Many
African American Presbyterian congregations have expanded their
ministries to meet the needs of persons beyond their church
walls. The 650 members of the Memorial Presbyterian Church in
Roosevelt, New York, purchased and renovated six homes and sold
them to low-income wage earners and first-time homeowners. In
September 2006 they broke ground to build the Memorial Freeport
Roosevelt Community Health Clinic, which serves 20,000 to 22,000
patients a year. The clinic meets the medical needs of those
with and without medical coverage. Memorial Presbyterian Church
also provides $45,000 in scholarships to low-income youth throughout
the New York area.
The Elmwood United Presbyterian Church in East Orange, New
Jersey, encourages its 1,004 members to become active in the
political and social sectors of the community. For the 2004
election, Elmwood became a major site for voter registration.
The church, now housed in three locations, provides opportunities
for young people to develop their leadership skills in the areas
of organizing, public speaking, and skill development. Elmwood
is currently engaged in an initiative to encourage more people
to adopt and become foster parents for children of color in
the state of New Jersey.
Cote-Brilliant Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, with 614
members, serves the larger community by providing thirty-eight
units of housing to low- to moderate-income seniors. The development
has been filled to capacity since it was established in 2002.
Cote-Brilliant provides approximately $40,000 in scholarships
for college students each year as the students provide services
to the community and the church. The tutorial program, in partnership
with a local synagogue and the Cote-Brilliant school, provides
extra help that fifty or more students need each week.
A goal of African American Presbyterian leadership is to become
advocates for public school policies, public welfare policies,
criminal justice policies, government economic development policies,
social rights and empowerment of women, policies related to
health care, and U.S./Africa policies.
African American leadership has long been recognized and emulated
in the African American church. Today, however, the leadership
styles of African Americans are influencing many sectors of
American society.
According to the February 2005 issue of Black Enterprises,
the number of African American CEOs grew from two in 1993 to
eighteen in 2005, a 300 percent increase. Companies led by African
American CEOs include Merrill Lynch & Co., Time Warner,
American Express, CNBC, Alliant Energy, Ford Motor Co., McDonalds,
and Young and Rubicam Brands.
These leaders set a standard of excellence for aspiring leaders.
African American church leaders also continue to give guidance
and set new levels of outreach, mission, evangelism, and economic
development to the larger community.
Today there is a growing number of black mega-church ministries
that pursue business interests that benefit a wide segment of
society. While some complain that the line between church and
business is becoming blurred, mega-churches offer employment,
home ownership opportunities, hope, and inspiration to thousands
of financially challenged persons who might otherwise never
have their dreams realized.
African American pastors are being trained to envision the
church to be more than just a place of worship. They are rising
to the challenge of having the double responsibility that Dr.
Gayraud Wilmore writes about in The Nature and Task of Christian
Education From an African American Presbyterian Perspective:
“African American congregations must introduce boys and
girls and women and men to the Bible and to the meaning of the
faith for their lives, but also interpret and become a part
of the church’s community outreach to the masses of destitute,
ill-housed, and poorly educated people of color in our central
cities, people who are falling through the so-called safety
nets of government social welfare programs.”
Twenty-first-century pastors understand that most people today
will only respond to Christian evangelism and education programs
that enhance their self-esteem, their personal advancement,
and their sense of solidarity with the universal struggle of
submerged peoples to liberate themselves from bondage to the
powers that oppress them.
This demand has contributed to the new mega-church phenomenon
and extends to a variety of persons of diverse racial backgrounds.
Regardless of the size of the congregation, there are practical
ways in which many congregations can have a transformational
impact on society:
- As an alternative to public education, congregations can
pool their human and financial resources to provide Christian-based
schools and courses.
- Congregations can offer parenting classes that help enrich
and strengthen families.
- The church, in partnership with banks and private organizations,
can provide financial and investment seminars.
- The church’s activity room can be used as a place
for regular town hall meetings to discuss political and social
concerns.
- Churches can provide lending libraries that make Internet
access available in areas with few or no public libraries.
- Funding for housing projects made available by the local
and federal government to congregations seeking to enhance
living conditions for seniors and low-income persons.
- The juvenile judicial system is always looking for supporters
and advocates to stand with youth who face imprisonment. Congregations
can organize support groups for youth who are released back
into society.
- The need for English as a second language workshops continues
to increase. This provides an excellent way for the church
to build relationships with the Hispanic/ Latino community
and immigrant communities.
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