July 20, 2006

Solid ‘ROCK’

Churches unite to bring ministry to all age groups

Pastor Neil Cowling (left) and Pastor Joe Kimbrough said cooperation between their two congregations is helping the church reach more people.

The honeymoon may be over, but that’s a good thing for the Kirk of Our Savior church in Westland and The Church of Rock.

The two diverse congregations have shared facilities for about a year, now, and the youth-oriented Church of Rock is ready to start a new phase of ministry, according to Pastor Joe Kimbrough of The Church of Rock.

Called the Red Line Café, the new venue will offer positive local and national rock, rap and stand up comedy acts once a month.
“It’ll be Christian rock, but they really rock,” he said. “(Attendees) aren’t going to know it.”

The Church of Rock grew out of the Club Triune and J2 Ministries, which formerly met at the Genesis Center for the Arts on Palmer Road, just east of Wayne Road. When that facility was no longer available, Kimbrough sought out other locations, eventually joining forces with Pastor Neil Cowling at Kirk of Our Savior.

It is, on some levels, an unusual mix, according to both men. Kirk of Our Savior is an older congregation with traditional Presbyterian values—the name Kirk comes from the original pastor, who hailed from Scotland—while the Church of Rock is focused more on reaching out to young people through a music-heavy ministry.

Cowling, who has pastured Kirk of Our Savior for 20 of its 40 years in Westland, said he was initially skeptical of the request. He met with Kimbrough, though, and then took him to the church board—another group of older parishioners.

“They talked about what they want to do, which is reach out to the youth,” Cowling said. “It’s something they do well and we don’t do well. We had a decision within three days.”

He continued to give the traditional sermons on Sunday mornings, while the Church of Rock used the facility on Cherry Hill Road next to John Glenn High School in the evenings. The two have even attended each others’ worship services and are familiar to both congregations. Cowling said he’ll stick with the methods that have served him well in his decades at the church, though—not that he’s an overly formal man.

“I can do without the titles,” he said. “Even the kids call me ‘Neil.’
“It’s not something I prefer,” he added of the Rock sermons, “but it reaches a crowd that we haven’t reached. It has something to do with style—it has nothing to do with faithfulness.”

The Red Line Cafe will open at 7 p.m. on July 29, according to Kimbrough. Free pizza and pop is on the menu as well as prizes for the first 50 people to show up. A suggested donation is $5, but it is not required, he said.

Each Red Line performance will have a 45-minute gathering session before the show called Reaching Our Community Kids (ROCK).

“We’ll deal with problems common to teens,” Kimbrough said. “Real issues, unanswered questions—it’s where people of all ages can come and discuss just about anything that is on their heart in a non-intimidating environment.”

Kimbrough said his message revolves around common sense, every day issues, and isn’t heavy handed. He said the goal was to provide the youth in the community an alternative to negative activities and help them along their goal to be positive influences in the world.

“It’s about counting up the costs of life,” he said. “People don’t always count up the costs of not living right.”

The Red Line Café and ROCK ministries are just the beginning, too, he said. He wants to bring practical services to young people, such as a job fair to help them find work.

“We want to show our teens and the community that our local businesses care about their future,” he said. “We want to build a bridge between them.”

Kirk of Our Savior is located at 36660 Cherry Hill Road in Westland. For more details, check out www.theredlinecafe.com.

| Online Form


Thursday, August 28, 2008 \| Archives