Rebuilding A Community
Donation protected
My name is Bishop Larry Cook. I am the senior pastor of Real Believers Faith Center located at 2010 Fremont Ave N in Minneapolis, MN. Recently, we signed papers to take over ownership of the Marathon Gas Station located on the corner of Broadway and Fremont. We officially took possesion on November 1, 2022. This gas station has been surrounded by drug dealers and gang members whose constant presence has brought gun violence as well. A year ago, I had a verbal altercation with one of the guys hanging outside of the gas station about him dealing drugs while children were out playing and purchasing snacks from the gas station. He said if I wanted him to stop selling drugs right there, then I needed to buy it. I responded, I will. A year later, Real Believers Faith Center did just that. This deal not only signifies the positive change that we are making on this corner in North Minneapolis, but also pushes the vision that Real Believers Faith Center has for the community.
In less than 2 months of owning the gas station, we've seen significant change on that corner. There are no groups hanging out and people are no longer afraid to come the gas stat due to shootings and drug trafficing. There is inspirational music and messages being played through speakers in and outside of the gas station from open to close. Hope is being restored where it was once lost. We have been providing meals and essentials to community members in need and we want to continue to be a place of refuge both spiritually and economically. In our ongoing outreach we purchase food, essentials, equipment, as well as address additional expenses since the purchase. If you'd like to help, it would be greatly appreciated.
We plan to build a much needed community center right here in the heart of the city that will house an after-school program that will have computer classes, teach financial literacy and fiscal responsibility as well as sports programs such as boxing and wrestling along with several genres of dance classes. We will make sure that our young people have positve role models to look to, to show them that despite their environment, better is within their reach. This will be a safe haven and positive alternative for this community that has been run down with drugs and crime.
As someone that was born and raised in North Minneapolis, I know the type of people that it can produce with love and guidance. Please share this with your friends and family and if you are in the Minnepolis area, please come by the Lion's Den Gas Station located at 1120 W. Broadway.
https://www.startribune.com/church-buys-north-minneapolis-gas-station-near-troubled-intersection/600219662/
Organizer
Larry Cook
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN