I recently came across something I wrote about a decade ago concerning our mission field here in the Bronx, New York City. This photo of a man sleeping in front of our building was from around that time as well. Here is an excerpt: The Bronx is a very dark place spiritually. Home to […]
Written by: Pastor Joel
I recently came across something I wrote about a decade ago concerning our mission field here in the Bronx, New York City. This photo of a man sleeping in front of our building was from around that time as well. Here is an excerpt:
The Bronx is a very dark place spiritually. Home to some of America’s poorest neighborhoods, our borough ranks last among sixty-two New York counties in overall quality of life year after year. Many Bronx residents struggle to care for their families amidst poverty, unemployment, crime, pollution, and limited access to medical care.
Many in this area bear the painful burden of hopelessness, a feeling that their lives do not matter. This sense of meaninglessness often gives way to lawlessness — oppressively loud street music that literally reverberates through buildings, gang fights (including a recent brawl in front of our church), even gun violence. I will never forget the night I awoke to the sound of gunshots, and learned the next morning that a young man’s life was taken down the block. And one of our members had a break-in at her apartment, her elderly mother coming face to face with the intruder.
That’s why Commonwealth is working to address not only the spiritual needs of our community, but the full spectrum of the challenging daily realities of life in the Bronx. “And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?” (James 2:16) We are seeing lives changed as we reach out to care for the whole person; body, mind and soul.
The church and I have joined the growing community movement against the gun violence that all-too-routinely claims innocent lives in our borough. We pray and march through the streets of our neighborhood with Stand Up To Violence, a group that partners with Jacobi Medical Center in the East Bronx to mentor at-risk youth, mediate conflict, and prevent retaliatory shootings.
Your prayers, generosity, and support are greatly appreciated, and I would love to speak with you more about our ministry.
Read more blogs written by Pastor Joel!
Our church is known as the Commonwealth Community Baptist Church of the Bronx. Sometimes people will refer to our church simply as “Commonwealth.”
As everyone in our church knows, this past Christmas season we completed a detailed study of I Timothy 3:16.
