Philippian Bible Church, Los Angeles, Calif.
Fellowship By Tape
By Julio M. Drake
U sually wound around the reels, of many a church’s tape re corder are the minister’s Sun day morning sermons. But the Phi lippian Bible Church of Los An geles is using the recorder they oyvn for another purpose. They have found that the narrow strip of tape coiled around the reel can be used to bind their people closer together. When the pastor of the church, the Rev. Leonard Rhodes, makes his calls, he takes along a tape recorder as well as a Bible. As he visits the sick and the old, the invalid and the confined, he tapes a message. It is played to the next person he calls on who adds his own comments. And recorded around the reels are the hopes, the greetings, the faith, as well as the disappoint ments, the loneliness and the suf fering of these people who are iso lated from the fellowship of the
church. Later the entire recording is played to the congregation. In this way, people who have not seen or heard from each other for 15 years are united by the help of a modern technological gadget. Organized just six years ago, the Philippian Bible Church now has 100 members and meets in a re modeled store building. To meet the need of further expansion construc tion has just begun on a new build ing in a lot back of the present church. It is to be used primarily for Sunday school rooms and al most doubles the square footage now in use. The church has a yearly mission ary budget of $5,4,84 which is di vided among 24 missionaries. Of this number, a family of four in Jamaica and a girl in Cuba, are from the church. The church also conducts a Daily Vacation Bible
School and has a monthly paper. After his ordination, Rev. Rhodes accepted the pastorate of the Philip pian Bible Church without any sal ary. It was during his school days at B iola that he learned to depend on the Lord for his family’s se curity, for at that time he supported himself and his family of four.on an assured monthly income of $10. For 10 years he preached every noon to Skid Row men at the Los Angeles Mission and for two addi tional years served with the Fisher men’s Club at the Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles. Rather than stress physica l growth by enlarging its member ship, the Philippian Bible Church has concentrated on strengthening those who form its core. And it has demonstrated this ministry in one way by its method of welding the shut-in into its fellowship.
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