Loving the Unloved in the Nation’s Drug Epicenter—Calvary Chapel Clayton, NC, Ministers in Kensington, PA
Photos compliments of CC Clayton, NC
Ray Gilbarte (left) prays with a man during their street evangelism in Kensington.
“How do you know that Jesus can save me?” asked the young girl who had dropped into the seat next to Assistant Pastor Jeffrey Anderson. The question rocked him. Jeffrey confessed, “I had to trust the Holy Spirit would speak for me.” As the conversation began to flow, he assured her, “I know Jesus can save you because He saved me. And if He can save me, He can save anyone.” Jeffrey and his team of 10 volunteers from Calvary Chapel Clayton, NC, were on a four-day mission trip ministering on the streets with The Rock—Calvary Chapel of Kensington in Philadelphia, PA.
Jeffrey had been talking with the girl for about a half hour in The Rock’s coffee shop, The Lost Coin. Seated nearby, a young man listened intently. “I shared the Gospel with him, and he asked fantastic questions. I was able to respond with Scripture.” Jeffrey chuckled, “He said, ‘Man, you must go to church a lot!’ I replied ‘Well, yeah, but I read my Bible. Do you have one?’” He responded No but eagerly added that he would like one. Ministering alongside Jeffrey, 17-year-old Elizabeth Espinosa leapt to retrieve a Bible. “His face lit up when we handed it to him,” Jeffrey recalled, “and he asked if we would write our names in the front, where it says “To” and “From”. It clearly meant a lot to him that this gift would be personal and remembered.” After signing their names and his, they added the date below.
Heartbreaking Scenes
Kensington, considered the epicenter of the nation’s opioid crisis, has been a mission field of The Rock for over two decades. Although Jeffrey has been taking CC Clayton’s older youth there for the last several years, this year he opened the trip up to the entire church. Four people who had never been before made the trip along with six veterans. “Anyone who goes for the first time, it is a very eye-opening, jarring experience when they see what they do,” Jeffrey relayed. All around the block, there are distressing scenes of people with drug-filled needles in their veins; many bent in half and twisted as a result, and some with rotting flesh wounds. Jeffrey reasoned, “You get acclimated to it, but you develop compassion for people. In talking to them, you realize they are people just like us.”
No stranger to drug use in his youth, Ray Gilbarte—though seasoned in street ministry—was not prepared for what he saw on Kensington Avenue. “Their drug of choice was a mixture of fentanyl and an animal tranquilizer that turned its victims into zombies,” he divulged. One evening, he connected with a homeless man who ventured into The Lost Coin for food and coffee. “He had not eaten for three days,” Ray stated. After talking for a while, Ray encouraged him in how to overcome the works of the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit, and the man expressed hope that his life could change. Ray confided, “I felt like I was getting through, and God was working in his heart.” When he walked out into the chilly night, Ray gave him his sweatshirt to keep warm. “He wanted a blanket, but I didn’t have one. But I left that encounter encouraged that I had made a difference, and things were going to be different for him.”
The next morning as the team went out to evangelize, they came upon a man whom they thought was dead. Shaking him, he mumbled something, and they walked on. “There were hundreds of people in the street like this, so it was not a big deal,” Ray offered. “But as I passed him, I realized he was the man I connected with the previous night. I was heartbroken, and tears filled my eyes. I prayed that he could break free from the enemy’s grip and surrender his life to the Lord. Unfortunately, that was the last time I saw him.”
Holding a flyer, Brooke Espinoza (right) points a man to information, assistance, and opportunities available through The Rock’s ministries.
Prayer Walk & Ministry Opportunities
On the first morning of their trip, the CC Clayton team was led by an intern with The Rock on a prayer walk, praying over every spot where The Rock has a ministry. “We went to the Chaplains building, the Youth Factory they are trying to build and support, the Nehemiah House where the young men are, the coffee house where they hold Bible study and outreach, and the pregnancy center to pray over the ministries and what God is doing,” detailed Jeffrey. The volunteers spent most of their time witnessing to those living on the street, sharing information, hope, and help available through The Rock ministries. “We would all meet for a debrief after,” Jeffrey shared, “so that everyone could talk about their highs, lows, what they experienced, and to pray.” On Friday evening, they manned the coffee shop for an hour and a half, ministering to those who came in off the street to get something to eat, drink, and relax in the warmth.
