Breaking Down the Barriers: STANDING FOR CHRIST
*Oh Father tell me why, who sits so high
is it my life feels so empty, that I wish I’d die
I believe in your Word and have faith
But sometimes seeing false fruit of sin
I want a taste
The glamour of the serpent can sometimes deceive
But you promised me eternal life
If only I believe…
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At that point, I was thinking about dying by overdose…just going insane through the drugs I was taking that night. The Holy Spirit told me, if you accept Christ as your per-sonal Savior and live like Christ, through Christ, you will be saved.
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“I grew up in the church and I didn’t have a true relation-ship with the Lord until I was maybe 30. The youth look around and see so many other things…so many barriers to Jesus that they give up hope.”
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These voices could belong to anyone speaking to the struggle and loneliness of sin. These thoughts could belong to someone heading down a dead-end street, fearing a separation from Christ and needing to turn around.
Collectively, these voices and thoughts represent Standing for Christ (SFC), a ministry that seeks to bring the knowl-edge of Christ to others through example and ac-tion. Individually, they be-long to Kelvin Bailey, Tracee Oglesby and Ronson Evans, and they have taken standing for Christ to another level.
This ministry is different. It has a different flavor. There is a boldness; a sense of urgency to connect with those who walk in darkness and introduce them to the living Christ. Standing for Christ is where three Damascus Road experiences converged, con-nected, and now walk in single purpose: to break down barriers to all who seek Jesus.
According to Tracee Oglesby, “this is a ministry with no boundaries. There are no barriers to our ministry and we don’t want it to be.”
There are many people who believe SFC is solely for the youth. While the face of SFC is youthful and younger people are drawn to it, Kelvin Bailey
stated , “It’s a ministry for everyone. Many times we’re thrust into the youth arena, but SFC is a min-istry for that parent who has a wayward child…to have hope. To look at our lives and say, God an-swered their mother’s prayers and saved them. For the young people, we try to encourage them to go another route—whether it’s through poetry or speaking, devotionals or singing, it’s our desire to show young people a different way.”
Tracee added, “even though it might seem like our ministry is geared toward the youth, we do a lot of things in the community, as well. We visit the sick and take devotionals and worship services to the elderly. We have collaborated with Northcoast Men-tal Hospital and have taken programs to them. When we have the opportunity to donate food to peo-ple in need, we do that. We also have a prayer min-istry, where we tape record prayers and mail them to people on the sick and shut in list.”
Kelvin agrees. “When they hear the prayer, it is en-couragement for them. Some people have told us, “I listen to my tape over and over…can you send more!” One thing about Tracee, Ronson and myself, we be-lieve in the power of prayer…we just pray that we are open vessels for Him.”
Another vehicle to connect to others is SFC’s Church in the Park. According to Ronson, “This is something for the youth. For those outside, sometimes visiting church can be intimidating. One of the positive things about church in the park, is that it puts them in a comfort zone. They don’t have to worry about how they are dressed or if they are using the right language. They are more free to be themselves…they are able to open up.”
Beginning in September, SFC will resume another form of outreach and that is Friday night Bible study. According to Kelvin, “We study Jesus. We have people from different denominations. If the Sabbath comes up during study, we discuss it. But we are not Adventist-driven, we are Christ-driven.”
The ministry also participates in community-sponsored events such as Night Out Against Crime. There are plans to organize drug-free rallies and in September SFC will adopt Ramah and mentor stu-dents there.
Through Standing For Christ Productions, Kelvin, Ronson and others record music for the glory of God. Ronson is currently working on a CD entitled, “Free,” a musical testimony and Kelvin is working on a CD of poetry. The ministry also travels to other cities to spread the gospel, sometimes enlisting the talents of others, such as Lisa Bostick, Jonathon Delaney and Chasmine Fulford. According to Kelvin, “we’re not trying to make music to entertain…we’re trying to inform and educate. There is a message…we want to see people reach their full potential. I’ve been to places and folks may have not paid me, but having a young kid come up to me and say, “because of what you’re doing, I see that I can do something.” So it’s wonderful to see that they can do what we’re doing and even beyond…no boundaries.”
—Cecily Anitah Bryant
*Sample from the poem, “Whisper and Cry,” from the book, My World © 2004, by Kelvin Bailey.
