The mission is simple, but monumental: “Growing followers of Jesus to impact the world for God’s Glory.”

Vertical Church is a new Atlanta University Center-based ministry founded by Damian Boyd, Clark Atlanta University ’99, and his wife, Zarat Boyd, Spelman College ’99.“I’m excited to be back at the place I consider home,” Damian Boyd said about returning to the AUC.

Vertical Church is a service-oriented non-denominational ministry that will bridge the gap between the West End community and the AUC.

“If we can form a bridge between the campus and the community, we can help students find out who they are,” Mr. Boyd explained.

The Boyds want their ministry to be a haven for worship, fellowship, to serve communities, study, type papers and anything else college students require. The church aims to utilize service as an avenue to worship God, uplift the community, and to help students realize their purpose.

“Back then, the emphasis was more on finishing school so you can get a job. College was more career building,” Damian Boyd said about his time in the AUC. “I love how this generation cares about their community. I love how this generation wants to make a difference with their lives.”

The Boyds were heavily involved in campus life during their AUC years. Damian led a prayer movement at CAU and Zarat was Spelman’s SGA president. They understand how the AUC operates and see the need for a contemporary church within walking distance for everyone.

“We want to help develop college students not only in biblical literacy and spiritual understanding,” Mr. Boyd said. “But we want to also develop college students in the way they view their selves and the way they treat their entire lives.”

Vertical Church has established a relationship with Morehouse’s Bonner office of community service, and last week it was officially registered as a community service site on Tiger Points, Morehouse’s community service database.

Although the official grand opening is three weeks away, Vertical Church has already initiated a few community service efforts.  One of the projects was a scheduled Morris Brown College clean up.

“Morris Brown used to be the jewel of the AUC, and it’s heartbreaking that they’re no longer what they were. So we want to serve them, because the AUC is stronger when Morris Brown is strong,” Mr. Boyd said.

You can visit the AUC’s newest church at the official grand opening on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. in Rush Memorial Church on James Brawley Dr. in Atlanta.

Damian and Zarat have been college pastors for 13 years and have lived in Atlanta for 17 years. Damian Boyd is the author of College Impact:  Empowering Collegiate Students for Campus Influence.

Kobi Ansong

Associate Features Editor

Kobi.ansong@gmail.com

I have been working very hard, trying to launch this new church. It has taken a so much time, energy, and money that it is a wonder we have made it this far. With less than a month to go before we official launch, I am taking some moments to reflect on how far we have come.

Recently, I have written about a shift I have made in the way I see the church and my role as a pastor (that word still sounds strange to me, by the way). I wanted to start a church that serves the community in which it’s located. Our first responsibility is to share the good news about Jesus with people. But it’s hard for people to hear you when their immediate needs are screaming at them. We earn the right to speak to others about God when we first display the love of God. Service is a major way we can to do that! For the record, we don’t serve to earn God’s love. We serve because we are loved.

One of my favorite scriptures is, “So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father who is in the heavens.” Matthew 5:16 The reality is that people will not glorify our Father in heaven until they see the good works we do. I simply want to lead a church where our proclamation is proven by our compassion. I am honored, that God chose me to do so.

Before Vertical Church has officially launched:

• We hosted a campus cleanup on 9/11 (National Day of Service) at Morris Brown College, a college recovering from the loss of their accreditation years ago.

• We have adopted N. Metro GNETS, an under-resourced K-12 school in the West End to meet the needs of its students and staff. This school serves students with emotional and behavioral disabilities and is in desperate need of support (i.e. library resources, equipment and student mentors).

• We supported a college student teaching conversational English in China through a 6-week teaching missions program.

• We provided a gift basket for the GNETS staff after a week of intense monitoring & observation from the state department of education.

• We worked with a local Barnes & Noble to host a fundraiser for the GNETS book drive.

• We gave out over 45 college care packages with food, drinks and devotionals to college students. One student’s response – “You gave us real stuff.”

• We have also adopted a single parent family from the Vine City community for Thanksgiving and Christmas and provided much needed food, clothing and household items.

• We provided hats and gloves to children in the community by supporting the Keeping Kids Warm Project.

• A total of over 120 hours of community service have been logged.

I love being apart of a church that serves. In order to continue impacting the West End and Vine City area filled with college students we need prayer and support.

http://www.verticalatl.com/giving/

http://www.damianlboyd.com/support/

I had a dream a week back that messed me up. It truly bothered me and elevated some things in my heart. God at times gets my attention through dreams and visions. I usually know it’s Him when it either troubles me and/or stays with me for days following. My family and I then spent days with 40,000 radical 18-25 year olds, and it only confirmed what I was feeling.

Below is the dream, and what I believe is the underlying message.

Dream: I was in college and driving my car at the time. All of a sudden something went wrong with the seat. So, I began driving around looking for a place to get my seat repaired. I went to some indoor mall/flea market like the ones I used to frequent growing up in New Jersey. Somehow after not finding a replacement part, I exited the facility using back hallways that the average person never knew existed. For some reason, while in the same dream, I returned to the same flea market/mall and left the same way.

