After more than 51 years of service to the Indianapolis community, Pastor Melvin Girton Sr. will pass his legacy of pastorship to his nephew John Girton Jr. as pastor of Christ Missionary Baptist Church.
On March 29 John was voted to become pastor of the 96-year-old church and on July 31 he will formally be inducted as pastor. The Indianapolis Recorder got a chance to speak with Melvin and John to learn more about the legacy celebration and future plans for the place of worship.
Indianapolis Recorder: What has been your overall experience as pastor of the church?
Melvin: I’ve always been in this church although I was away for two years pastoring on the Eastside. In 1963 the pastor of this church died and he planned for me to come back. It’s been a family-oriented church. I’ve pastored people I’ve grown up with. I’ve pastored their parents, children and grandchildren. I have married and baptized generation after generation.
What’s it like to pass a historic torch to a family member?
Melvin: It’s quite remarkable that I’m passing the torch to my nephew. The great legacy is commendable that we can keep it in the family. He has a young mind and he’s energetic. The ministry of the time is changing and he’s with today’s thinkers.
How do you feel coming and having responsibility for a 96-year-old historic church? Is there any pressure?
John: No, there is no pressure. I think God took care of the pressure with the transition. This is a very unique situation because there have been a lot of things that has transpired to get up to this point. I do believe those moves were necessary to make this an uneventful event. We were here five years ago but we were called to leave because there were different ideas of where this church needed to go, but after that experience, God brought us right back to where we are. There are issues and challenges with anything but bottom line is, I’m just doing what I’ve been doing, it’s just in front of more people. I try to practice what I preach through community service.
What are your specific plans for carrying on the legacy of the church? You mentioned how you’re involved in lots of community service projects.
John: The first thing is, I’m not waiting to get things done. We’ve hit the ground running. One of the first things I’ve wanted to do, which I did several years before in the midst of the church’s transitional period, we produced a documentary on this history and legacy of my uncle and the church. I interviewed the late Rev. Al Hobbs before he passed away and Carla Poindexter was involved. That was my way to preserve some of the history and get it in documentation. We then submitted it to the Indiana Historical Society.
From there we built on top of our foundation. We have to invigorate the trust in this community because although this building has been here and the community has been here, we’ve become just a building. We have to let people know we are more than just a building. We then adopted six blocks in the neighborhood and partnered with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. The day of the (Indianapolis) 500 I walked outside and began to pick up trash. From that moment, a young man joined me and overtime we ended up with over 40 people helping to clean up the neighborhood.
I began walking the streets, laying my hands on people, praying for people and helping get people off of the street. It’s simply introducing the community to who we’ve been all along.
The church also purchased the plaza on the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King and 30th Streets. Were the original plans to form an economic development and training center?
Melvin: Yes. In 1998, I was going down the street and just happened to come across the vacant lot. God then told me “buy it.” When I went to secure it, the place was already sold but when it came to closing cost, the buyers didn’t have the money. I was then approached by the realtor to purchase the property. My plan was to revitalize the community. I’ve seen boys selling drugs and girls selling their bodies. We opened a Baskin Robbins ice cream parlor. My vision paid off for a while and I paid children to operate the place. We then operated a laundromat to encourage people to keep clean.
On July 31 the church will hold a ceremony called “A Legend Passes the Torch,” which will formally induct Pastor John Girton Jr. as pastor of Christ Missionary Baptist Church. Tell me more about this event.
Melvin: We chose the name Passing the Torch because it’s fire and it’s energy. It’s a banquet to celebrate new leadership at Christ Missionary Baptist Church after 51 years of devoted service. The guest speaker will be Dr. Jerry Young, president of National Baptist Convention USA Inc. and pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss. The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Ritz Charles in Carmel.
What’s one thing you want people to recall when they think of Pastor Melvin B. Girton?
Melvin: My biblical theme for these last 51 years has been, ‘When I rise, I know my redeemer lives’ and church members practice that and get strength from it. It’s that kind of biblical sense and Scripture I’ve embedded into people.
For more information about Christ Missionary Baptist Church, visit Christmbc.org and to purchase tickets to the “A Legend Passes the Torch” event, visit Thetorch.eventbrite.com.
