Detroit, Michigan
Weekend Adult Attendance: 220
www.citadeloffaith.org
"Our members put gym shoes in their trunks (for spontaneous serving)."
Widely known for his remarkable ability to communicate the transforming truth of God's Word, Harvey Carey's passion for urban youth and family ministry was developed in one of the most devastated communities in the inner city of Chicago. Carey developed a nationally emulated youth ministry model and led teams into housing projects, shopping malls, and public schools in urban areas across the country, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Carey serves as the Founder and Senior Pastor of the Citadel of Faith Covenant Church in Detroit, Michigan.
East Helena, Montana
Weekend Adult Attendance: 320
www.ev4square.org
"If you're breathing, you're serving."
Jeff Richards didn't become a follower of Jesus Christ until he was 32 years old. Raised in a Navy family, his father an aviator who survived being shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War. Jeff's mother had raised him as a Lutheran before her death from Lou Gehrig's disease when he was in high school. A mechanical engineer who had risen to become Director of Engineering for a Fortune 500 company, Jeff was called to ministry in 1997. After a two-year period as an associate pastor, Jeff and his wife, Colleen, have been the Senior Pastors at East Valley Foursquare Church in East Helena, Montana, for more than nine years; married for almost 27 years, they have three grown children.
Detroit, Michigan
Weekend Adult Attendance: 350
www.cgccogic.org
"We try to cultivate and model the theme that every member must minister,"
Marcus R. Ways, Sr., is the Founding and Senior Pastor of the Christian Gospel Center Church of God in Christ in Detroit, Michigan, and has been extensively involved in ministry, business, academics, community, ethnic advancement, and youth leadership in local, state, and national levels for most of his adult life. An anointed gospel preacher and masterful Bible teacher, Pastor Ways' vision for the Christian Gospel Center is to unashamedly "reach the lost for Christ," make an investment in people's lives, and impact the community. He has served on numerous executive boards and is known as a resourceful liaison by many city, county, and state leaders and politicians. Pastor Ways is a dedicated husband to his wife, Patricia, an accomplished attorney, and father to three children.
Far Rockaway, New York
Weekend Adult Attendance: 350
"Even the gangs know this is a place that helps the community …
there are no bars on our windows."
A native New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn, Jorge L. Vega, Jr. has served as Senior Pastor of the ethnically and culturally diverse congregation at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Far Rockaway, New York, since 1995. Before answering the call to full-time ministry, Vega worked as a computer/systems engineer, manager, and independent consultant. He hosts the Rockaway Pastors Prayer gathering, and serves with the Leadership Council of Concerts of Prayer in Greater New York. Actively involved in city- and community-wide ministry, Pastor Vega has lived in Rockaway, New York, for over 34 years with his wife, Eva, and their family.
Leadington, Missouri
Weekend Adult Attendance: 400
www.thebridge-church.com
"We're called to make disciples … not members, not pew-sitters."
Pastor Tim Gray first felt called into ministry in 1995, around the time that Hoop Dreams—a critically acclaimed movie documenting the lives of Chicago basketball stars Arthur Agee and William Gates (in which Gray played himself, in his role as a junior college basketball coach)—hit theaters. Having always felt pushed by God to revolutionize the way churches look at small groups and leadership use of strong biblical authority, Gray planted a church called The Bridge in January of 2006—an overarching entity designed to train, support, encourage, and gather together a host of smaller, integrated home churches for corporate worship, celebration and fellowship. This unique body of believers is radically changing lives in Leadington, Missouri, where Pastor Gray lives with his wife, Kelley, a speech pathologist, and their 17-year-old son, Justin.
South Holland, Illinois
Weekend Adult Attendance: 400
www.sogfonline.com
"Christianity is not a spectator sport."
Dr. John Sullivan was born and raised in a Catholic family and graduated from Loyola University's School of Dentistry in 1968. Shortly after their conversion, he and his wife began a small Bible study in their living room, which quickly grew into an independent, non-denominational, Charismatic church called Spirit of God Fellowship. As he continued his full-time dentistry practice, John encouraging all the members to participate in church ministry knowing the church would only be a success if everyone shared in the responsibility. In 1980, the church realized that they found their specific calling as they were led to reach out to recovering drug addicts. Now, 28 years later, the church's primary ministry, Restoration Ministries, has ministered to thousands of recovering inner city addicts and has birthed 28 additional ministries that reach everyone from kids to seniors. John lives with his wife, Barbara, in South Holland, Illinois, and has four adult children.
Paris, Tennessee
Weekend Adult Attendance: 400
www.tvcc.us
"We're reaching people who ran from church life because they got burned out by the
mechanism itself."
Steve Gallimore planted Tennessee Valley Community Church (TVCC) in Paris, Tennessee, with his wife and a handful of others in August of 2000—a community of believers that has since grown to more than 400 members and meets in four different locations between their office, children's church, worship, and nursery. In 2005, TVCC received the Purpose Driven Church Health Award. Gallimore graduated from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, has served in both music and youth ministry for 17 years, and as a pastor for 21 years. He and his wife, Marilyn, have four children and six grandchildren.
