"I visit Dunbar Elementary and Melrose High School every week because I believe God calls churches to bear witness to the love of Christ and to be beacons of light in the community. To fulfill that purpose we have to connect with people, so when I go into the schools, I try to interact with faculty, staff, parents, and students. When I first started going to Dunbar, a young lady came up to me in the cafeteria and asked me to be her daddy. The other kids laughed at her and said, 'He's not your daddy!' but I told her, 'Yes, I'll be happy to be your daddy.' The kids stopped laughing and started asking me to be their daddy too. When I said yes to them, the first young lady got a little jealous. She stood over to the side watching it all and looking sad, so I winked at her and said, 'But you'll be my special one.' I could tell you story after story like that."
Rev. Hosie L. Hopkins, Jr. is the senior pastor at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 2731 Enterprise, in the Orange Mound Community.
FB: New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
FB: New Hope Missionary Baptist Church