Though Brooke Espinoza loved inviting people who spent their days and nights on the streets to come warm up with coffee and a hot meal at The Lost Coin, it was praying with those caught in drug addiction that affected her most. Brooke commented, “The best part was giving hope to hurting people, trapped and defeated by their drug addiction, by letting them know where to go for detox and rehab; but most importantly, letting them know God sees them right where they are and can deliver them from addiction and fully restore them—doing immeasurably more than they could ask, think, or imagine.”
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. Ephesians 3:20
Bridget Lastner-Dahlin rejoiced over a man named Wan, who “so desperately wanted to break free that, when I informed him that the intake center run by The Rock was only open for another 10 minutes, ran to get there in time! What a joy to be able to witness the rare occurrence of someone who had come to the end of themselves.”
Meredith Wilson, 26, shared her experience when witnessing to a homeless man: “He asked me if I judged him because of his sin. I told him, ‘No, because I sin every day, too.’” Pausing, Meredith added, “I told him that we both don’t deserve God’s grace, but He gives it to us anyway when we seek His forgiveness.” Meredith acknowledged that though brokenness was ever present, the “tiny glimpses of hope and kindness from the people of Kensington served as a reminder of how good our Lord is and that He is waiting for them with open arms.”
“The Rock Church, aptly named, and their ministries are the bedrock of that community and a light in the darkness. There is hope [for the community] through Rock Church and the mighty hand of God—to make a change and turn that neighborhood around, one life at a time,” declared Bridget.
Squatting down to hear the woman’s life story, Ruthie Hopkins (left) listens intently.
Meredith Wilson (pink jacket) boldly shares about salvation through Jesus Christ with a homeless man.
Busted!
While the team was there, the FBI and local police raided several homes, busting a nearly decade-long violent drug trafficking ring. The historic effort resulted in 33 people charged with fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine distribution. Jeffrey remembered how easy and affordable it is to obtain illicit drugs in Kensington. “I spoke with a guy last year who was commuting there every day from outside the city because of how cheap it was. He had the need to get it every single day. Like any addiction, it’s a cycle that only Jesus can break.”
At 16, Ray’s son Kaden wasn’t excited about going to Kensington to spend a weekend doing something outside his comfort zone. Once there, however, his attitude began to change. “It was a completely different world from the one I know. We walked through blocks where the smell of drugs hung in the air. Many people were passed out from drug use, and there was a major police raid,” Kaden recounted. He witnessed how The Rock team treated everyone, even people he might have ignored in his everyday life, as humans worthy of dignity, compassion, and love—something he learned every person deserves. “The trip opened my eyes—and my heart—in ways I’ll never forget. It was absolutely worth it,” affirmed Kaden.
Ruthie Hopkins (right) hands a woman a flyer with The Rock church’s information, inviting her to attend Sunday service.
Ray Gilbarte (right) prays with a man who openly sought prayer for his life.
A Joyous Occasion
The team celebrated their multiple opportunities to share the Gospel with many people on the street. But this trip had a special mission. “Each year, we never know what to expect. I just tell them we are expendable and will do anything. But this time they gave us heads up to bring formal wear for a wedding,” revealed Jeffrey. From set up to clean up, the crew helped make the day special for the couple who recently became Christians. Assisting with food, decorations, and the kids’ corner, Chloe Dahlin enthused, “I really enjoyed being able to make it a happy occasion for Jess and David, especially after hearing their story of how they separated but got back together after they both found Christ.” Jeffery explained, “Jess got saved and told David they couldn’t continue living together, so he moved out. Then he got saved! They decided to do it God’s way and scheduled the wedding.”
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Matthew 9:36
Compassion for the Broken
Jeffrey likened the experience to when Jesus saw the multitudes in Israel, lost without a shepherd, and He had compassion on them. “We can lose that compassion in the daily grind of life, but when you do this type of ministry, looking people in the eye and hearing their brokenness and pain, it gives you compassion for them and people in general.” He admitted that operating in this type of ministry will challenge your faith, but “the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say and love for the people that the rest of the world would never love.”
Brooke Espinosa (left) and Bridget Lastner-Dahlin (right) pray with a frail woman.
Thank you for reading! If this story inspired you, we invite you to partner with us in continuing the ministry God started over 26 years ago. We appreciate your prayerful consideration in joining us to reach more souls for Jesus.
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