Martel A. Perry

OPENING DOORS TO GOD SMALL CHURCHES CAN BE A BIG HELP TO MEMBERS BY WORKING ONE-ON-ONE

[FINAL Edition]

Daily Press - Newport News, Va.

Document Text

It's a hot and sunny Saturday morning on Jefferson Avenue in the Southeast Community of Newport News.

Wayne Hedgepeth stands on a sidewalk where jobless men are known to gather. But he has another purpose for being here.

His white T-shirt reads, "Stop the talk, do the walk." And that's exactly what Hedgepeth is doing as a marcher in Freedom Outreach Center's annual walk- a-thon.

Two years ago, the storefront ministry helped Hedgepeth pay his mortgage when money got tight. Now, he's giving something back.

"We like to let the community know we're there for them," he says. "We open our arms, help them out, and lead them to Christ."

Storefront churches take pride in their outreach ministries, whether its giving bread to the hungry or sharing the Gospel with the hopeless.

There's plenty of work to be done in this part of town, says Debra Davis - one of a handful of people who attend First Community Church, which meets at the Moton Theater on Jefferson Avenue.

"Newport News has a bad reputation, especially in this part of town," Davis says. "We have an opportunity to get youth off the street, and get them in here."

The more than 20 humble storefront ministries on the avenues of the East End have a different style of community service than traditional churches, according to the Rev. Timothy T. Boddie, chaplain at Hampton University.

"The storefront churches get to more of a one-on- one ministry, where people who walk by their doors are often evangelized and hopefully turned around," Boddie says. Members of traditional churches tend to work through larger religious organizations or government agencies, he says.

"Storefront churches clearly meet a need that somehow may go unmet with the larger churches," says Boddie, who grew up as the son of a prominent Baptist preacher in Newport News.

Many storefront churches begin as social outreach ministries such as food pantries and emergency assistance programs, says Martel Perry, executive director of the Information and Service Clearinghouse at Howard University School of Divinity. The clearinghouse helps churches develop effective outreach ministries.

Leaders of these ministries discover that starting regular, weekly services is a way to keep their volunteer force motivated to donate their time and money to outreach in the Southeast Community, says Perry, who lives in Hampton and commutes to Washington.

"They're still trying to create cohesion in a community that for the last 30 years has been in a large transition," he says. Many of the higher income residents have moved out of the Southeast Community, leaving a lower income population behind, Perry said.

The Rev. Dean Rodgers and several other members of Joy of Deliverance Christian Center on Wickham Avenue hit the streets every Saturday and ask people about their spiritual and physical needs.

Rodgers says God spoke to him in a vision five years ago that he should start a nontraditional church. Rodgers, who recently moved to a neighborhood near his church, says simply walking up to people on the street often works better than knocking on their doors.

"We started by knocking on doors," he says. "But people thought we were Jehovah's Witnesses and wouldn't open up."

Some people do open up, however.

The Freedom Outreach Center has one of the most active service ministries in the Southeast Community, offering computer classes, a food and clothing program, Narcotics Anonymous meetings, women's self-esteem classes, Boy Scouts and other activities.

Josephine Thorton says a friend invited her to a worship service at the center three years ago. Soon Thorton was both volunteering and benefiting from the outreach ministries.

"I never thought a church could help me with computer skills," she said. "A lot of people want to go to computer classes, but can't afford them."

About 50 or more supporters participated in the walk-a-thon last month, which raises money for the outreach center. Some motorists on Jefferson Avenue rolled down their windows and smiled at the marchers. Others watched in bewilderment.

On the streets, the Rev. James Robinson, pastor of the Freedom Outreach Center, sees plenty of familiar faces of people he's helped over the years. He greets them with hugs and handshakes. He says he won't stop his outreach efforts until these people, this community, are treated with the respect they deserve.

"There's too many people talking about what is wrong with the East End community," Rodgers says. "We want people of the East End to know there is an answer. Jesus is the answer. And faith without works is dead."

Dave Schleck can be reached at 247-7430 or by e-mail at dschleck@dailypress.com

INFO

Experience storefront church worship for yourself. Listen to music and preaching from a local service, view photos and locations of local churches, or share your own testimony by calling the 1- line at 928-1111 and select Category 4430, or visit the Daily Press on the Web at daily press.com, and click on the storefront church icon.

The Faith & Life section is taking a special look at the storefront churches of the Southeast Community. This is Part 3 of a five-part series on the often-overlooked storefront ministries of Newport News.

July:

* THE CHURCHES. More than 20 storefront churches dot the Southeast Community landscape.

Last month:

* PASTORS. Storefront church ministers often break the mold of the traditional pastor and sometimes lack training.

Today:

* OUTREACH. Many storefront churches open their doors to people who would not feel welcome inside a traditional church.

Coming Up:

* WORSHIP. Most storefront churches don't have fancy sound systems and professional musicians. But they have an expressive worship style of their own.

* ACCOUNTABILITY. A lack of religious bureaucracy can mean no accountability, which means storefront churches often operate without a system of checks and balances.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.

Abstract (Document Summary)

Many storefront churches begin as social outreach ministries such as food pantries and emergency assistance programs, says Martel Perry, executive director of the Information and Service Clearinghouse at Howard University School of Divinity. The clearinghouse helps churches develop effective outreach ministries.

The Faith & Life section is taking a special look at the storefront churches of the Southeast Community. This is Part 3 of a five-part series on the often-overlooked storefront ministries of Newport News.

Staff photos (color) by KYNDELL HARKNESS; Holding a Bible, Pastor [Dean Rodgers] and members of the witnessing team from Joy Deliverance Christian Center help Mike, left, pray for strength to give himself over to God. The Rev. [James Robinson], left, leads members of the Freedom Outreach Center and its supporters, above, in song as they walk up Jefferson Avenue. The walk was held to raise awareness in the community and to get people to donate money, food, clothing and time to the needy. Staff photo (b&w) by KYNDELL HARKNESS Members of the witnessing team from Joy Deliverance Christian Center pray together on the corner of 23rd Street and Chestnut Avenue in Newport News. Their hope is to claim the corner in God's name.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.

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