Stockbridge Boiler Room

We've heard a call. First, to be true to God. To seek him above all else. Second, the love others more than ourselves. Where there's inequality, work to make it equal. Then, when the bar couldn't be much higher, we hear a call to go and be Jesus' voice for him on earth. He commissions us to hang out with felons, speak kindly to women cursing at their kids, pointing gang members toward someone actually worth living and dying for. Even being called to go where we do not want to go.

All this led us to the flatlands of the lower West Side of Grand Rapids, immediately west of the Grand River. With Bridge Street marking the southern border, and Stocking Avenue angling its western edge, Rapid Growth Media describes Stockbrige as being 'known for it's working-class attitude, European tradition flavored with a diverse immigrant population and, above all, resilience.'

To people who actually live there, rather than write copy about it, it is known for its abandoned shopping carts, lively drugs trade and more child protective services than any other zip code, bar West Michigan. Rapid Growth Media goes on to explain that, 'The construction of the US 131 highway and Interstate 196 in the 1960s destroyed hundreds of homes and business in the area. It also scarred the heart and soul of a community.'

Our God knows a thing or two about scars, and how to heal them. At Stockbridge Boiler Room, we invite our neighbours to dare to believe this.

With God's incredible provision, we have purchased a two-family house at 713 fifth street to serve as the Boiler Room ministry center and intern residence. Crossroads Bible Church is where we gather on Sunday to worship with a larger community of believers. At the Boiler Room, we gather nightly to worship with whoever will join us.

The Stockbridge Boiler Room is a place where hopeless people can connect with those who have found their hope in the good news of Jesus Christ. It is a place where men and women, sold out to Jesus, serve those who are not. Where the gospel is more than words; it is a call to drop what we’ve been carrying and follow Jesus, and to invite others to do the same.

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