East of the River

For Christ Sake Christian Church

Spirited Grassroots Ministry Brings New Life to Southeast Community

by: Michelle Phipps-Evans

On Easter Sunday, For Christ Sake Christian Church wanted to take a different approach to ministering the word of Jesus Christ. The two-year-old church at the Frederick Douglass Recreation Center on Stanton Terrace in southeast held a garden party for the congregation. Congregants enjoyed the melodious sounds of a harpist, an Easter egg hunt, crafts and games, and high tea complete with etiquette lessons. The highlight of the garden party was the menu, which consisted of marinated Australian lamb, according to the church’s pastor and founder, the Rev. Bruce Branch.

“Many of the kids that attended the service never even had lamb before,” said Branch, 52. “Some of them had never heard a harp before and they took the etiquette lessons well.” Branch’s wife, Toni, whom he married in 2005, teaches etiquette through her company Branch Communications, a public relations, grant-writing and technical proposal writing firm, based in Temple Hills, Md.

“We don’t touch a lot of people, but the few we do touch, we touch their lives,” said Branch about the 50-60 congregation church. And the church has touched quite a few lives, having developed a reputation of having some of the characteristics of a street ministry. Branch and the church seek to “change the very lives of many who have been forgotten by wider society, including the homeless, alcohol and drug addicts, at-risk youth, ex-offenders, prostitutes, the medically afflicted and social deviants, including those with criminal pasts who he has helped exchange guns and violence for bibles and businesses,” he writes in his biography.

“I like to call him my ghetto pastor,” said member Martha Smith. “He is always there when you need him. You can call him at anytime of night when you are in trouble and he will be there.”

In fact, Branch started a street ministry in 2001 when he was ministering to forgotten souls in northeast DC, trying to take guns off the street. He worked with Bishop Steven Young of Holy Missionary Baptist Church in northeast to reach out to those perceived as unreachable through prayer vigils, community forums and one-on-one ministry. Branch began For Christ Sake Church in August 2004 while working with the Glassmanor Civic Association in Oxon Hill, Md., to help rid that community of blighted properties causing housing values to decrease and crime to increase. He decided that a new non-traditional church was needed because many disadvantaged members of the community were being turned away by traditional churches, which did not want individuals within their ministries who had problems such as alcoholism, drug addiction or criminal behavior.

“One of the reasons I got into the ministry is because I was disenchanted by organized churches,” Branch explained. “I’ve been involved in a lot of churches and I’ve encountered denominational bias. A lot of pastors are out of touch and too busy to become involved in the lives of their congregation. They don’t even know their own members; and they have lost the personal touch.” He remembered teen-ager Myesha Lowe who was fatally shot during a drive-by shooting in the District. The family asked for its pastor to visit her, but he was too busy to do so.

“Her tears were blood drops,” said Branch who spent two days at her bedside at Howard University hospital. “It impacted me.” This type of grassroots ministering has led to a lot of word-of-mouth about For Christ Sake Church.

Branch said that although the church numbers between 50 and 60, when it is feeding people, their numbers can grow anywhere from 100 to 200. But Branch is more comfortable with the smaller congregation, opining that “when a church becomes 200 people, it is too big.” This is what he sees as the problem with more traditional churches.

“One of the most important things missing in the modern church is love,” Branch said. “The bottom line is teaching the word of Jesus, which is built around the message of loving one another. To save, you must serve.”

And Branch is quick to point out that there seems to have been a break down in the traditional family that Christ created.

“About 80 percent of African Americans are in single parent homes,” said Branch, a father of five. “That’s a travesty. Now, we’re talking about same sex marriages. We have to get back to building the family structure. One of the elements of a healthy society is having healthy families with a male and female.”

Branch, a born and bred southeast Washingtonian, has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, a bachelor’s in theology from Simmons Bible College in Kentucky and a master’s in divinity from the Spirit of Truth Institute in Richmond, Va., where he also holds an honorary doctorate. A journalist-orator-author-radio minister-community activist-businessman, and spiritual leader by profession, Branch said that he is more comfortable working in a community setting. He said he does not wish for a church building at this point as the church is at a good place right now. He is a member of the board of the Council of Churches of Greater Washington, which represents more than 500 faith-based organizations with more than 100,000 members in the Washington area. Branch is former host of A Moment of Truth religious program on WYCB Radio; a former associate editor for Communications Daily and managing editor for Satellite Week, newsletters owned by Warren Communications; and the first black sportswriter at the Macon Telegraph News in Georgia. His biographical book, “When God Calls You Better Answer,” received rave reviews.

For Mother’s Day, his church intends to host the Big Hat Sunday. It is when all the women will attend church in large, elaborately designed hats.

“It is a day to try to teach kids about their heritage, teach family values.” he said. “In thinking about the Black church and its heritage, you think of women in big hats.”

Branch added that he gets “great fulfillment in seeing people change their lives.”

“We’re trying to make the Word of God relevant to everyday life,” said Branch, also pointing out that everything that is done is for Christ’s sake, which is where he got the name for the church. “We want people to see its relevance and I tell real life stories during the sermons so people can relate.”

For Christ Sake Church is at the Frederick Douglass Recreation Center, 1898 Stanton Terrace, SE, Washington, DC. Phone number: 202-645-3980 or 443-975-9159. E-mail reverendbruce@msn.com or visit its Web site at www.forchristsakechurch.org.

Church services are every Sunday, from 11 AM to 12:30 PM. All are welcome.


