Vitality

Would you be willing...?

Would you be willing...?

A simple question changed the trajectory of a young college student’s life in the late 1970s. “Would you be willing to go to the city?” Jeff Bass, EGC’s executive director, reflects on how the Holy Spirit used that question to prompt other questions that continue to shape God’s call on his life.

Cry Out: New Music Video & Lyrics

Cry Out

This year, EGC’s annual urban ministry celebration was a bit different. Instead of a party, we sent out a gift. Straight from the heart and spirit of EGC’s creatives, this song and music video is for you to enjoy, reflect on, and share. Below you’ll find the video link, lyrics, and art photos.

Like the Christian leaders we serve, EGC is in a time of deep listening—to God and to other leaders—in this unexpected season of distancing and connecting, conserving and giving, caring and surviving.  Friends, may this song inspire you to cry out to God with all that you need, as you also hear the cries of those Jesus loves.

Music Video

Cry Out. Music and Lyrics by Caleb McCoy & Jaronzie Harris. Sound Production by Caleb McCoy. Video Directed & Edited by Elijah Mickelson. Videography by Giovanni "Fugi" Acevedo and Sue Murad. Behind the scenes Photography by Rosa with R9Foto. All precautions were taken in the filming of this video to ensure the health and safety of the artists, film crew, and Boston public.

 

Lyrics & Photos

Caban_0540_HR.jpg

CALEB

See I just wanna go on record

That this is never what I expected

Take away our pride and possessions and

It’s gonna beg the question, what is anybody left with?



What do you do in a pandemic?

Who takes the blame and who gets the credit?

Some will second guess it and others will get prophetic

Some sayin’ it’s the endin’, I think it’s a new beginning

Caban_1205_HR (1).jpg

We still have abundant life, we can live it up

But when Lord speaks we should listen up

And it shouldn’t take a virus that’s killing us

To think about the elderly, the poor, and the prisoners (that’s real)

It changed the whole world as we know it

But hopefully we can learn from this moment

We need beauty from artists and words from the poets

It’s time to dive deep, like the pearls in the ocean

Caban_1258_HR.jpg
Caban_0918_HR.jpg

I know you sad Sunday service is closing

But this the best time for the Church to be potent

How can we go serve the hurt and the homeless?

Do we really believe every curse can be broken?

I think we do, so let’s see it then

Some people need food, some will need a friend

Some people need a song, go and sing it then

This our prayer ‘til we meet again, that

Caban_0653_HR.jpg

We need perseverance through the pain

We need God to clear it when it rains

It’s only by the Spirit that we change

So let the people cry out

Caban_1487_HR.jpg



And God gave a command—it was, “Love one another”

Through the hard times enemies become brothers

The only thing certain is the God that’s above us

Let the people cry out

Caban_1226_HR.jpg

Jaronzie

We cry out in this world where calamity’s conjectured on a curve

We confront our own fragility

Raising up petitions and repenting on our bended knees

Seeking asylum from a sickness of a different breed

Shadow of death looming long on society

But servants of the Most High still trust in His authority

Who grasps the globe in His hands? Who is the King of Kings?

Holding all of our existence in supreme dexterity

Caban_200326-0726-2.jpg

Lifting up the cup of my salvation, calling urgently

Hoping that the God who formed creation will deliver me

Resting in His promise, drawing power from the NIV

Knowing that He’s faithful so I give Him this doxology

Chorus

We need perseverance through the pain

We need God to clear it when it rains

It’s only by the Spirit that we change

So let the people cry out

And God gave a command—it was, '“Love one another”

Through the hard times enemies become brothers

The only thing certain is the God that’s above us

Let the people cry out (So we all pray together)

Caban_0942_HR.jpg

ALL

Let the people cry out to you

Let the people cry out to you

Let the people cry out to you

Let the people cry out

Let the people cry out to You (for healing)

Let the people cry out to You (for breakthrough)

Let the people cry out to You (for deliverance)

Let the people cry out

Caban_1479_HR.jpg


The Word

When the righteous cry out for help,

The Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all.

