Wave Wire Services
SOUTH LOS ANGELES — The intersection of 47th Place and San Pedro Street was dedicated Oct. 26 as Experience Christian Ministries Square, honoring the church, Senior Pastor Shep Crawford and his wife and co-pastor Shalonda Crawford for their dedication to the city.
“What a joy to be here as we dedicate Experience Christian Ministries Square — a celebration of 16 years of faith and love for South Central,” said City Councilman Curren Price, who wrote the motion to dedicate the intersection to honor the church, its pastor and co-pastor.
The Crawfords “built a church that welcomes people who weren’t sure church was for them. People who simply needed someone to say, ‘Come on in. You belong here.’”
The ceremony came one day after the church celebrated its 16th anniversary.
Experience Christian Ministries has served thousands of residents through community outreach, food and resource distributions, youth mentorship, family support, violence prevention initiatives and educational programs, according to Price’s motion.
The church describes itself as targeting “non-church goers, everyday people, millennials, street-lifers and people who are simply tired of church.”
“We do not practice any traditions that are not biblically based, nor do we include any contemporary progressions that do not have a targeted effect on changing lives,” according to the church’s website, theecm.org.
The church also speaks “about subjects that are typically considered taboo in many churches, but are spoken about in the Bible” and meets “each congregant where they are to bring them closer to where we all want to be in Christ,” according to its website.
The goal of Experience Christian Ministries is “to turn the Holy Scriptures into a modern-day script through drama, music, dance, and most of all, current day language, so that the congregation may understand how each biblical story and lesson applies specifically to their lives,” the website said.
Shep Crawford is a five-time Grammy Award-winning American R&B and gospel musician, songwriter and record producer best known for Whitney Houston’s “Same Script, Different Cast,” Deborah Cox’s “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” Tamia’s “Stranger in My House,” Sisqó’s “Incomplete,” Luther Vandross’ “I’d Rather” and Kelly Price’s “As We Lay.”
He “uses a uniquely captivating, entertaining, and thought-provoking method of preaching and teaching that leaves the congregation wanting to know about God on a more personal and intimate level,” according to Price’s motion.
“Your music has reached people around the world,” Price said. “Here at home, you have used your voice to bring neighbors together and carry forward the work of peace.”
Shalonda Crawford received a doctoral degree in applied clinical psychology from the Chicago School. She was nicknamed “Dr. Sunshine” for passionately pursuing “everyone around her to see the brighter side of life and tremulous situations,” according to the motion.
“There is a reason people call you ‘Dr. Sunshine,’” Price said. “You help them find hope when life gets hard. You bring your training in clinical psychology, your faith and your compassion to the people you serve.
“Through your ministry and your book, ‘Employ Your Pain,’ you encourage people to take what they’ve been through and use it to find purpose and help someone else. Together, you have made ECM a place people can turn to.”
