Miracle on Tarpon Street: Church planter cracks down on sin

When Paul Smith felt God calling him to start a church at the intersection of Tarpon and Lake Streets, one of the most notorious corners for prostitution and drug deals in East Stuart, the only place to meet was an empty lot.

Cleaning up the site teeming with used drug paraphernalia, empty beer cans and liquor bottles, Smith found between 300-400 tiny cellophane packets that once stored crack cocaine. He carried the bags to the police substation right around the corner and has been "cracking down" on sin ever since.

For months, Smith and a few Christians held weekly worship services under a tent provided by the Indian River Baptist Association. Music and preaching filled the night air, proclaiming the Word of God to all who could hear.

One night George Atkinson, a paid street fighter who drank six to seven bottles of Wild Irish Rose wine each day, stopped by the tent on his way to a fight. He listened to the words and accepted Christ as his Savior.

"If I can do it anyone can," Atkinson explained. "I was a terrible person and full of alcohol when I saw the tent. I got down on my knees and accepted Jesus. If He can accept me, He can accept anyone."

Atkinson is a changed man. He has not had a drink since his profession of faith a year ago, "God took the need from me," he explained. He found a maintenance job at a condominium and purchased a van.

"When I used to walk around the streets of East Stuart people used to respect me out of fear," he said. "But now they respect me for a different reason. Now they know I walk with God."

Atkinson is just one of many miracles God has performed on Tarpon Street, offering an apt name for the church, "Miracle Baptist Church." Since the beginning of the ministry a year ago, 185 persons in this drug-infested community have made professions of faith and 48 have been baptized.

Not long after starting the church, Smith began to believe that the congregation needed a more permanent ministry site. He eyed the empty crack house across the street, sitting adjacent to a house of prostitution.

After making some inquiries, he found the absentee owner of the crack house and offered to clean up the house in exchange for its use. The former crack house, now pristine, serves as a church for the community residents. Smith simply said, "We have been able to change the community one house at a time."

The house serves as a base for sharing the Gospel while meeting human needs. The doors are open every afternoon for the children in the neighborhood who would otherwise be left to roam the streets. They receive Bible instruction, tutoring and supper as well as breakfast, if needed.

Church members discovered that one family of children was living alone while their mother was in jail. Several of the neighborhood children go to bed at night with no adult supervision.

"The children know if there is no food at home, they can come here for food or a bag of groceries," said Smith. "Often their mother has sold her food stamps allotment to buy drugs."

The congregation provides transportation to doctor appointments, grocery shopping, prison visits and emergency service for food, housing utilities assistance and dental needs. Members of the congregation are assisting men and women in the community to find jobs and develop ways to legitimately earn money. A soup kitchen as well as food and clothes closets also assists the neighborhood residents.

"I believe God has sent me here to stand in the gap for the children," said Smith. "I stand in the gap for the needy and I stand in the gap for those who do not know Jesus Christ."

Church member Audrea Moore, a public information officer with the Fort Pierce Police Department, grew up in the community. "There is a difference being made in this community," she asserted. "The corner across the street would have been crowded with drug deals. We have not eliminated the drug problem, but we have displaced it. There is a respect for what we have done for in this community."

Director of missions Harvey Webb commended the church for its "very bold witness. The church is making strides in that community.

"They want to keep the tent out there even with a building so they are not always hiding behind the church's walls. That's a strong message-a message that other churches can learn."