Citadel of Faith was practicing its “hip-hopera,” a blend of hip-hop and drama, to encourage youth and young adults to turn from drugs and crime and give their lives to Christ. The outdoor production of H.O.P.E. Helping Others Pursue Eternity was performed on the crime-ridden corner of Third Street and Gladstone.
During the final dress rehearsal, the church’s pastor, Harvey Carey, was closing the performance with the scripted sermon. What wasn’t scripted was the young woman passing by, hearing the sermon and immediately giving her life to Christ, he says.
The woman has attended the church since the performance on July 28, Carey says. At least a dozen other people have started attending the church as a result of the performance, he adds. More than 480 people attended the single performance, he reports.
The nearly three-hour stage play was a major production that involved 73 people. A simulated funeral procession required a hearse and casket, which were provided by a local funeral home.
Since its beginning in 2004, the multi-ethnic church of around 200 people has ministered in unusual ways to the impoverished neighborhood. To help reduce the spread of drugs, men from the church have been camping out about once a week on street corners normally inhabited by drug dealers.
The men set up tents and bring grills. “We worship and have bible study, and we cook hot dogs and s’mores,” he adds. “That has been the launching of our men’s ministry. That’s where it began.” The men plan to continue camping until the weather gets too cold.
The congregation also has held an old-fashioned tent revival, provided free school supplies to more than 300 children who later also received Christmas gifts, and the congregation will soon finish its year-long project of distributing a bible to every household in the church’s zip code.
The church began the free bible distribution last August, with plans calling for bibles to be given to every one of the roughly 7,500 households in the zip code. “We have about 600 left to go,” the pastor notes.
Carey began the “Spread the Word” bible distribution initiative as a way to let the neighborhood know about the church, but also to encourage Citadel attendees to feel comfortable doing personal evangelism. “I wanted them to overcome the fear of interacting with people, going to a door or neighbor and sharing their faith,” Carey says. “I knew there had to be a process. There had to be an opportunity for them to begin to do that.”
Congregants worship together the first half of the scheduled two-hour service and then spend the second hour walking through the neighborhood distributing the bibles. The evangelists will travel in pairs or threes even during the cold winter months.
They leave bags with the bibles and information on the church at residences where no one is at home. Residents also can call the church to request a DVD that Carey produced explaining how to read the Bible.
“The impact has just been phenomenal,” Carey says. “Some people have wept when they received the bible, and others have said it is the first one they have ever owned.”
Church members also have benefited. “It’s definitely given our church the confidence that I desire them to have,” Carey says.
That confidence was built as people came to realize they also could handle rejection. They made notes for each residence where they had a received a negative response and have continued to pray for that address.
Members also learned to face other obstacles, such as paying for the bibles. Paying $6,000 was a financial stretch for the congregation. The next week, a donor presented a check in an amount slightly more than the cost. “God has done so much of that stuff for us,” Carey notes.
Before any of the bibles were distributed, the church held a six-hour prayer vigil, laying hands on each of books and praying over them. “We prayed that God’s power would be in all the homes,” Carey says.
Nearly 95 percent of the church has walked through the neighborhood. The rest of the congregation, including children and people who cannot physically handle the walking, have remained in the church and prayed.
The church will continue to do outreach, but Carey says he plans to focus on discipleship and leadership training over the next year. “I want to make sure the church is not centered on personalities.”
To learn more about the special outdoor performance or any of the other ministries of Citadel of Faith Covenant, call the church office at 313-871-3678 or email pastor Harvey Carey. More information is also available on the church website at Citadel of Faith.
Editor’s note: An online series of special reports, produced by Covenant News Service, will appear later this year, focusing on Evangelical Covenant churches in the Detroit area, including Citadel of Faith. The series will take a closer look at how these churches are making an impact in the city through innovative and collaborative ministries.
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.