I promise you that this repeated itself 3 or 4 different times. I finally found the replacement part I was looking for, and as it had become my process, I started down the same secret pathway. At once, I realized I had made a wrong turn and was lost. There were people living and eating back there, and the environment took on a seediness that I hadn’t seen on my previous trips. The people started protesting saying I shouldn’t be back there.

Then I saw it, a young girl maybe fifteen or sixteen. She was naked and looked in distress. In that moment I knew she was a sex slave. Frantic and stunned by what I saw, I tried to get out of the building. I saw an old man protecting an open door and before I could walk through it, he responding to the cries of those who knew what I had seen by locking the door in front of me. I was now trapped. Then I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep.

This is my second dream that dealt with child sex trafficking. You see I am familiar with this issue and have even spoken about it on a nationally syndicated radio show. I have helped raise money to stop modern day slavery, and have close friends on the front lines. So, I know and get the severity of this global issue. But, this dream still messed me up!

This week my family attended Passion 2012, a gathering of thousands of college students from around the world united to lift up Jesus and proclaim His name to the world. We have been a part of the movement for years and love the continued commitment to justice in the world. This year there was one cause and one cause alone, freedom for the 27 million people enslaved for sex and/or labor. Over 3 million dollars was raised to that end. To that I say, Hallelujah!

Here is the reality, you and I can hear 27 million are enslaved, and it can move us in our hearts, and we can go on with our lives. But to the one person stuck in slavery, it is real, and they are crying out for someone to help them. The truth is there are more people enslaved now than ever before in history. There are whole families that are the ‘possession’ of factory owners, all to sell us cheap socks to the American consumer. As a descendant of slaves, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT! Greater than that, as a follower of Jesus, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT!!!

This is not merely a dream. There are girls taken in the U.S., raped, abused, and forced to sell their bodies at the hands of pimps, and Atlanta is a major hub for this activity. It’s a big issue in the community where we are planting Vertical Church! Like my dream displayed, it is not just a problem in India, Thailand or some boarder town in Mexico. This is a reality for girls all over this country, and the fact that many people don’t even know it exists is terrible. Many young girls between 11-16 in the U.S. that go missing become sexual slaves.

I know what I am going to do, I will keep being a voice for the voiceless, and I am going to make sure that Vertical Church helps eradicate sexual slavery in our city. The question is what are you going to do? You can start by educating yourself on this issue. I have provided links below to help you get started. I agree with Passion, indifference is not an option! 

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

http://streetgrace.org/

http://www.womensfundingnetwork.org/resource/past-articles/enslaved-in-america-sex-trafficking-in-the-united-states

http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-stp

http://istoptraffic.com/

T’was the days before Christmas and all through the spot

 Our gas is flowing and furnace is hot.

The tree is still lit from a paid power bill

 and the fridge is half stocked with delicious food still.

Ma has her car and Pa with the van,

If not than their grateful for the strength to walk and stand.

All of a sudden there rose a great sound

It’s the water meter man just doing his rounds.

No problem he says, just checking on stuff

Christmas at our home, and we have more than enough.

What’s that in the mail, looks like they want money

The mortgage, cash in the bank, so there is no worry honey.

Tough to think that this holiday will go without stress

When you are content in Christ you are truly blessed.

So no matter if all your bills are paid or not

Remember to thank God for all that you’ve got

If your loved, and cared for that is a blessing,

Don’t complain if there is no tree in your home for dressing.

Forget not that there are others worse off than you

Be grateful to God for what little you can do.

Christmas is and has always been more than stuff and things,

It’s about the love that our Christ Jesus brings.

It’s about us exclaiming on a bright Christmas morn,

That rescue has come, for Jesus was born!

I recently have had a pretty significant shift in how I see my life and our church. I think it’s for the better. It started a few months ago while our church was doing a campus clean up for the recovering Morris Brown College. We had been talking about being a church that serves others, and we were finally doing it. My wife said something that confirmed and solidified things for me. She said, “We made service a verb, not just a noun.”  I have not been able to get over that simple yet profound statement, and it has continued to be a rallying cry for our ministry.

For many Christians and churches, service is a noun. Service is only something that is attended weekly to help us grow in our faith. Love Jesus, read your bible, don’t do bad things, and go to church service. These are good thing, but they must accompany action. 

The problem with service being a noun in the church context is that we have lost it as a verb, and in some instances the heart to love and help those around us. Service is vitally important in the lives of Jesus followers. Service is the out working of the Christian faith; it’s a proof of legitimate belief, not the only proof, but a proof. 

I am not saying that service is salvation. It should be what we do because we love God and love people. That is why Vertical Church is so focused on touching and impacting the campus and community. We want the outflow of our love relationship with Jesus to touch those who He loves. We love God, and we do good for others.

The word ministry means to service. In other countries, they understand this. In England the leader is called the Prime Minister, or the Head Servant. In this country, we have Christian “ministers”. Some are looking to be exalted and served rather than serving others. I think we have lost the connection between ministry and service.

The Bible teaches that we should be doers of God’s word and not just hearers. I think that service as a noun had trained us to be great hearers, but slow doers. I also believe that more people would be open to our faith if we were faster to serve. Let us not forget, that Jesus himself is our example. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45 Service is and must remain a verb!