A Lowndes County Church has broken a major barrier in the Baptist Church Organization.

White Ramah Missionary Baptist Church # 2, which a couple of months ago was somewhere near the barriers of closing its doors, has now broken a major barrier when it comes to who leads their congregation in the 2011 spiritual realm.

For the First time in the history of all the Lowndes County Churches, Minister Celeste M. Crenshaw has become the first female to lead a baptist congregation as its Senior Pastor.

The church has seen a tremendous growth in both its members and financial status since electing Crenshaw as its pastor.

The church has recently been approved for the Montgomery Area Food Bank Program, which the church will be doing once a month.

They have a reorganized sunday school department which has been growing steadily, a young people Sunday School, along with a new joy that has been filling the church on Sunday mornings like they have never experienced before.

“Our youth is excited about coming to church and that in itself is a major plus for us,” says Crenshaw.

Many of the members of the congregation have made their opinions known that they are satisfied with Crenshaw, and that they feel this time was long overdue to see women stepping up and doing what God has called them to do.

The church will now become a part of Crenshaw’s Prison ministry, which has been eight years in the process of saving souls in both Lowndes County and Dallas County.

“The inmates are asking me where I am preaching so when they get out they can attend church with me. Usually I was evasive with that answer but now I have somewhere to tell them” said Crenshaw.

Crenshaw is well known throughout the state and some of the surrounding states because of her music.  She is supposed to be a guest of the Newsome Awards this coming Saturday the 15th, but says she must pass it up now because this is the weekend she has church services and therefore she will not be back in time for services.

“The church must come first. I believe that if I take care of God’s business, he will take care of mine.” she said.

She had extensive traveling on last year, but says this year she will rearrange her traveling time around the works of the church.  Crenshaw also appeared on the national television show TBN (Trinity Broadcast Network,) on July 30, 2010, she has other appearances scheduled to sing but does not know at this time the airing dates.

She has already recorded for the show.  She has  finished her new book “Better Than Blessed”, which was scheduled to be out last spring, but due to her traveling schedule she fell behind on the printing of the book.

The book is scheduled to be out by the end of March 2011. Her recording company has teamed up with the Mississippi Goodwill Festival from Jackson Mississippi to hold a showcase for recording artists in both Mississippi and in Lowndes County in the coming year.

Artists could win a recording contract of a three-song demo, a dvd of their performance, air play with dj’s that support Mrs. Crenshaw’s album throughout the state and surrounding states.

Anyone interested in contacting Mrs. Crenshaw can do so by calling 334-563-7893, or the church at 227-4111. Installation Services will be held this Sunday, Jan. 16 at 2:00 p.m. at the White Ramah Missionary Baptist Church # 2 with Rev. Sylvester Poole Sr. from the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church as Special Guest Speaker.