SHREVEPORT, La. -- Only about a dozen people visited Greenwood Acres Baptist Church July 3 at the invitation of Bishop Fred Caldwell, who offered to pay whites $5 to attend his predominantly black church.

Among those who attended were two homeless drifters who spent the night in the woods nearby, according to a report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"We loved it," said Michael Still of Dodge City, Kan., who woke Sunday with a burning desire to attend church and wound up inside Greenwood Acres Baptist Church. "We don't see race, we see people."

Caldwell drew worldwide attention -- and some criticism -- when he made his offer to pay whites to attend. He shrugs off the criticism, saying he was being obedient to God.

"God told me to pay white folks," Caldwell told the newspaper. "He told me to say it just like that. Pay white folks $5 to come to church."

Many of those who attended said they came for the experience, not the pay.

"I've always wanted to go to a black church, but I've always been afraid to be the only one," said Tricia Ward, who did not take the $5. "I got goose bumps. That's one of the things that attracted me."

Not everyone approved of Caldwell's plan to bring more diversity to his church. Critics dismiss it as a publicity stunt and some say his offer debases worship. But Caldwell, who will repeat the experiment throughout August, is undeterred by the criticism and the low turnout.

"Little bitty, narrow-minded people want to talk about "This ain't God,'" he said. "If this ain't God, how did it (the message) get around the world in less than 80 days?"