St. Paul Community, Pontiac, located in an impoverished area about 20 miles northwest of Detroit, seeks to serve its neighbors by providing for their needs. The church’s Facebook page profile reads, “Located in the heart of a struggling Pontiac, MI. Our focus is to bring more people to believe that Jesus is their Lord and Savior!”
According to St. Paul Community’s pastor, Rev. Chris Jung, every day there is someone in need, whether be it for food, clothing, or even for a phone (the church helps them get a government-issued phone). They have a clothing closet and a food pantry that are open twice a week, and on Wednesdays they hold a Bible study and serve a hot meal. Jung says the meal has been drive-thru only this year, and they can serve anywhere from 2-70 meals a week. On Fridays they hold “Friday Foods”—a giveaway of food collected from grocery stores and restaurants by a mission through Trinity, Utica.
St. Paul Community’s Parish Nurse also serves by holding vaccination clinics, blood pressure checks, health care classes, and first-aid classes. They held a flu vaccination clinic last October and had a turnout of about 38 people—many more than they expected.
Caring for the children in the community is also a priority for the church, which held a Vacation Bible School at the end of July. Pastor Jung was happy to report that they had about 60 kids come, even when their homes did not have power because of storms that week. Nineteen of the 60 kids were teenagers for the new Teen VBS this year. They did service projects around Pontiac and neighboring communities. The church is already planning for next year’s VBS and hopes to reach 25 teens.
St. Paul Community is also currently in the process of implementing an improvement program that will include an outdoor pavilion, new children’s playground, and a half-court basketball court. Pastor Jung says, “It will take a while to get all of that done, but we are ticking along.”
The ministry at St. Paul Community, Pontiac is part of the A2E initiative supported by the Michigan District’s Here We Stand Campaign.
Photos courtesy of St. Paul Community, Pontiac
