MONROE -- “The essence is love.”

So says an inscription in the carpet in front of the pulpit at Essence of the Cross Ministries. “That’s our goal,” said the Rev. Kaye McDonald, founder and senior pastor of the non-denominational, predominantly black church. “We try to show love to everybody who comes in. You never know who’s coming in and what their needs are.”

One recent Sunday, a white couple — obviously visitors — found themselves welcomed warmly by nearly a dozen people before the service began. There was only one other white person in the room, filled with about 120 worshipers. The church has three white members among its 200 or so, McDonald said, and others have shown up to worship from time to time. Hispanics have sometimes attended, as well, she said.

That’s fine with her, and she would like to see even more diversity. “Our goal is to be a multicultural congregation,” she said. “I don’t want to have a church that’s another club. I want to be open enough to help whomever, whatever their needs are.”

The church has an annual Community Love Fest, during which it gives away food, shoes for kids and school supplies. It also tries to adopt a couple of families during the holidays. Still, “a lot of people don’t know where we are,” McDonald said of the church that is tucked in among several businesses on Appian Lane, a dead-end street off Nelda Drive near Williams Road. “We have a problem with visibility.”

At the recent service, a rough estimate came up with about 70 percent women, 20 percent children and 10 percent men. McDonald said that’s close to normal, but she might put the percentage of children even higher. There are 82 children on the church rolls who aren’t counted as members, she said.

While McDonald would like to see the church’s racial mix become more diverse, she understands why it’s not.

“If our country had gone in a different way after the Civil War, it might have gone differently,” she said. “It’s a reflection of greater society. All of us are a sum total of our values, our mores, how we were raised.”

She noted that Phyllis Slayman, one of the church’s associate pastors, volunteers at the mostly white Union Baptist Association, which is nearby on Williams Road. The church also has a working relationship with a white church in Wadesboro.

“These are small changes, and I’m praying they’ll become larger changes,” she said.

“People are going to go where they feel comfortable,” McDonald said. “We could do more as leaders to try to foster some of that. It’s an intentional effort that’s needed on our part.”

A recent Sunday service began as usual with praise and worship, mostly lively vocal performances by the 10-woman choir, which stood in groups of three or four in front of three microphones in front of the pulpit. Music provided by an organ, an electric keyboard and a drum set accompanied nearly every part of the service for the first hour and 40 minutes. There were some Scripture readings and if someone didn’t have a Bible to follow along, one was provided.

As the praise and worship portion of the service ended, worshipers were asked to come to the front to place their offering in one of two baskets. As the music increased in volume and intensity and the congregation waited for the next Scripture reading, several worshipers — mostly children, but some adults, too — gleefully ran laps around the room for several minutes.

Kenneth Moss, the pastor of the church’s men’s fellowship, then delivered his sermon on “God’s Diagnostic Plan.” Rarely standing still, he spoke for about 35 minutes, after which a couple of people came to the front during an altar call. The service ended at 1:30 p.m., about two and a half hours after it began.

McDonald founded Essence of the Cross in 2003. It met at the Union County Chamber of Commerce for 18 months before moving into a building on Franklin Street across from the old Gordon Funeral Service. After two years there, the church bought its current facility and moved in during the summer of 2007 after converting the office/warehouse complex into a sanctuary, classrooms and fellowship hall.

“We’ve outgrown it, but at least it’s ours,” McDonald said, adding that many in the church have a vision of adding a family life center, day care and computer classes.