<--Back to East of the river	Print This Page
For Christ Sake Christian Church
Spirited Grassroots Ministry Brings New Life to Southeast Community
by: Michelle Phipps-Evans
On Easter Sunday, For Christ Sake Christian Church wanted to take a different approach to ministering the word of Jesus Christ. The two-year-old church at the Frederick Douglass Recreation Center on Stanton Terrace in southeast held a garden party for the congregation. Congregants enjoyed the melodious sounds of a harpist, an Easter egg hunt, crafts and games, and high tea complete with etiquette lessons. The highlight of the garden party was the menu, which consisted of marinated Australian lamb, according to the church’s pastor and founder, the Rev. Bruce Branch. “Many of the kids that attended the service never even had lamb before,” said Branch, 52. “Some of them had never heard a harp before and they took the etiquette lessons well.” Branch’s wife, Toni, whom he married in 2005, teaches etiquette through her company Branch Communications, a public relations, grant-writing and technical proposal writing firm, based in Temple Hills, Md. “We don’t touch a lot of people, but the few we do touch, we touch their lives,” said Branch about the 50-60 congregation church. And the church has touched quite a few lives, having developed a reputation of having some of the characteristics of a street ministry. Branch and the church seek to “change the very lives of many who have been forgotten by wider society, including the homeless, alcohol and drug addicts, at-risk youth, ex-offenders, prostitutes, the medically afflicted and social deviants, including those with criminal pasts who he has helped exchange guns and violence for bibles and businesses,” he writes in his biography. “I like to call him my ghetto pastor,” said member Martha Smith. “He is always there when you need him. You can call him at anytime of night when you are in trouble and he will be there.” In fact, Branch started a street ministry in 2001 when he was ministering to forgotten souls in northeast DC, trying to take guns off the street. He worked with Bishop Steven Young of Holy Missionary Baptist Church in northeast to reach out to those perceived as unreachable through prayer vigils, community forums and one-on-one ministry. Branch began For Christ Sake Church in August 2004 while working with the Glassmanor Civic Association in Oxon Hill, Md., to help rid that community of blighted properties causing housing values to decrease and crime to increase. He decided that a new non-traditional church was needed because many disadvantaged members of the community were being turned away by traditional churches, which did not want individuals within their ministries who had problems such as alcoholism, drug addiction or criminal behavior. “One of the reasons I got into the ministry is because I was disenchanted by organized churches,” Branch explained. “I’ve been involved in a lot of churches and I’ve encountered denominational bias. A lot of pastors are out of touch and too busy to become involved in the lives of their congregation. They don’t even know their own members; and they have lost the personal touch.” He remembered teen-ager Myesha Lowe who was fatally shot during a drive-by shooting in the District. The family asked for its pastor to visit her, but he was too busy to do so. “Her tears were blood drops,” said Branch who spent two days at her bedside at Howard University hospital. “It impacted me.” This type of grassroots ministering has led to a lot of word-of-mouth about For Christ Sake Church. Branch said that although the church numbers between 50 and 60, when it is feeding people, their numbers can grow anywhere from 100 to 200. But Branch is more comfortable with the smaller congregation, opining that “when a church becomes 200 people, it is too big.” This is what he sees as the problem with more traditional churches. “One of the most important things missing in the modern church is love,” Branch said. “The bottom line is teaching the word of Jesus, which is built around the message of loving one another. To save, you must serve.” And Branch is quick to point out that there seems to have been a break down in the traditional family that Christ created. “About 80 percent of African Americans are in single parent homes,” said Branch, a father of five. “That’s a travesty. Now, we’re talking about same sex marriages. We have to get back to building the family structure. One of the elements of a healthy society is having healthy families with a male and female.” Branch, a born and bred southeast Washingtonian, has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, a bachelor’s in theology from Simmons Bible College in Kentucky and a master’s in divinity from the Spirit of Truth Institute in Richmond, Va., where he also holds an honorary doctorate. A journalist-orator-author-radio minister-community activist-businessman, and spiritual leader by profession, Branch said that he is more comfortable working in a community setting. He said he does not wish for a church building at this point as the church is at a good place right now. He is a member of the board of the Council of Churches of Greater Washington, which represents more than 500 faith-based organizations with more than 100,000 members in the Washington area. Branch is former host of A Moment of Truth religious program on WYCB Radio; a former associate editor for Communications Daily and managing editor for Satellite Week, newsletters owned by Warren Communications; and the first black sportswriter at the Macon Telegraph News in Georgia. His biographical book, “When God Calls You Better Answer,” received rave reviews. For Mother’s Day, his church intends to host the Big Hat Sunday. It is when all the women will attend church in large, elaborately designed hats. “It is a day to try to teach kids about their heritage, teach family values.” he said. “In thinking about the Black church and its heritage, you think of women in big hats.” Branch added that he gets “great fulfillment in seeing people change their lives.” “We’re trying to make the Word of God relevant to everyday life,” said Branch, also pointing out that everything that is done is for Christ’s sake, which is where he got the name for the church. “We want people to see its relevance and I tell real life stories during the sermons so people can relate.” For Christ Sake Church is at the Frederick Douglass Recreation Center, 1898 Stanton Terrace, SE, Washington, DC. Phone number: 202-645-3980 or 443-975-9159. E-mail reverendbruce@msn.com or visit its Web site at www.forchristsakechurch.org. Church services are every Sunday, from 11 AM to 12:30 PM. All are welcome.