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LIFE IN ABUNDANCEEfrem Smith (continued)today he would be pastoring amultiracial church.’ It became myvocational passion over time.”He is living out his passion at Sanctuary,which started with 22 people and hasgrown to 900. His original goal was tohave 1,000 members fill the seats eachSunday. For Smith, it wasn’t so muchabout the sheer magnitude of a numberas it was about proving something.“I felt like to prove that the multicultural,multiracial church can workand be sustainable and have an impactwe needed a critical mass, so peoplewouldn’t write us off as an exception,”he says. “I wanted our church tosend a statement that church shouldbe about tearing down walls acrossrace, class and gender.”The cultural breakdown of Sanctuaryis about 50 percent white, 40 percentblack and 10 percent Latino andAsian. Forty-five percent live inMinneapolis, and the rest come fromall over the metro area.“There’s a good mix of everyone fromsingle moms to executive VPs ofFortune 500 companies to professionalathletes to homeless folks,” says Smith.More Than Just a ChurchFrom the beginning, the intentionwas for Sanctuary to be more thanjust a church. It was important toSmith that transformation movefrom inside the church walls intothe surrounding community. A yearafter Sanctuary opened its doors,Sanctuary Community DevelopmentCorporation was started.“The CDC was just an extensionof the ministry of the church,” saysNorman Harrington, executivedirector of Sanctuary CDC. “Thegenesis of it was intentional. Part ofthe strategic direction in foundingboth the church and the communitydevelopment corporation was forthe church to play a more activerole in community development.”The CDC creates more avenues inpursuing financial resources, and italso gives the church another platformto speak to various issues, saysHarrington. The CDC was recentlyrestructured, with focus put onthree main areas: children, youthand family; economic development;and community engagement.Founding and getting involved ininitiatives and projects like LoveMinneapolis, school-supply and wintercoatdrives, tutors, Catalyst, Bridge ofReconciliation and Rock the River,among others, allow Sanctuary andthe CDC to dig into these three keyareas in focused ways while reallygetting their hands dirty and makinga difference in the community. Inaddition to a key staff of five, anarmy of volunteers and interns helpsthe CDC live out its calling in thecommunity. Harrington estimates theCDC has put in more than 1,000volunteer hours spanning more than75 community projects, mostly inNorth Minneapolis over the past sixmonths. Smith and Harrington haveseen both long- and short-termresults from their efforts.True TransformationThe duality of these results signifiesa larger transformation of the term“evangelical” that Smith is hoping tosee down the road. Personally, Smithcontinues to build on his deep biblicalroots and what he learned at Luther,to think creatively and to be innovative.He has a desire, like others inhis generation, to redefine what“evangelical” means. He wants torestore it to what he believes itshould be about: good news.“‘Good news’ is not just about afaith conversion experience but alsoabout the liberating experience youread about in Scripture,” says Smith.“Jesus not only preached the gospelaround salvation but also lived it outin his actions. He healed diseasesand stood with those marginalized.He radically impacted the socialstructures of his day. For me, I wantedto be a part of painting a picture ofevangelicalism that is beyond JerryFalwell and James Dobson.”Like the experience of the youngwoman impacted by a Sanctuary staffmember, true transformation, saysSmith, is both spiritual and tactile.“I feel like, at the biblical root, to beevangelical is about the conversionexperience and the liberation experience.It’s an experience of life empowermentand eternal life.” ●STORY Fall 20097