Pastor uses Bible and Beyoncé to reach all generations

As Holy Week nears an end, many believers are looking forward to the holiest day on the Christian calendar this Easter Sunday. More than 70 percent of Americans identify as Christian, but less than a third practice regularly.

However, Alfred Street Baptist Church, a 214-year-old church in Alexandria, Virginia, is defying those odds, as the size of its congregation has nearly tripled since 2008.

At 6 o’clock on a Saturday night, the church is packed. It is one of four services that the Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley officiates every weekend. He said attendance is strong because his 214-year-old church understands its calling.

“We are called to be traditional Baptists, with a high liturgy, where those who want to come and receive an intellectual and spirited worship service can do so in a timely manner,” Wesley said.

In eight years, Wesley said the congregation has grown from around 2,500 to now over 7,000. 

The challenge for most churches is attracting young people while maintaining the core older membership. Alfred Street Baptist does both, and Wesley believes that his age -- 44 -- and his lineage as a fourth-generation preacher are keys to his effectiveness.

“I am raised in the era of hip-hop. I respect hip-hop. I know ‘90s language,” Wesley said. “So within language I can use analogies and metaphors that address all generations.”

In one sermon, Wesley could be heard saying: “In the words of my favorite poet, Sean Carter -- for those over 45, that’s Jay Z -- Sean Carter argues that a couple dollars shut up our holler.”

His style and substance have certainly attracted 15-year-old Madison Welborn.

“He doesn’t make you feel bored or at home or laid back. He’s making you involved in wanting to be at church, and that’s something I really do like and find great about Pastor Wesley,” Welborn said.

His most well-received sermons mix contemporary topics with a biblical message. In 2012, he gave a sermon while wearing a hoodie as he addressed the Trayvon Martin shooting. “When you’re hurt and when you’re scared, it’s hard to hear the voice of God,” he said. 

In 2016, the subject was Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning album, “Lemonade.”

“I didn’t come to preach Beyoncé – I came to preach Bible. And you can’t get out of the first book of the Bible without being introduced to a brother who’s got a PhD in lemonade. His name is Joseph,” Wesley said in the sermon.

“We knew the preaching was good. What we didn’t know at that time [was] how good his teaching was,” Deacon Patricia Wallace said.

Wallace and Deacon James Garrett led the committee that hired Pastor Wesley eight years ago. Garrett said they had 108 applicants for the position.

But hiring Wesley wasn’t without its challenges. At first, he turned down the job. But after realizing he made a mistake, Wesley came to Alfred Street to personally ask the congregation to reconsider him.

“The pulpit committee had given me a list of questions… of things they thought the congregation was going to ask. And after getting up in humility, said I made a mistake, none of those questions were asked. Not one,” Wesley said, choking up with emotion. “I think that that transparency, along with that vulnerability, is what attracts people to be part of the church.”

Alfred Street and Wesley have grown together. In 2015, the church donated $1 million to the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and the last two years, it has become the church of choice for the former first family on Easter.

“What are you preparing for this Easter?” Brown asked.

“I welcome the president at all times. But I always want to welcome that homeless man off the street, who maybe on Easter Sunday is looking just for a family of faith to put their arms around him,” Wesley said.

Alfred Street will have several services this weekend. It has outgrown its current space and is in the process of planning a new building that will be able to hold more parishioners. That will cut down on the workload for Wesley, but he recognizes what a blessing Alfred Street has been to the Alexandria community.