Troy Evans does not exactly look like a typical pastor. The church he helped to start, The Edge, does not exactly look like a typical church, either. However, Evan’s devotion to both his faith and helping foster a better community through religion and hip-hop music is unrelenting. But Evans hasn't always been the man he is today.
“I was a typical kid in the hood [of Grand Rapids],” Evans says. “I got involved in some pretty negative things.”
Evans explains that he was the victim of sexual molestation at a young age, which led to a “downward spiral" of violence and crime. While many sociologists have argued about drugs and how they permeate poor areas, Evans views it in fairly simplistic terms.
“In some neighborhoods, cats play baseball. In some neighborhoods, there was this new thing called crack. Everyone wanted to try selling it.”
As several recent pop culture examples have indicated to mainstream America, gang life is not exactly glamorous, something Evans would eventually learn. After serving a prison stint in the late 80s, his gang life continued, leading to more violence. Between 1988 and 1992, Evans worked his way up through the gang hierarchy.
“I was the [local] leader of a gang (The Vicelords) out of Chicago by the time I was 17,” Evans explains. “I had about 70 people under my leadership.”
After three of his brothers were killed, Evans, or “PE” as many call him, decided to flee Michigan.
“I ended up going to Georgia. It was pretty heavy [in Grand Rapids]. All kinds of people trying to kill me and stuff,” Evans explains, quite casually.
Once Evans had made his escape from gang life in Michigan, he still had a long way to go. He bounced around the East Coast and lived in the back of a U-Haul truck in North Carolina.
In 1995, Evans returned to Michigan and found religion around the same time. For Evans, this was his chance to turn his life around, as well as make a positive change in his community.
“Through what I know is God’s…grace, even when I’m garbage and I suck, [God] still desires me," Evans believes.
Evans worked a variety of jobs, including some in the IT world, upon returning to Grand Rapids. However, it was when he started The Edge Urban Fellowship that everything changed for Evans, as well the lives of many around him.
The Edge (an acronym for evangelism, discipleship, spiritual growth and empowerment) is Evans' own unique take on a church, mainly because it is commonly known as “the hip-hop church.” Evans utilizes what he calls the hip-hop culture as both a “gang prevention tool” and a platform for “holistic development.”
While Pastor Evans believes that gangs in this area have changed considerably since his involvement with them, he sees those changes as mainly structural, while the violence and degradation remain the same.
Due in a large part to Pastor Evans' outreach to people in trouble with these gangs and/or drugs over the last few years, The Edge has seen significant growth, so much so that they're beginning to search for a new location. Evans says his organization is also planning to opening a second branch of The Edge in Detroit this summer. They also continue to operate a marketing firm, IFFI, and are forging partnerships with many area schools.
Evans says the relocation isn't just about building a bigger church -- "It's about being a part of hip-hop culture," he says.
When asked if he had a particular spot in mind, Evans replies, “I don’t care. As long as it’s in the ‘hood.”
That sentiment rings true when Evans explains some of his own style and elements of his upbringing that have parlayed into many of the programs and services he makes sure The Edge offers.
“I was a breakdancer, a rapper and DJ, and I dabbled in graffiti,” Evans says. This explains why his church and outreach center feature art that might look more suited for an abandoned warehouse than a house of worship. The facility also contains a music studio. “We need a dance studio,” Evans adds.
At the end of the day, Evans takes a transformative view of both the world as a whole and the people he interacts with on a daily basis. He cites tangible things, such as seeing people who made livings as prostitutes or gang leaders “surrender their lives and make holistic changes,” as the proudest moments of his work.
Every facet of Evans' work is a single element in the larger issue of community development. Or as Evans refers to it, “[putting] beacons of light inside the community."
The Edge Urban Fellowship is located at 2252 S. Division Avenue in Grand Rapids. The congregation meets every Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m.
Nick Manes is a freelance writer based in Grand Rapids. His work has appeared in Rapid Growth Media, Revue Magazine and other publications. He blogs at NickManes.com. Follow him on Twitter at @nickmanes1.
PHOTOS:
Troy Evans in the sanctuary and office of the Edge Church on South Division.
Photography by
ADAM BIRD