“Gone are the days when you could put a steeple and a cross in front of a building and say, ‘Come on in.’ It takes action; we have to get out. That’s why people in our men’s ministry serve as hall monitors, cafeteria monitors, and crossing guards at our adopted school. That’s why our young adult members mentor kids and why our senior adults go read to the children. We sponsor Field Day and Teacher Appreciation luncheons. We reward kids for school attendance and improved citizenship. We’ve talked to residents, taken surveys, and found our what the needs in the community are. We’re involved in purchasing property to be used for affordable housing, and we’re building a pavilion with basketball goals, a stage for community plays, a place for yard sales, for family reunions. We understand that there’s a need for GED programs, for job skills training programs, for computer labs. There’s not a grocery store anywhere nearby; we’re interested in bringing one here. When we talk to residents with high blood pressure and diabetes, it’s because there’s no access to nutritious foods. What do you do when you don’t have transportation to a market? You eat what’s available to you in that community. The kids need recreational facilities. There’s not a bowling alley, a skating rink, nothing. The Boys and Girls Club closed, the Y on Lauderdale closed. So what do you expect the kids in this community to do for recreation? When you talk about juvenile violence increasing, okay, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the kids need some positive alternatives. We want to be a part of that. It all starts in the faith community. If not us, then who? If we don’t make a difference, then why do we exist?”
Roger R. Brown, Pastor, Greater White Stone Missionary Baptist Church, 917 S. Wellington
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