gang activity and the church

On July 19th, gangs and drugs were topics of interest at a local forum. There are certain gangs that are recruiting members from our local elementary and middle school students.

I am glad that our community is concerned about the increased gang activity. I am thrilled that there are new initiatives that have been started to help combat the problem. But I wonder what the church is going about it?

Several ways that we in the church-community can help:

• know the signs. Become a student of gang-related signs, insignias, clothing, numbers. Understand the reasons people join gangs.
• Develop an outlet for them. Sunday School just isn’t enough. They probably aren’t going to come. According to experts that I have talked with, individuals join gangs initially because they are looking for friends and fellowship and long for identity.
• Become a role model. Many gang members long for strong figures in their lives. Many grew up without a dad in their lives. They long for responsible people in their lives.

Since our arrival in Lebanon, Arlene and I have noticed the uptick in gangs. One of the reasons we started up7street was to help combat our section of the neighborhood from being as susceptible to gangs. We have had gang members attend up7street. We have teens and kids of ours right now that are being drawn into their folds. A few years ago I had a memorial service of a gang member that was shot and killed. The Gospel Center was FULL of rival gang members that night, many of them were packing weapons of all sorts. They had lookouts outside the Gospel Center and around the block.

We created a place for individuals to feel safe, whether they grew up in church, or are members of a gang. We have role models for them. up7street is based on a small-group model and we have our teens broken up into four groups that are led by by good role models. But there is still more that we can do.

What about you? What have you done or are you going to do to help with the problem of gangs in your area? Let me know! Together we can make a difference for our communities.