The historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City has not jumped onto the casual dress bandwagon.
“I want to make traditional church cool,” the Rev. Kevin Johnson says. “Abyssinian will always be a traditional Baptist church. We have to make it engaging so that those who want this type of experience with Christ will feel like, ‘you know what? I can wear a tie and still be cool. I can wear a dress and still be cool.’”
Although he acknowledges the growing contemporary “come-as-you-are” culture in churches today, he believes maintaining the megachurch’s “high culture” is an integral part of the congregation’s identity. “I think Abyssinian is unique in the sense that Abyssinian represents the best of black culture, black tradition, black faith, black advocacy and I would even say black future,” Johnson said.
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He cited the names of dignitaries and influential men of faith who worshiped at the church, such as noted German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who taught Sunday School at Abyssinian, and former President Barack Obama, who attended the church while studying at Columbia University in the 1980s.
“There’s something about a traditional setting that I still think has relevance,” Johnson told “The Christian Post. “And every time I go out to the sanctuary on Sunday mornings and see the church full, it says to me that we’re doing something. When I look at the online numbers and see that we have each week 5,000 or so people across the world, I still think there’s an audience out there that says I can identify with those [traditional] people.”
Keeping high culture alive isn’t the only thing Johnsonis doing at the megachurch. Since he started official duties in July, unity has been a big theme.
“My focus has been on reviving the Abyssinian spirit,” he said. And there are four things that we’re doing. The first quarter was focused on unity. So from July through September, I preached about unity, and now the focus is on love.” He also plans to also focus on service and witness in the new year
Johnson has revived the church’s 20 ministries, including youth ministries, and he is investing in what he describes as small group meetups with congregants. “As much as I love preaching, I love the smaller communities, because it gives you an opportunity to connect with people,” he said. “And what I really am loving about it is I’m meeting people who I would not have had a chance to meet.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice