Transformation in the East End

North Way East End is a church with an incredible worship experience on Sunday mornings. Our worship style is cross-cultural, the sermons are powerful and biblical, and we pray a lot expecting the Holy Spirit to impact people. We share the gospel of Jesus Christ on a weekly basis. Our church, however, is not limited to Sunday morning gatherings. We are dedicated to bringing about God's transformation in our personal lives and in our city every minute of every day of every week. We see ourselves as an integral part of God's mission to reach our entire city. Two of our church members, Tony and Jordan Deane, are just one example of how our church is involved in the transformation of the East End of the city of Pittsburgh.

Earlier this year, Tony and Jordan discerned that God was calling them to buy a small church in an East End neighborhood called Wilkinsburg. Wilkinsburg is an urban neighborhood right next to Homewood that experiences much of the pain of urban decay, including struggling schools, closed businesses, boarded up homes, drugs, violence, and other crime. There are, however, many assets in Wilkinsburg, as there are in any neighborhood, including resilient people, churches, and businesses. The Deanes ended up buying a church that had been abandoned, they spent much of their personal savings to fix it up, and they are now planning to steward it for Kingdom of God purposes. The building will host small group meetings and special events for churches and other organizations in the area, including people from North Way East End. Jordan now runs her successful interior design consignment business out of the building (moved over from where her location was in Squirrel Hill). Tony will be running his landscaping business out of a building that he is planning to build next to the church. They want to open the building to all kinds of community events. What was once a vacant building in a blighted urban neighborhood is now an asset in the community because a Christian family decided to make an investment in the city. Here are some photos:

I am so happy for Tony and Jordan, and I can't wait to see what God does through their obedience in the months and years to come. The East End of Pittsburgh is a better place because of these ordinary followers of Jesus becoming ordinary radicals. This young couple is passionate about racial and socioeconomic reconciliation, they are passionate about urban transformation, and they are passionate about Jesus. I am praying that God continues to work in the hearts of the people who worship at North Way East End to rise up as a church and make a profound difference in the lives of people living in our city.