Church Attendance Triples Following Construction of Controversial Mosque Next Door

April 18, 2014|6:08 pm

A Tennessee church has experienced both a financial and attendance boost that began when construction started for a mosque next door.

Grace Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., says it has seen its attendance triple since construction began for the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro in 2011.

Dan Watts, the interim pastor at Grace Baptist Church, told The Daily News Journalthat since 2011 the numbers for worship and Sunday school attendance have tripled and total giving has doubled, coinciding with the start of construction for the controversial Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, which opened in 2012.

Watts, 42, who previously pastored in Mississippi before joining Grace Baptist three years ago, said that his church has found ways to reach out to the city's Muslim and Christian Arab populations.

Several years ago, he found two Muslims praying on church grounds and invited them to a service at Grace Baptist.

"I said we are going to welcome them," Watts recalled, speaking at the A Call 2 Action weekly lunch. "I preached on marriage."

After the service, one of the men told Watts that his sermon had practical value and it could "help our marriage." His friend gave a donation to the church, leading Watts to joke that his Muslim guests had been more generous than others in his congregation.

Watts credited his friendship with the Egyptian-born Raouf Ghattas, who was raised as a Christian in his home country, as a leading reason why he had decided to initially reach out to the Muslims next door. After immigrating the United States, the a former engineer decided to attend seminary and subsequently had a 23-year career as a missionary to 30 Muslim countries.

At Watts' request, Ghattas leads the Arabic Evangelical Church that meets at Grace Baptist's site and welcomes Arab Christians or curious Muslims, providing a space where "every Arab person can come and be comfortable."

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Church Attendance Triples Following Construction of Controversial Mosque Next Door