Psalm 34:17-19

About the Artists

Caban_1238_HR.jpg

Caleb McCoy

Caleb writes, performs, records, and shoots videos for Christian hip-hip through his ministry called OAK. His ministry also mentors other Christian hip-hop artists in Boston. Before the stay at home advisory, you could find Caleb ministering in schools, communities of youth at risk, and sold-out concert venues across the region. The OAK albums are available on Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify, and wherever albums are sold. Caleb also is EGC’s Development Manager and teaches the EGC 101 introduction to EGC’s city ministry.

 
Caban_0839_HR.jpg

Jaronzie Harris

Jaronzie is an educator, worship leader, playwright and director who uses research and the arts to unite communities and promote justice. She is currently a scholar in the Institute for the Study of the Black Christian Experience at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the Research & Networking Associate at EGC for the Boston Black Church Vitality Project. Before the stay at home advisory, you could find Jaronzie meeting with Christian leaders across eastern Massachusetts to bolster youth programs and develop spiritual vitality through collaboration and the arts.

 
Elijah headshot.png
 

Elijah Mickelson

Elijah is a storyteller, pastor, and director. He serves as EGC’s director of communications helping churches and Christian leaders tackle the complexity of the urban environment. He is also the founder of the Filmmaker Collaborative. The purpose of the Filmmaker Collaborative is to build community, encourage one another in the creative process, and explore collaboration. Contact Elijah at emickelson@egc.org.

 
RLC9.jpg

Rosa Cabán

Rosa Cabán is R9 Foto. Rosa is a photographer who uses the arts to bring influence to communities in need of God's love. She is currently serving on the creative team in the media department at Impact Church. Before the pandemic, you could find her cooking, hosting friends, and working on projects with other Kingdom artists.

 

EGC FILMS

Resources for Christians Navigating Political & Theological Divides

Resources for Christians Navigating Political & Theological Divides

We live in polarizing times—but we’re not the first. Prof. Dean Borgman recommends resources with time-tested kingdom principles about how to engage with others in political matters.

From the Bible Belt to Boston: What God's Doing in New England

From the Bible Belt to Boston: What God's Doing in New England

Are you ministering in a spiritual desert? In a recent study, Boston was ranked one of the most “Post-Christian” cities in the U.S. Kathryn Hamilton, an EGC communications intern from West Texas, weighs in about her experience with Boston’s spiritual climate and Christian vitality.

Choosing to Listen

Choosing to Listen

EGC Executive Director Jeff Bass reflects on the greatest lesson from the recent meeting of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization at the Boston Islamic Center, attended by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Marty Walsh. 

Emmanuel Research Review

Emmanuel Research Review

The Emmanuel Research Review (2004-2014) was a digital journal from the Emmanuel Gospel Center’s Applied Research department that featured articles, papers, resources, and information designed to be a resource for urban pastors, leaders and community members in their efforts to serve their communities effectively. Ninety-five issues of The Review were published during its ten-year run from 2004 to 2014. On this page we offer a list of all issues published, and links to those that have been reposted to this new site.

The City Gives Birth to a Seminary

The City Gives Birth to a Seminary

Based on an interview with Rev. Eldin Villafañe, Ph.D., the founding director of the Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME), this article tells the story of Dr. Villafañe’s calling to launch CUME in 1976 and how the school rapidly took shape. Dr. Villafañe recalls the fruitful synergy at work among three primary players: CUME, the Emmanuel Gospel Center, and a network of new churches emerging from the Quiet Revival.

The Process of the Gospel

The Process of the Gospel

The Process of the Gospel is not a program, but a model for building relationships that nurture effective, incarnational ministry, helping people experience the presence and power of Jesus Christ for themselves. By internalizing this process, Christians can be involved in loving people in some of the same ways that Jesus modeled for us in the Gospels.

A New Kind of Learning: Contextualized Theological Education Models

A New Kind of Learning: Contextualized Theological Education Models

The challenge of dealing well with the different cultures in our modern cities is the most significant challenge facing theological schools today, according to Dr. Alvin Padilla, former Dean of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary’s Boston campus. In this issue, he begins to unravel the problem by offering several perspectives to help us move from being bewildered to better understanding what God might be doing in our cities.