LTSP - UTI Alum Vernon Ross

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LTSP's Urban Theological Institute alum Vernon Ross
at Bethel AME, Pottstown:
"We're trying to make the young people of our community top achievers."

Alum Vernon Ross's formula:
'Pray, work hard -- God does the rest'

This story is the first in a series of occasional features about seminary alums and their work in the church.

When Pastor Vernon Ross, Jr., first began serving as a supply pastor for Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Pottstown, PA, in the summer of 2001, church participation had dwindled to 14 parishioners and $55 was in the treasury.

Vernon Ross with tutoring class in the background

Ross had just graduated from The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia with an M.Div. degree. For six years he had been juggling evening and weekend study, field work, and a full-time job with Lockheed Martin as a technical training manager. During his early Pottstown days he carried a dream with him, to start an after school program to support the community's children.

"The response I received from some members was 'We don't have any children here.'" Ross recalls. He also discovered that Bethel, founded in 1871 and the oldest African-American congregation in Pottstown, PA, didn't have the funds to support the after-school initiative. The congregation's pastor had been ill for some time, and the church had accrued considerable debt.

Ross began a diligent schedule of pastoral care, counseling people in the community dealing with such hardships as job loss, addiction and marital strife, also referring folks he met to professional counseling resources in the community. Church attendance began to improve. Observing the signs of recovery, Ross's bishop told him he had a new place at the tiny church in Pottstown.

Parishioner Jean Price in a mentoring session. She works as a nurse.

"In August of 2001, we announced the start of the Tuesday afternoon after school program to the church, community, schools and other churches," he recalls. He told the community his goal was for the community's youth "to become top achievers." He found parishioners willing to serve as mentors. Volunteers and supporters included community parents eager for their children to have a safe place after school to do their homework.

It didn't hurt that through Lockheed Martin Ross had acquired a wealth of corporate experience in networking and relating to people and that he had the support of his employer on several fronts. The firm gave him flex time to deal with church funerals and other emergencies. It advocated for employees to serve as mentor volunteers at the struggling church. The company also responded to his appeal for funds. Additional financial support came from State Farm, the Sisters of Loretta, the Philadelphia Foundation and friends. The gifts totaled $10,500. "I just submitted proposals and applications and God did the rest, " Ross says.

Someone donated school supplies and remedial resources. When Ross or a mentor discovered a child in need of clothing or food the growing church found ways to respond. Most weeks 20 or more children show up for the tutoring. One child has moved from academic mediocrity to the honor roll. The program has fueled attendance at a Tuesday evening Bible study, which follows the tutoring session. Ross has found his knowledge of multimedia technology useful in formatting Bible study. "The study is supposed to end at 8:15, but lately I find people have not been wanting to go home afterward. They stay and talk about what they have been learning. I really feel the power of the Holy Spirit here."

Lockheed Martin's Sandy Boyer, left, a volunteer mentor, instructs Christine Frazier.

Because the church has been reaching out to the community's children, church attendance has been growing dramatically. A missionary society of a dozen or more women helps Ross reach out to troubled or ill parishioners. As many as 45 youngsters show up for worship on Sunday morning with their parents. And Ross has begun to wonder whether the congregation needs two services a Sunday because the small sanctuary has been full lately.

"All the church's debt has been paid," he says. "God has allowed us to properly insure the church and parsonage, install a new hardwood floor in the fellowship hall, repair parsonage plumbing and roofing problems, pay off an outstanding loan and our new church sign for a marquee has just arrived." Ross also found the cash to build a handicapped entrance ramp for the church building. "I discovered that four parishioners hadn't been coming to church because they are confined to wheelchairs and couldn't get in," he said. Several of them attend church now.

How does Ross juggle a workday on two or more fronts that begins at 7:30 a.m. and sometimes goes late into the evening? "We pray a lot," he says with a grin. "I'm part of an early morning prayer group that meets three times a week, and it gives me energy and perspective. I'm also a late night person," he laughs. He is also thankful for a miraculous recovery from a serious car crash several months ago. His car was broadsided one morning on his way to a church activity, and Ross was seriously injured.

What role has the seminary and the UTI played in preparing him? "I honestly don't know how any church leader makes it without the kind of teaching and background I received in seminary," he said. " People are hungry for the Word. Professors like Bob Robinson, who taught me so much about the Bible, have given me an incredible background. When I am preparing a Bible study, the knowledge I have now makes a real difference. When someone asks me a difficult question about the scriptures I feel I have the knowledge now to deal with it."

For Ross and the parishioners of an important African-American congregation, an early church revival sounds like just the beginning.