Two pastors bridge racial divide

By John Myers, Internet Photojournalist

The Rev. Ron Beatty, pastor of Revival Tabernacle Church of East Rockingham and Apostle Larry Crosby, right, pastor of Haven of Truth Deliverance Church of Rockingham, stand in the pulpit of Crosby's church. The pastors and their congregations often worship together.

Apostle Larry Crosby and Rev. Ron Beatty are brothers in Christ.
Though one is black and one is white, the two have formed a friendship based on their common faith which has also led to their two congregations to often worship together.
It's an unlikely friendship between a tall, red-headed white preacher and a short, stocky black preacher who look past the exterior appearances and find common ground within.
Crosby is pastor of Haven of Truth Deliverance Church at 504C E. Broad St. in Rockingham, NC and Beatty is pastor of Revival Tabernacle Church at 106 Pence St. in East Rockingham.
They first met three years ago in April 2000 at a tent revival meeting at the Hamlet Fairgrounds organized by 26 churches in the county.
Beatty said the purple jacket Crosby was wearing was what first caught his eye.
Then at the end of the service, Beatty said he overheard Crosby speaking and praying with a young woman who had come forward at the altar invitation given by the speaker.
"He spoke with authority as he was speaking with this young girl and I admired that. So I went up and introduced myself and that's where it began."
Beatty's church is predominantly white with several black members and Crosby's church is mostly black with a few white members. But their friendship soon led to joint services.

Joint baptismal services

Crosby said, "We started talking and I had a church anniversary convention that year and I invited him to speak. We also got together at our Family and Friends Day and baptism."
The two congregations had their first joint service in July 2000 at Falling Creek Park, where both pastors waded out into the park pool and baptized members of their churches.
"Since then we've had a number of services together and we've shared friendship and fellowship. Our churches reflect our fellowship," Crosby said.
Beatty adds, "Our people love one another. We're brothers because we're brothers in the Lord. I'm a brother of him because of his identity in Christ. Race has no impact on that."
Crosby adds, "We don't look for faults in each other. Some of our thinking is different. But we agree on the basic principles of Christ, the birth, the death and the resurrection."
One indication of the depth of their friendship is when one starts a thought and the other finishes it. "We can agree to disagree..." Beatty starts. "Agreeably," Crosby finishes.
The two congregations have met together in July for the past three years for their annual Baptism and Family Day.
And this year a Valentine's Day Banquet was planned by the two churches but it became a countywide event with about 60 people of both races attending.
"It started out as a Sweethearts Ball for Valentine's Day and turned into a Love One Another Fellowship," Crosby said. "Hopefully it will be an annual event."
"It was a good mix of people and they didn't divide themselves," Beatty said.
And the friendship of the two pastors has erased any sense of competition between them.
"I can honestly say that Pastor Crosby loves my church as much as I do and wants it to be successful. And I feel the same way about his church," Beatty said.
The two congregations also often help each other out, loaning chairs to each other when one has a large event, or helping each other to put up Beatty's tent for revival meetings. "Our friendship is based on our personal relationship, not just between our churches," Crosby said.
Beatty adds, "The Bible says 'Iron sharpens iron.' Our interaction sharpens both of us. You can't be sharpened against someone who's not iron. Our relationship is based on what we believe about the Word of God."
To contact Beatty, call 910-419-9431; or to contact Crosby, call 910-895-2250.