Pastoring the Community: An Interview with Rev. Kevin W. Early of Community Church Atlanta

Molly Johnson (MJ) spoke with Rev. Kevin W. Earley, D.Min., (RKE) the Senior Pastor of Community Church Atlanta on the conversion of his church’s community center into a resilience hub. 
MJ: Tell us about your congregation

​RKE: We are Community Church Atlanta, also known as a Community Church of God, a non-denominational church on the Southwest side of Atlanta. We're in a neighborhood that is changing and diversifying. When our church was founded, it was one of the first Black churches in the neighborhood. Then the neighborhood grew to become predominantly Black, and now has become much more diverse ethnically. The community is also diverse economically.  

I was a pastor for 17 years in Detroit and I’ve been pastoring here for 4 years as of October 1st. When I explored transitioning to Atlanta from Detroit, I wondered if the church called “Community Church,” really has  community as  part of their DNA. I have found it certainly to be a truly community-focused congregation. When our community center began, we gave away groceries to  about 30 to 40 families per week. Now that we have partnered with the Atlanta Community Food Bank to buy our food through them, we have expanded to feed about 300 to 400 families per week.  Our food bank only requires an ID for reporting purposes, we don't ask people if they believe in the Lord Jesus or not, their marital status, gender, orientation or other things. On a given Sunday, our in-person attendance is about 125  members; so we are not a mega church but we do a mega ministry. We have been blessed to do so. In the community center, we've also held blood drives, COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, and provided lower cost medical screenings. We’ve worked with Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy Elementary School  down the street. We also have significant  neighborhood organizations use our community  center including Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan, INC. and the City of Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit-S.
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When I got to Community Church, one of the things that I shared with members was the language of “pastoring the community”. I started with the idea of, what are the type of things that the members want or desire for me as a pastor? They want me to be present. They want me to care for them. If they're in trouble they want to be able to turn to me and be encouraged by me. So that is what I want our church to be for our community. When life gets hard, I want them to be able to turn to us. So, we have to have a reputation for being servants in the community. However, all of that doesn't necessarily mean conversions or attempts to convert people to our faith. I am unapologetically Christian and I unashamedly deal with people of faith and of no faith. 

MJ: What is your resilience hub project and what inspired it?

​RKE: Being that our community center is really what folks recognize, even more than the church right next door, and with that good reputation, we were approached by Groundswell. Since a resilience hub is turned into a trusted space, they were looking for places that are already trusted by folks in the neighborhood and someone recommended they speak with us. We started conversing with Groundswell in March or May of 2023. We signed the documents in February/March of this year and they started construction on the solar system in early June 2024 and for the most part, were done by July. We have one final system test to do for Georgia Power, and then we'll be completely operational. 

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A variety of different groups came to be a part of this effort, which was ultimately around a $450,000 project. Strident energy donated a battery to us. With the Inflation Reduction Act tax direct pay, we will be able to file our taxes next year, and get back $100,000 that will allow us to own our system. We will be the first privately-owned resilience hub in Georgia. That means we're going to experience all of the electric bill savings from solar power, around $6,000 annually. This savings will help us supplement some of the other things we’re doing so that we can continue and add additional programming. We're certainly grateful for that. 
We are working with the City of Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit S, neighborhood leaders, and a University of Michigan student group to help us survey our neighbors about what kind of programming they want the Hub to offer. This will allow local residents to feel a sense of ownership. Ultimately, if the power goes out in an emergency, people can come and refrigerate their medication, breast milk, and charge their cell phones or other devices. If there was no sun and it rained the entire week, our system would be able to run for three days because of the backup battery power; otherwise, our building will have power for several weeks during a long-lasting power outage.

During a White House meeting I was invited to, they shared that typically when a church installs a solar system to its building, up to 80 homes in the neighborhood add on solar, so our installation may create a ripple effect. We certainly hope that others will see that and follow. I also hope to add EV charging stations to our campus, since we’re in a charging desert right now. We are newer to this environmental justice space, though it falls in line with our overall goals and passion for community. So we are trying to partner with organizations who have been doing this work such as Green the Church and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. 

MJ: How does the project encourage “faithful resilience?”

RKE: Our tagline is to “Live Different”. I describe living differently as experiencing life as God intends. Some might call it Kingdom living - to step outside of the patterns that people have of selfishness and just doing whatever makes them feel good or makes them powerful. To “Live Different” means embracing God's call in our life to be countercultural. Part of that is to not only address personal sin but also address what I call social sin, or sinful structures, including the systems that are set up to cause people to be oppressed or marginalized. Our mission is not only to call people to live better individual lives, but to make society itself more just and equitable for all.  ​

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I recently heard about the idea of tree equity, where in some places, poorer neighborhoods and sometimes minority neighborhoods, there are less trees, more concrete, and less playgrounds. Since trees are nature's air conditioning units, people who have fewer trees have to pay more in electricity, which means more emissions and more asthma; it's a domino effect. Extreme heat and extreme weather events put people who are lower income at more risk than others. By having our Hub here, people who may not be able to drive away to another city in extreme weather events, or go to a hotel when the power goes out, will have a place to at least charge their cell phones, and get heat or air conditioning when needed right here in the neighborhood. I can’t accept a society that says if you don’t have a lot of money you’ll get the worst education, the worst tree canopy, and so on.  

MJ: What would you tell someone interested in completing a similar project?

RKE: I would tell them to be found doing the work. Have the kind of reputation that people feel that they will have dignity dealing with you. In the work, we have to make sure we speak to and treat folks like they have the value that God gave them. They have the image of God in them, regardless of their status. The truth is, one bad accident, one bad hurricane, one hacked account and any of us could be in a bad position one day.

I think Groundswell is a great organization with their vision of helping set up resilience hubs to combat the impacts of climate change throughout the nation. Interested folks should look at solar, as an individual or a nonprofit. Because of the Inflation Reduction Act, places like churches can get a “Direct Pay,” which amounts to a 30% rebate, in layman terms. If you spend $200,000 on a solar system and complete the pre-registration when you submit your taxes, the government will provide a $60,000 check. Previously, nonprofits like churches would not be able to get that check, so this is the government’s tool to help with clean energy efforts. Homeowners who add solar to their home are eligible for a rebate as well. I would encourage people to explore these avenues to get started.

MJ: What is something you would like the Creation Justice community to know? 
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RKE: I believe that part of being stewards of the Earth is to acknowledge that the Lord put things in perfect balance. Unfortunately, as humans, we upset that balance to some degree. If we can do what’s possible to reverse the effects that we've had, so things can operate as they were originally intended, it will be helpful. Not only for us now, but for our children, and for those who may not have the capacity to take care of themselves.