REV. EVERETT THOMAS

This week's Pastor Profile features Rev. Everett Thomas. He is the Pastor of Mercy House located at 15 E. Charlotte in Ecorse. He has been the pastor there for six years. Although this is his first time serving as Pastor, he served as First Assistant to Pastor Joseph B. Barlow, Jr. at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church until he passed away. Rev. Thomas delivered his first trial sermon at Mt. Zion in 1977. He grew up in the church and has served as usher and choir member at Mt. Zion.

During his lifetime, he also worked as a counselor/minister at Detroit Rescue Mission and drove a 18 wheeler truck. He is very active in the community and is past president of the Lincoln Park Rotary, Past President and current Treasurer of the Downriver Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (DIMA), Executive Director of the International Christian Education Association (ICEA) and he also serves as a Certified Biblical Counselor.

We sat down and talked so we could share information with the readers of the Telegram News.

What community programs does your church get involved in? We give out bag lunches at the church on the 3rd Saturday of each month. The people who stop by get a meal and prayer if they want it. This is a partnership with LaChelle Anderson that started the program. We also partner with Jehovah Jirah Ministries to provide short-term housing to homeless people. The men of the church meet with other men in the community every Wednesday at 8:00am at Charlie's Restaurant in Lincoln Park for Men's Fellowship. The Women's Ministry is 'The Gathering' and they meet quarterly.

What area would you like to see the church improve and grow? I would like to see the family structure improve in the areas of stronger marriages and improved parenting to reduce the number of single parent homes. There needs to be a biblical expectation of what it takes to be wife and a husband to secure the family unit.

What do you see as two of the biggest problems facing the church today? The lack of connectivity which means, we need to be more Kingdom minded and not Denomination minded.

It seems like many churches are missing people in the age group of 13-45, why is that? We have to find a way to connect with people in that age group and that starts with having a conversation to see what they like and what their needs are. God told us to be fishers of men. Which means you have to go get them. From what I know about fishing, the fish don't jump in the boat. Also, we must be real with them. They don't understand if the church is saying do one thing, but then they see you doing something else. They want to see you being a Christian if you say that you are.

There seems to be a lack of morals in the world today, what is it going to take to change it? The lack of morals in the church is part of the reason. The bible says, 'Judgement begins in the church'. We can't expect the world to be right when we are not right. It starts at home. If families are not coming to church to learn values and churches are not preaching values, where will they learn them.

What message would you like to give to the readers of the Telegram? I would like to encourage them to continue to grow and develop spiritually. Knowledge is a lifetime learning experience so continue to learn.

Pastor Thomas has been married to his wife Cheryl for over 25 years and they live in Detroit