SUSAN KIM
United Methodist Committee on Relief

Housed in the educational annex of Wellspring Church in Ferguson, Missouri, the Center for Social Empowerment and Justice is bringing a new voice not only to its local community — but beyond.

The Wellspring Church is a United Methodist “urban-parachute” church plant, meaning people from outside a community help establish a local church. F. Willis Johnson, Jr., senior pastor at Wellspring, has been a key founder of the center, which he envisions as a hub for community solutions, study of urban context issues, and exploration of ethical faith formation and practice.

These goals are especially vital in the wake of unrest in August 2014, after Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, was shot and killed in Ferguson. “We are intentional about bringing folks from community-based organizations, standing institutions like the school district and municipal government, as well as nonprofit organizations and foundations. And simply concerned citizens who want to sit down and say, in the wake of all this: what’s missing and who is not being heard?”

Through a grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), the center will also help people in the community develop a response and recovery plan for tragedies that are ultimately a different kind of disaster, said Johnson.

“We can’t predict when this kind of trauma will occur,” said Johnson, “but the reality is that, if we don’t address trauma through the structure, systems, and culture, we have to create networks so that, in the event that there is a recurrence, of some sort, there will already be first responders.”

The center will help put into place the people and organizations that can intervene, manage and even prevent violence, said Johnson.

The work of the center is intricately tied to the work of the collective church, said Johnson. “We wanted to be responsive in a way that would meet the needs of the people that were there with unconditional love,” he said. “The work of the Wellspring Church and our ministry as a parachute plant over four-and-a-half years ago is being a sacred space that is inviting to all in community.”

The center will focus on education, engagement and enterprise in what Johnson described as “a very critical time.”

In this way, the work of the church is not just about bricks and mortar, he added. “A human tragedy of this nature was invoked because we have social constructs, attitudes, behaviors and practices that are disrespectful to others.”

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Last Updated on November 2, 2023