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Community Corner

Ministry Attempts to Tackle Neighborhood Issues Through Religious Outreach

Opening Prison Doors Outreach, a division of Becoming Kingdom Ready End-Time Evangelstic Outreach Ministries, is an annual event targeting gang activity and drug abuse.

For Evangelist Wayne Turner, who believes his calling is to spread the word of God, it is those who have spent time behind bars who are in the greatest need of his message.

Turner coordinated the second annual Opening of Prison Doors ministry, a yearly outreach event in communities that possess high crime rates, gang activity and drug abuse.

“We came out here with a message of hope, believing that God would draw gang members, drug addicts and families that have been torn apart from those kinds of lifestyles to come and receive healing through the message that we have and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Turner said.

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The Opening of Prison Doors outreach was founded on a bible scripture, Isaiah chapter 61, verses one and two, according to Turner.

“That scripture talks about Jesus coming to heal the broken hearted, but also setting at liberty those that are behind or opening the prison doors to those that are captive,” Turner said.

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“And I believe in our vision, that God has given us the desire and zeal to go out to neighborhoods that have been drug infested and gang infested,” he added.

Turner, who has lived in Highland Park for 18 years, was ordained two years ago. Since then he said he has been preaching and spreading the word of the Lord.

Live music played by the Forgiven band could be heard in the immediate, surrounding areas from the lot on North Avenue 53, where the event was held. The ministry also provided complementary food and drinks.

Numerous organizations, both religious and secular,  made their presence known by handing out informative resources from their table or booth.

Aztecs Rising was one of the organizations that turned out for the event.

“Our biggest goal is to deal with those hardcore gang members, but the thing is we are not trying to change any of the politics,” Ramiro Motta said. “What we are trying to do is give these guys resources and other venues, other ways of looking at things.”

According to Motta, Aztecs Rising has been able to impact the Highland Park community with its outreach services. He also said the organization has implemented gang prevention programs at and

Ron Crockett, better known as ‘Coach Ron’, founder of the Fun Zone Reading Club, said his group connects with communities by addressing gang issues in their neighborhood.

“A hidden issue that we deal with is the racial tension created by gang violence, a lot of that stems from prison,” Crockett said.

“If we can start breaking down the racial barriers here in Highland Park, it will trickle down to other communities that black and brown can get along, and that gang violence, gang initiation, and gang involvement can be redirected into some positive avenues,” he added.

While the number of gang related crimes in Highland Park has decreased in recent years, according to LAPD, Turner still faces a daunting task in ministering to the are's  ex-convicts, many of whom have gang ties waiting for them on the outside.

“If one person in attendance changed or gave their life to the Lord, if it was only one, then we did our job,” Turner said.

The Opening of Prison Doors ministry's outreach efforts have made in a difference in Ernest Austin’s life.

Austin, a former Pasadena gang member, is currently in a rehabilitation program through the Salvation Army.

“Wayne invited me to come down. It’s something different for me, but I’m getting to understand a lot about God and everybody else,” Austin said. “I’ve gone to prison too many times and wasted too much time. I’m looking for a better life and I know God is the way to help me with the strength to focus on another direction.”

Austin said, “Gang and street life ain’t the way to go, choose a different lifestyle and follow God.”

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