture story examples that explained how various men from the Old and New Testaments walked with God and demonstrated their faith. “Thank you to the men and women of St. Paul for supporting this service. Walking with God means that at some point in your life that you need divine companionship. You will experience stumbling blocks and may not be able to cross the Jordan river by ourselves. The true answer is that we must keep walking with God.”
During the introduction of the speaker, Pastor Willis shared comments about the occasion and speaker with the congregation. Glad to be a part of this service today but the speaker doesn’t need an introduction. He can preach and teach, and is a great assistant to me. Thank God for him, his wife and family. He’s a true child of God,” shared Rev. Willis.
The 2022 Men’s Day Chairman was Deacon Bobby McDole, and Trustee Jan Scotland was co-chair. St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church is located at 1502 N Detroit Street in Toledo. Services and Bible studies are held in-person at the church and via Facebook live.
