“Don’t waste your time on the church”
WINNIPEG, MB—Cornelius Buller got a wake-up call about six years ago when he heard about two pre-teen boys who locked a younger boy in a shed and set it on fire. As an academic working at an ethics centre, he struggled to understand what would cause people so young to do such horrific things.
A few years later he was working in those very neighbourhoods as director of Urban Youth Adventures (UYA), an inner-city ministry that recently shut its doors for lack of funding. Reflecting on some things he's learned in recent years, Buller observes that the "context of poverty opens doors to demonic" actions, that poverty is a huge catalyst to "social dysfunction and family breakdown."
While the fallout from residential schools and other factors also contribute to the high levels of violence and anti-social behaviour, abject poverty is a primary feature of many north end neighbourhoods. "And the population is very young," he adds, "kids having kids." Young girls routinely look forward to becoming pregnant when they're 14. It's what their mother, sisters and aunts have modeled for them.
Meanwhile, young girls are being lured by predators who lead them into drug use and prostitution with rapes and abuse along the way. Young boys are ready fodder for gangs that give them a sense of identity and purpose, even if it is destructive. Hope is a rare commodity.
UYA was an attempt to address some of these issues and "inspire life-transforming hope" among young people in these tough neighbourhoods. "We came in asking questions," recalls Buller, and ended up developing several programs designed to strengthen relationships, develop skills and provide opportunities for achievement.
Music was one of the entry points. UYA staff and volunteers gave music lessons. In the process, many young people acquired new skills and marked real progress. They learned to perform for family and friends. Deeper relationships led to conversations about character. Some thrived.
Buller is quick to credit the cooperative spirit of many agencies and organizations who are working hard to help people in these troubled neighbourhoods. "They really care," he says. He cites David Livingstone School as a key connecting point for the organization he led, along with churches such as Floodgates Worship Centre, Deliverance Centre and Winnipeg Centre Vineyard.
But he laments the relative absence of the suburban church, saying there is much they could be doing to support people who are working on the frontlines. "There's a real need for Christians to be big-time involved in the inner city," says Buller. "The whole city is our city. If one part of it is not well, the entire body suffers. The heart of the city at the heart of the continent is sick," he says.
"I really believe the Church has the resources to make a significant change," he continues.
But he's discovered how difficult it is to connect Christians in affluent areas with the hardscrabble needs of the inner city in more than a token way. A tiny, money-challenged assembly on Selkirk Avenue, for example, donated as much money to UYA as Buller's home church, a large suburban congregation.
Buller remains philosophical. He recalls the words of longtime missionary to the inner city who offered him advice about finding money and volunteers. "He told me, 'Don't waste your time on the church.'" Indeed, UYA received a better volunteer response through secular media than from church bulletin items and pulpit announcements.
"There are individuals in the church who are outstanding contributors," he adds. And it's not just money that's needed. "Prayer is huge," says Buller. People who pray are people who care. They are people who develop relationships. They can be very encouraging.
But, a caveat: A few encouraging words go only so far. It takes ongoing, tangible support for the mission to give meaning to the sentiments. Otherwise it's like receiving a beautifully decorated present only to unwrap an empty box.
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