Baptist churches in Warren and Youngstown took part in the Lott Carey foreign missions convention that took place March 22 and 23 in Youngstown and Warren.

Second Baptist Church in Warren and New Bethel Baptist Church in Youngstown co-hosted the two-day event. Keynote speaker was the Rev. Victor Davis, senior pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Columbus, who shared the purpose of the Lott Carey foreign missions.

A revival service took place in Warren and a luncheon in Youngstown to engage other pastors and church leaders around the Mahoning Valley and to inform them of the work that is being done in the United States and around the world in places like Jamaica, Haiti, Guyana and India.

The Rev. Ken Simon, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church, said the event afforded attendees the opportunity to get involved with the mission organization and provide an opportunity to extend their Christian witness around the globe.

“The convention provides the opportunity for churches to get connected with a body that is established and has been doing mission work for over 120 years,” Simon said.

The Rev. Todd Johnson, pastor of Second Baptist Church, said he wants people to be aware of the presence of the African-American church and its mission work.

“We play a vital role in connecting with other people of color across the globe. Lott Carey set that standard through his work during his life. He showed how to extend love. Mission work is not just white evangelical churches, but also the traditional black church that also participates greatly. Black churches are major contributors to mission work,” Johnson said.

He said a $1 million donation was made by a church in Washington, D.C. to Lott Carey mission work.

Davis said he hopes those who attended the weekend event gained a commitment to mission work beyond the local church.

“They recognize that the Lord we serve gives us the ability to do both and that Christ is not limited to your block but to around the globe. By partnering with an agency like the Lott Carey missions, we are able to do that kind of work. Lott Carey has been a good steward of the resources that churches have entrusted to them to make sure we are touching the lives with Christ and with love,” Davis said.

Johnson said through Lott Carey mission, schools have been built and wells have been dug throughout the world.

He said the effort also is a way to get leaders and the community involved in fundraising for similar organizations across the world that need access to essential supplies.

“You can see how Lott Carey worked through churches throughout the world and in particular through the black church and local missions,” he said.

He said Carey was one of the first black missionaries to go to Africa and is a historic figure in black history.

Carey was an African-American Baptist minister and lay physician who was a missionary leader in the founding of the colony of Liberia on the west coast of Africa in the 1820s. He founded the first Baptist church in 1822, now known as Providence Baptist Church of Monrovia.

Johnson said there will be a Lott Carey conference this month in Columbus that he and local residents plan to attend at Trinity Baptist Church in Columbus.

He said he attended a convention in Atlanta where homeless people were invited to dine with those attending the conference. Johnson said he and others were able to speak with and hear the stories of those who were homeless.

‘I knew that if this was Lott Carey, sign me up,” he said. “We want to expose our community and engage our church in order to increase our participation in missions in the Mahoning Valley by being part of global mission work.”