Keeping the faith - in new ways - in Chester
Remember all that talk about the separation of church and state? Forget it. Especially if you live in the city of Chester.
Chester is a city with big problems. It battles a virulent crime problem on a daily basis. The twin scourge of a flourishing drug business and gun trade make random street violence and gunfire an all too common occurrence, literally keeping some residents locked up inside their homes. It struggles with joblessness, and an education system that too often fails its children. None of this make it unique – not even in Delaware County.
It’s enough to make you lose faith.
But that is Chester’s saving grace. Literally.
The church has long played a pivotal role in this struggling city.
Non one knows that better than the Rev. William “Rocky” Brown. He’s the city’s longtime police chaplain and pastor at Bethany Baptist Church.
That gives Brown a unique vision, from both sides of the law.
He is one of the leaders of a movement among the city’s clergy to move their mission from the pews to the street. It involves a bold new push into the arts, education, youth outreach and antiviolence efforts.
This is not exactly new territory for the church in Chester; it has been in the forefront of civic movements in the city for more than 100 years. But it’s never been tested to the extent that the current circumstances in the city present.
And church leaders, Brown among them, are not shy about going public with their beliefs.
Pastors and ministers across the city are tackling the challenge of bringing Millennials into their flocks, in the process forming a united front among churches in order to improve the city.
That mission is pushing them in new directions in order to appeal to a new generation of city residents.
“We all look at it from different lenses and perspectives, and participate according to our strength,” said the Rev. Joseph Purnell, president of the Ministerial Fellowship of Chester and Vicinity.
He and other Chester church leaders are preaching a message of prayer and outreach, taking the word to the streets in an effort to curb violence. His group has been holding weekly anti-violence vigils in the city on Tuesday nights all summer.
The group is not alone. They see a mission today that has them joining hands with city officials, police and business groups, along with education leaders. It’s a tall challenge. The Rev. Dr. Dexter Davis, pastor of Christian education at Bethany, puts it in plain words.
“For Chester – this is my belief and I’m sticking to it – the city is under spiritual attack,” Davis said. “Demonic forces have been operating here big time.”
Don Newton has seen the problems in the city over four decades of working with Chester youths. He’s president of the trustee board of Grace Community UMC. Newton also is one of the leading forces behind the city’s burgeoning arts renaissance. He knows that faith – backed up with education – can go a long way.
That’s why he, along with James Harper, president of the Grace’s Community Development Corp., run a 10-week Fast Track 2 Success program three times a year to get city youth indoctrinated in the burgeoning STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields. The new directions the church is taking in their appeal to youth is perhaps best embodied by Pastor Joyce Scott and her daughter, Youth Pastor Joy Scott, at New Life Ministries. They put on a series of theatrical productions this summer. The thought was to make the church an attraction all week, not just for a Sunday service.
“Ministry is joy and fun,” Pastor Joy said. “I want to reach people who might not sit in a service, but will sit through the message in a play. They’ll get that same message of Jesus Christ and that message of hope.”
It has not escaped Scott’s attention that many cash-starved school districts, including Chester Upland, have been forced to make hard choices when it comes to the arts. She’s hoping the church can fill some of that gap.
This focus on youth is apparent at churches across the city. It’s an old tradition in Chester, but one with a vibrant new twist.
It’s not just getting young people to services, but to push them into service – helping the city and meeting the needs of the next generation.
“We find ourselves in the situation of attracting Millennials to church,” said Michelle Davis, pastor of Communications and Strategic Planning at Bethany. “What I’m finding is that to them church is service and is experience, it’s not necessarily sitting in a service or traditions or things we call church. Millennials want to know how the Word is going to impact their lives and how you can make it relevant to what’s going on now.”
It’s never been more relevant – or more needed – if not in exactly the same tradition as generations before.
In Chester, a city with its share of problems, clearly they are keeping the faith.