A postcard of the first Christian Church in Macon, Georgia from the archives at the Boston Public Library.
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A postcard of the first Christian Church in Macon, Georgia from the archives at the Boston Public Library. / Flickr

In an episode of "Meet the Press" in April 1960, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said he thought it was one of the most "shameful tragedies of our nation that 11 o'clock on Sunday morning is one of the most segregated hours in Christian America."

Nearly 60 years later, a pair of church leaders in Macon observed that not much had changed. The New Georgia Encyclopedia states Macon is home to more churches than any other city in the American South.

GPB recorded a conversation between Rev. Dr. Jake Hall of Highland Hills Baptist Church and Rev. Dominique Johnson of Kingdom Life, Inc. for the series "Macon Conversations." In this excerpt, they discussed finding common ground between white people and people of color in their congregations.

Rev. Dominique Johnson and Rev. Dr. Jake Hall speak about race, privilege and community engagement in their Macon churches.

We also followed up with Hall when we visited Macon on our listening tour this summer. We explored how he is redefining what it means to be a Baptist through community engagement in Macon.

Have you joined or left a religious organization in recent years? How do you see religious groups reaching out to new communities? Contact our team with story ideas or comments:

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