English-only policies are generally intended to exclude those for whom it is not their native tongue.

At a church that meets in the Northland area, all services are conducted in English as a means of being inclusive of people from many different lands.

The Columbus African Seventh-day Adventist Church was formed in September 2009 by the Rev. Kwesi Gyimah, a native of Ghana who grew up in Nigeria.

Worship, now attended by 65 to 70 people, up from the 14 or so at the outset, is held in the Victorious Life Christian Center at 1875 Tamarack Circle N.

There's no conflict in scheduling between the two congregations, since a basic tenet of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to observe observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath.

"He gets to do his on Saturday and we follow him up on Sunday," said the Rev. Howard Williams, founder and pastor of the Victorious Life Christian Center.

Africa has no "central language," Gyimah pointed out. It is made up of many different countries, each with its own official or predominant language, and most boasting a host of others. By insisting on English for services, Gyimah said that he is hoping to create common ground for people.

"People from all over Africa can come in and feel welcome," the pastor said.

Those who attend services still greet one another in their native language, and Gyimah said that he tries to blend different styles of worship familiar to people from Kenya and Ghana and various other countries.

"At the end of the day, it's like a buffet," he said. "Our choir sings in different languages, too."

Gyimah, whose salary is paid by the Columbus-based Allegheny West Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, moved with his family his father was a schoolteacher - to Nigeria when he was 2 years old.

He was reared in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and, growing up, Gyimah said that it was his goal to become a medical missionary.

He attended the Adventist Seminary of West Africa, now Babcock University, in Nigeria for two years before transferring to the Caribbean Union College, now Southern Caribbean University, in Trinidad for the final two years. Gyimah earned a bachelor of arts in theology with an emphasis on health ministry.

Gyimah came to the United States in 2001, after his parents settled in New Jersey.

He moved to Columbus in December 2002 after visiting a Ghanaian church, making some friends and finding that he liked Ohio's capital city; it was smaller and quieter than what he'd found in New Jersey and New York.

After worshiping in a Ghanaian church that held services in dialect native to that country, Gyimah said that he felt the need to create one that wouldn't exclude immigrants from other parts of Africa.

"Our goal is to have every African country in Columbus here," Gyimah said.

In seeking out a place to hold worship for his fledgling church, Gyimah would often look at the Victorious Life Christian Center as an ideal location, but he never found anyone in the office until one day, after getting a haircut in the plaza on Tamarack Circle North, he saw a car parked out front and met the Rev. Williams.

"Pastor Williams has been very helpful to us," Gyimah said. "It's been a blessing."

"He actually found us," Will-iams recalled. "He was looking for a place to house his worship. He came by here one day and asked, 'Rev. Williams, would it be possible to share this space?' I thought, well, to me it was a great idea, because we're about evangelizing this community.

"He makes a great extension for us."

Gyimah, Williams added, has excellent contacts in the African community in the Northland area.

Looking to the future, Gyimah said that he believes a church needs to be community-oriented.

With his interest in health ministry, he said that he would like to concentrate on that aspect of community life.

"It's my goal and my prayers that we establish a community health center," Gyimah said.

This would be a place to offer classes in cooking healthy meals, free information on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and other aspects of looking after one's own physical wellbeing. In addition, Gyimah envisions having computers and other aides to assisting schoolchildren complete homework.

"I'm encouraged by what he's doing, what he's trying to do for this community," Williams said.

"As people become healthy, their minds clear up and they begin to accept spiritual things," according to Gyimah.

His hope is to have the health center in place, somewhere in the Northland area, by next year.

Gyimah said that has been encouraged by the growing numbers of people attending Columbus African S.D.A. Church services.

"I think it was needed in the community," the pastor said. "Most people who come to the church felt drawn to it. I think the community longed for this.

"I think God had prepared it, and it just happened."

More information is available at the church's website, columbusafricasda.org.