By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM—What began as a Sunday filled with worship and blessings turned into a four-day revival for the Pelham Church of God June 26-29.

“We had good services, had some people that gave their heart to the Lord and some that were just blessed,” said Pastor Melvin Massey. “We just had a good little church revival.”

As the interim pastor at Pelham Church of God, Massey took over the congregation in October 2015 after the previous pastor resigned. At that time, Massey said they hadn’t had a revival in about eight years.

Since then, he’s already hosted a couple revivals. Massey said he likes to have them about every six months as a way to keep his people enthused about the church and its message.

“After a revival, you see your people really excited,” he said. “Sort of a spiritual renewal takes place in all of us. It just gets us back, focused on what we are here for.”

The church had a big day planned for Sunday, June 26 during both the morning and evening services. Brother Stanley Owensby, an evangelist with 40 years of experience, was visiting the congregation.

After a day of fellowship and worship together, with Owensby playing his guitar, singing with the congregation and preaching, Massey said they decided to extend the revival.

They had between 80 and 100 people in attendance each evening, which was a good number for the church, Massey said.

“I enjoy most about it is seeing my people get blessed, and of course getting blessed myself,” he added. “Brother Owensby is a longtime friend of mine. (I enjoyed) being with him, and several little things just made it good for me.”

Normally, Massey said they see an increase in attendance after a revival as well as some new faces. But to him, it isn’t about how many new people attend the Pelham Church of God.

“You know if you win one person to the Lord, you feel like you’ve done something,” Massey said. “We had some that made a decision during the revival.”

Massey said they are always looking for individuals who would like to get involved with the church. The congregation is growing, and he said he sees great things on the horizon for Pelham Church of God.

For more information or to get involved, contact the church through its Facebook page at Facebook.com/pelhamcog.