Church Warming Center Creates Opportunities for Ministry, Influence

In the northeastern part of the United States, New England experiences its share of frigid winter weather each year. Additionally, in spite of the area’s rich faith tradition in early U.S. history, sharing the gospel or having a conversation about God can be difficult.

Christ the Rock Church, an Assemblies of God congregation in Fall River, Massachusetts, is addressing both of those needs, developing community relationships through offering the church building as a refuge of warmth during cold temperatures.

Located in a historic district, the church’s 100-year-old building has been a familiar sight, first as a United Presbyterian Church, and more recently as an Azorean Pentecostal Church serving the city’s significant Portuguese-background population. Affiliated with the AG since 2015, the church added an English service under Jack Silva, and current lead pastor Rob Canavan came on board as associate and outreach pastor in 2018. Christ the Rock now offers English and Portuguese services on Sundays, with John Mello serving the Portuguese congregation along with a bilingual worship leader.

“Outreach was already happening, but we wanted to do more,” says Canavan, who transitioned into the lead pastor role in 2022. “We want people to see the church as not just religion, but genuinely caring about people and the community.”

After some work to freshen up the aging facility, he reached out to the mayor to offer the church building as a winter warming center and summer cooling center, as homeless numbers had risen to more than the area shelter could handle.

The church originally functioned as a check-in and feeding site, with referrals to other places to sleep. During a sub-zero weekend last winter, though, Christ the Rock AG partnered with two other churches for eight-hour shifts so that more homeless had a place to go at night as well as during the day. This collaboration allowed the churches to help more easily, as 24-hour/overnight facilities are subject to more stringent regulations than drop-in centers. The partnership didn’t go unnoticed by the Fall River’s mayor, Paul Coogan, who complimented the churches not being “in competition.”

Along with functioning as a warming/cooling center during temperature extremes, Christ the Rock AG continues to work with other groups, helping to staff dedicated overnight facilities and providing meals.

Relationships with city leadership continued to build, as city officials observed the church providing monthly “blessing bags” for the homeless, a food pantry, and generously-stocked Thanksgiving baskets for families.

When the building incurred substantial water damage during the fall of 2024, the city council discussed allocation of funds to help repair the historic facility.

During the meeting, several council members commented, “This is the church that helps . . . ,” listing their community involvement. A November 2024, article in the Fall River Herald News shared the repair need and highlighted the church’s dedication to its mission statement, “Love God, love people, change the world.”

The church is also located near the Resiliency Preparatory Academy, an alternative school with Fall River Public Schools that tailors educational programs to students with difficult circumstances. The proximity of school staff parking to the church led to conversations with teachers, including Ken Kvit, a member of the high school English department faculty. As Kvit shared a little of the school’s somewhat challenging reputation, Canavan asked about the church adopting the school as an outreach.

“I could tell from those conversations that the church wanted to be intentional about building relationships,” says Kvit.

In addition to blessing teachers with gift cards and assisting students in need with gift baskets from the food pantry, the church hosts student groups from the school to help assemble the baskets for themselves and their peers. Kvit says the list of students signing up for the elective class at the church is growing, as students experience the atmosphere of cooperation and caring while learning teamwork and organizational skills.

“I don’t think this is a coincidence,” agrees Ann Friedlander, who co-teaches with Kvit as a special education tutor. “Many of these kids don’t have opportunities for conversations about God. When they learn we’re involved in serving, it helps create a safe space.”

Both Kvit and Friedlander believe the united approach between caring teachers and the church has helped address the inconsistencies in many students’ lives. “The more ‘noise’ getting out to the community about this relationship, the better it is for the kids and for the perception of our school,” said Friedlander.

Women’s Ministry Director Cindy Garant became aware of Christ the Rock during 2020 pandemic restrictions, when she sought assistance with gathering and distributing activity books and gifts at area nursing homes.

“I was not attending church at the time, but was looking for one that demonstrated active community involvement,” says Garant. “A city council member suggested Christ the Rock.” It was a great fit.

The leadership team at Christ the Rock AG are looking forward to 2025 and even more fruit from seeds planted in 2024 and earlier.

A Christmas “Cocoa and Carols” ministry has opened additional doors in the community, and some people previously touched by outreach ministry are now church members. Other formerly unhoused persons have gone on to Teen Challenge programs and are rebuilding productive lives.

That mission statement of changing the world is coming to fruition right in southern Massachusetts, as the historic building offers neighbors physical warmth while caring members help them find the spiritual warmth of Christian community and a loving Heavenly Father.

Cynthia J Thomas

Cynthia J. Thomas worked for Assemblies of God U.S. Missions for six years before becoming primary caregiver for her father, a World War II veteran. She has served as a counselor for victims of domestic violence and women facing crisis pregnancies. Cindy and her husband, Phil, a schoolteacher, volunteer in youth outreach and have three adult children and one granddaughter.