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Vision for Detroit Ministry Fast Becoming Reality
By Craig Pinley
DETROIT, MI (October 11, 2003) - Why would a beloved pastor leave a church of
17,000 people in Chicago to plant a church in a city in which he has never
lived?
Harvey Carey has been asked that question numerous times during the past
year and his answer is always the same: he knew he was called to minister
in Detroit long before he became a successful pastor.
In 1988, God brought Detroit and the name of his future church to the
forefront of Carey's mind during a time of prayer. Fifteen years later,
Carey is where he believes he should be, serving as senior pastor and
church planter at Citadel of Faith Covenant Church in central Detroit. He
has organized a core group of leaders, has launched a Saturday night Bible
study that draws more than 100 people and has located a church to lease.
It may seem like things are falling perfectly into place for Carey, who
moved to Detroit in July. But Carey is confident that God truly wanted him
in Detroit.The ministry that is already occurring is just confirmation that
he is where he should be. The accompanying photo shows Carey (right) with
local Detroit pastor Eli Garza and others during the September 28
dedication of Covenant Community Care clinic in Detroit.
"One thing I desired to do was to demystify the way in which God moves,"
said Carey in describing his call to ministry. "It would be different if
God had been speaking something different than His will - to follow after
ministry. But when the things God speaks align with His written word, it
seems congruent to me. I don't believe God speaks to me in a voice. It's
usually a thought or an impression that will come into my mind that's
outside of the sphere of how I normally think. And it will always align
with the word of God."
While growing up on Chicago's south side, Carey was raised by a single
parent in a Christian home. He attended St. Ignatius High School and met
his wife Nancy during that period. Carey attended Northwestern University
and aspired to do well in the business sector. But when he accepted Christ
as savior during his freshman year in 1984 his goals began to change.
Carey started attending Salem Baptist Church, located near his childhood
home, and became acquainted with pastor James Meeks. Within a year, Carey
had transferred to Dallas Baptist University to gain more academic training
for ministry, although he admitted, "It seemed strange and odd that I would
choose ministry given my academic background."
While at Dallas Baptist, Carey was praying when he felt God's call. "The
city of Detroit, Michigan, came to my mind," he said of the experience that
changed his life. "I have no family members there. It wasn't a place I
visited as a child. I have no athletic connection with a team there. At the
same time, when I heard the name of the church, Citadel of Faith, I had no
idea of what Citadel meant."
Carey says that having a faithful and perceptive wife helped him
considerably as he pondered what his future held. "We've been together
since high school, so Nancy has seen my progression of salvation," said
Carey. "She knew I was accepting God's call and moving into obedience to
God's call. She's known since she's been married to me that we were going
to Detroit. And my daughter, Tiffany, has always known she was going to be
in Detroit."
Pastor Meeks asked Carey to become youth minister after Carey finished his
schooling at Dallas Baptist. He served in that position from 1989 to 2000
as his youth group grew from 12 to around 1,500. Carey became a beloved
pastor at Salem Baptist - three people who were part of Carey's youth
ministry are part of Carey's core group at Citadel of Faith. He also became
known for his public speaking skills, although his senior pastor had never
heard him preach. Once he did, however, Meeks offered Carey a position as
an associate pastor and soon after Carey began to share the pulpit as Meeks
was elected to the Illinois State Senate. Although Carey had told Meeks
that he would eventually be leaving for a ministry in Detroit, it seemed
like Carey and Meeks would be a team for a long time. A chapel service at
North Park University in Chicago served as a way for God to remind Carey
that He had other plans.
"I was speaking at a North Park University chapel service a couple of years
ago and one of the leaders asked if he knew anyone who did church
planting," Carey said as he recalled his introduction to the Evangelical
Covenant Church (ECC) and the process of becoming a Covenant church planter
in Detroit. "Church planting is not commonly understood and embraced by the
African American church. Churches traditionally grow in three ways: (1) By
a church split - a minister endears congregation members and goes out
without the blessing of a parent body, thus splitting a church; (2) the
minister waits for a death or abdication and goes through a pulpit
committee; or (3) when a pastor pastors in multiple locations. To have a
church being planted, where a new pastor starts out a new work, is really
unheard of. I pretty much dismissed it that day.
"But I went back to North Park several months later and spoke again, and
again the question was posed, 'Do you have anyone interested in planting a
church?'" Carey continued. "And here I am, pregnant with starting a
(ministry) work in Detroit. When I told them (administrators) I was
interested they said that it would be great to go to the Midwinter Pastor's
conference in February 2002. And I had the chance to meet pastor (Bob) Hoey
and the connection was instant. I was amazed at the level of authenticity
in that hotel room. That was my first impression to the Covenant and I
liked it."
As for Hoey, the pastor at Messiah Church in Detroit, his perception of
Carey was positive from the start. The perceptions have become even more
positive as the two have walked the streets near Carey's church and talked
to residents this fall.
"When I gathered everyone together at Midwinter, I said to the group,
"Here's the short form to this . . . this guy is the real deal," Hoey said
as he recalled Carey's initial contacts with church planting
representatives. "Pastor Carey is very relational and a down to earth kind
of guy. That's really refreshing for that community."
The Covenant invited Harvey and Nancy Carey to attend a church planters
ministry assessment process in (where else?) Detroit in April 2002 and the
Covenant approved Carey for the Detroit church plant a few months later.
Carey informed Meeks that he would be leaving Salem Baptist Church in
January and Meeks announced it to the congregation on Easter Sunday.
With the help of two core group leaders, Citadel of Faith found a building
to lease that seats well over 1,000 people. Two of the core group members
are Dan and Lisa Johanon, the latter who serves as executive director of
Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation
(www.freep.com). Carey hopes to develop ties with the business community in
downtown Detroit, students from nearby Wayne State University and his
neighborhood in order to forge bonds between the different ethnic groups
that lie in central Detroit.
"The urban landscape has every color, every economic background and every
social aspect imaginable and God has allowed it to be a diverse cultural
mix," Carey said of those attending his weekly Bible studies. "I think we
have healthy churches in the urban sector and we want to biblically do this
(church planting) in an urban context. And as more people move back into
the city you will have to minister to cross-cultural settings.
"I feel a deep affinity to the African American church and pastors," Carey
continued. "But at the same time I have a deep affinity for European
churches and pastors. And I know both of them have never met. And I'll have
to be blessed by both to meet with both. And as I look at how God has
already blessed my relationships and ones that are coming, I believe it
will grow."
Citadel of Faith will begin preview worship services in January and Carey
expects to have weekly services by Palm Sunday. He is already planning a
grand opening series of services in August 2004 with Meeks, Bishop Eddie
Long, a noted speaker and pastor based near Atlanta, and Bill Hybels of
Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois, among the guest
preachers.
For more information on Citadel of Faith, call the church's administrative
assistant, Shaun Marshall, at 313-869-3678 or email him at
smarshall@citadeloffaith.org.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
