HAVING come close to death’s gate when five gunmen held him up and robbed him in 2004, evangelist Errol Rattray says he is fearless when it comes to preaching the gospel in some of Jamaica’s toughest inner-city communities.

The evangelist, who started the Errol Rattray Evangelistic Association (EREA) in 2000, said the incident has further strengthened his resolve to go into areas most feared to counsel the young men and introduce them to a different way of life.

“There is no place in Jamaica that can be so bad that I won’t go. It is not bad man’s country, it is not gunman’s country, it is not drug man’s country, it is God’s country, and as a man of God I will go anywhere in this country,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Some of the areas he and his team have gone to hold crusades include Mountain View, Rockfort and August Town in Kingston and sections of Spanish Town in St Catherine.

“When we went to Spanish Town, they were having two murders per day. We went for three or four years and the crime rate went down by about 50 per cent,” said Rattray, adding that they had spent months in some of the parish’s hotspots, such as March Pen Road, to introduce spiritual and social interventions.

“We went in at a time when people were (leaving work) by 4:30 pm to reach home by 6:00 pm, the churches weren’t having any meetings at night (and) the police stations were literally locked up at a certain time because the police themselves were fearful,” he noted.

In January, EREA decided to turn the spotlight on St James, which had one of the highest murder rates in the country last year. Flankers, Canterbury, Norwood, Salt Spring, and Granville were selected for special attention, as they were deemed the most dangerous in the parish.

“In these communities, it is drugs, guns, scams, prostitution, witchcraft — (these are) what you are working with,” Rattray said.

With the help of a local business owner, EREA was able to secure 3,000 chickens which they distributed evenly to the five communities, so that the residents could be empowered to start their own chicken-rearing businesses. In September, an overseas company donated 1,000 school bags and stationery valued at almost $2 million, which were distributed to children in Canterbury, ahead of the re-opening of school.

“When we gave the children (the items) I almost cried… Some of them were carrying their books in little plastic bags because they couldn’t afford (proper school bags),” Rattray shared.

EREA, with the assistance of churches in St James, also went about organising friendly football matches among the five communities to promote team work and to give the young men something to work towards besides crime. It is Rattray’s hope that they will be able to start some computer centres soon, but he is pleased with the progress the churches are making in the communities so far.

Meanwhile, he said that as a parachurch group, his organisation compliments rather than competes with the church, as they work towards the conversion of souls and the transformation of lives for the better.

“We believe that the primary role of the church must be the proclamation of the gospel. So we share the gospel with people and give them an opportunity to change their lifestyles,” Rattray said.

A growing concern for the evangelist is the number of men who are shirking their roles as fathers and caregivers — a concern that proved the catalyst for the launch of two programmes that target males. One is a men’s rally which sees EREA bringing together men from across the island annually to discuss issues affecting them.

The organisation also started a boys’ conference in 2001 for male students from schools across the island. Each year, 15 students from 40 high schools are invited to attend the conference where members of the security forces, guidance counsellors, pastors and other professionals address some of their issues and reinforce positive values and attitudes.

“We deal with male sexuality and we deal with how to succeed, although this is hard because some are coming from environments that dictate otherwise. The rational behind it is that the boys of today will in the next 15 years be the doctors, the lawyers, the fathers. So if we can change their mindset, then we will have a better Jamaica,” Rattray said.

The evangelist has also spearheaded projects to clean up sections of the island. One of the most successful was Hope 2007, which saw approximately 10,000 Christians from different denominations uniting to clean up the Corporate Area ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.

And now that the hurricane season is in full swing, the evangelist said he wants to start a skills bank where Christians can register the skills they will be able to offer in times of disaster. He noted that there were many carpenters, electricians and masons in the church who could volunteer their time to help those affected by natural disasters.