Located in the heart of Chicago’s Woodlawn community, South Side Gospel Church stands as the light in a troubled and changing area of the city. Situated on the corner of 64th and Drexel Ave. the building has been around forever. Pastor Harvey L. Rollerson, (Monte), has overseen the congregation since 1969. Our struggle is to create a neighborhood where God, Christ, and the importance of Church is held with very high regard. We are not called to an easy business… just called to represent God and herald the message of the gospel. The church is small, the congregation smaller; amassed mostly of older die-hard members leftover from the former pastor’s time when faith was more widespread. Still there is hope; nothing is too hard for an "Almighty God." Nobody said the job would be easy, but we trust where we are weak… “HE” is strong. There is also the consideration of the children. They come like refugees fleeing a war zone. I guess in a lot of ways it is a war zone… lives are at stake. When so many young people are lost to gangs, drugs, and senseless violence, what else would you call it. Many of the kids who come to the church view us as their second home. From the way we see it... that's a good thing. We feed them, help them with homework, visit them at school, play with them, encourage and mentor them. Whatever we can think of to provide a safe sanctuary and keep them away from the clutches of the streets… we will do what we can and pray for those who would come to assist and support us in the effort. It’s really not too much to ask, after all, what other kids do we have. God has placed them here with us right now. Children per say and these children in particular… are our future, and what we do with them, good or bad, reflects on us. If we don’t train them, prepare them, and make the effort to raise them up… who will.
Psalm 102:28 (NIV)
"The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you."
