Chris Lange, FISM News
Nearly a year after Chicago’s “Rooftop Pastor” pitched a tent atop a 40-foot stack of shipping containers to raise money for a youth center, Corey Brooks finally descended Oct. 29 amid cheers from a crowd of over 1,000 onlookers.
Brooks, who pastors Woodlawn’s New Beginnings Church, drew national attention when he ascended the structure where he vowed to stay until he raised the funds to build a new community center. He made good on his promise, braving temperatures ranging from 34 degrees below zero in January to June’s 115-degree peak, for a total of 345 days.
Brooks raised $20 million of his $35 million goal, enough to break ground and begin construction on New Beginnings’ Leadership & Economic Opportunity Center at 66th and King Drive.
“We would definitely not be where we are if not for the generous contributions from evangelical Christians around the country,” Brooks told Baptist Press in an interview. “Because of their gifts we will be able to witness to, and transform, thousands of lives for generations.”
Brooks said his fundraising campaign got a big boost in the form of a $5 million donation, followed by several “matching” gifts, though he said the bulk of the funds came from smaller gifts given by churches and individuals.
The pastor envisions the new, 89,000-square-foot facility as a safe place for children to play and learn and a creative center for artists and entrepreneurs in Chicago’s Woodlawn community. Brooks said that he will continue to try to raise the remaining $15 million of his goal so that he can build the new facility debt-free.
Asked about his experience living outdoors in the Windy City for 11 months, Brooks said, “I’ve missed some things, but I will also gain some things, built up relationships; but most of all, we’ve garnered enough support to get this center up and going.”
Amid the challenges he faced during his singular sojourn, Brooks experienced moments of joy and inspiration, including a time when he was paid a visit by a group of local business leaders and pastors “who came to spend the night to support the building and the transformation of lives.” Brooks said the group shared thoughts and ideas about the future of Chicago, the new center, and the failure on the part of the government to address rising crime.
“We cannot wait on the government,” Brooks said. “If we don’t do it, it’s not going to be done. … First, we have to punish those who break the law. Second, we have to give people opportunities to change their lives.
“Politics can’t change hearts. It’s going to take us and the Lord to change the hearts. This is a heart issue. If we don’t get these people involved in another opportunity and options, their lives will never change and everything will stay the same,” he said.
Another encouraging boost came when over 150 children from one of New Beginnings’ summer programs gathered around the pastor’s perch for a visit.
“It thrilled my soul to see so many young people excited about the possibility and opportunities coming by way of the building,” Brooks said. “We need to do our very best to restore our good faith in society.
This wasn’t Brooks’s first rooftop rodeo. He camped out on top of Chicago’s notorious Super Motel for 94 days in 2011 and 2012 to raise funds to demolish the abandoned structure which had become a den for gangs, drug dealers, and sex traffickers.
“Our kids have nothing to care about, to believe in. They see failure everywhere. With the good faith – the hope in Jesus Christ – we can restore faith that society, neighbors, family care about them. With that good faith we can restore the good will, that respect in our society,” Brooks said. “We simply have no other choice, or the headlines will get worse.”