Church leaders work
to improve neighborhood

Local churches are combining forces to improve the South Allison Hill area through programs that encourage and strengthen personal relationships among community members

By STEVEN C. STANDRIDGE
Reporting
Spring 2003

HARRISBURG, Pa – Give a man a fish and feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.  There is a profound and timeless truth in this bit of fortune cookie wisdom.  While the churches of South Allison Hill vary greatly in congregational makeup and approaches to community outreach, they all share a common goal: helping the community to help itself.

Jason Rissler, pastor of the New Hope Community Church, focuses on relationship building.  He said that the key to success is building person-to-person relationships and personal relationships with God. 

New Hope Community Church offers relationship-building programs such as kids club, an after school program offered three days a week and small group meetings in member’s homes.  Rissler likes the small group approach.  “This way, everyone is known by someone,” he said.

In order to meet the diverse needs of the community, Rissler focuses on everyday life, not big programs.  “Ultimately, faith will change a person,” said Rissler.  “And if people change, the community will too.”

Problems arise when people are unwilling to change.  Rissler said that there are a lot of older churches with older members who are set in their ways.  This, in turn, keeps many of the neighborhood’s youth away.  When churches compete, the people of the community lose.  “We want to build a new strength in the community with all of the churches working together,” said Rissler.

Many churches are working together.  A few of the congregations in South Allison Hill work together on outreach programs and worship services.  Some are even offering the use of their buildings to new congregations that don’t yet have a building of their own. 

Temple of the New Beginning Church makes its home in space provided by Stevens Memorial United Methodist Church.  The Temple’s founders, Pastors Carlos and Annette Torres, are using their own life experiences to help the people of their church.

“We asked the parents what they most want to see,” said Torres.  “They all want strong families.”  Torres’ goal is to help people build healthy families.  Not healthy in the sense of medicine, but healthy as in happy.  She said that people need to learn to be happy with what they have.

This does not mean complacency.  Carlos and Annette are always striving to help their congregation acquire the tools to better their lives.  They try to teach people to love themselves.  “Everyone is dealt a hand in life,” said Torres.  “You have to accept it before you can work to improve it.”

At Temple of the New Beginning, church members are encouraged to give.  Each person’s individual skills and talents, no matter how seemingly small, are put to use to help meet the needs of others.  “I know that if we buy the instruments, God will send us musicians,” said Torres.           

Torres said that right now the congregation is small, and they do not get many outsiders.  She does not see this as an immediate problem, however.  “We’re not interested in numbers,” she said.  “We just want to help each individual.” 

Pastor Martin Romain of Crossroads Baptist Church is also focusing on helping the individual.  His goal is to develop strong leaders.  He said that many people are afraid to help in a neighborhood like South Allison Hill, and considers it the “frontline” of community struggle.  “It takes heart and courage to invest time in an area like this,” said Romain. 

According to Romain, some of this problem is that some people better themselves through hard work only to leave the neighborhood.  He said that the problem will never be solved if people don’t start taking an interest in their neighborhood.  There just are not enough volunteers to go around.

Romain admits that sometimes it feels like a no-win situation.  He does, however, see progress when it comes to young people.  He said that almost his whole congregation is under 40 years-old, and many are children.  This is in an area where about 40 percent of the population is under 18.

Most agree that making churches more visible in the neighborhood is the first step.  “Addicts know where to go to get drugs and alcoholics know where to get booze,” said Romain.  “Why shouldn’t people know where to get God?” 

Although these churches use different strategies to strengthen the community, they are all working toward the same goal.  They also face the same universal problem.  There may be enough love to go around, but money runs out.  Romain, Rissler, and the Torres’s agree.  It is not enough just to see a problem; people have to do something about it.

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