After 26 years, the Shore Christian Center continues to set ambitious goals.

For the founders of the Shore Christian Center in Wall Township, good enough just is not quite good enough.

In 26 years, Shore Christian Center [SCC] has grown from a small congregation of under 100 to a massive community of more than 1,000. It is the base of operations for an elementary through middle school, athletic teams, televised worship services and countless community outreach programs. The organization that once held small gatherings in borrowed community meeting rooms now owns a facility rivaling that of the area's largest churches. Pastors who once only spoke before audiences of local congregants that numbered a few dozen now preach before hundreds and interview celebrities and star athletes for inspirational television programs that are seen by thousands.

But Senior Pastor Dewey Friedel - who founded the SCC with his wife, Senior Pastor Ronda Friedel - said plans are being made for another expansion.

"I don't think vision ever stops. When you have eyes, you see need," Pastor Dewey, who turns 54 this Saturday, said.

The SCC's current facility - located on Squankum Road in the Allenwood section of Wall Township - has served the congregation well so far, Pastor Dewey said. Fifteen yeas ago, it gave a permanent home to a growing community with ambitious goals.

"We'd like to build a new worship center in a more conspicuous facility", said Pastor Dewey.

So now, the Friedels are searching for a 200-acre piece of land they can use for the SCC's main operations, and for a new high school. The existing facility would become an expanded middle school.

And the SCC is looking to step up its educational programs. Pastor Dewey said he hopes someday he can bring people of developing countries to America for training that will help them build vital infrastructure in their communities.

"I believe we can do a lot to help these nations through training," said Pastor Dewey.

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Growth is nothing new for the SCC. It started as a simple idea - a broad-based, non-denominational approach to Christianity.

Early in Pastor Dewey's life, he was exposed to several denominations - each of which, he said, had valuable lessons to teach.

"We were eclectic," Pastor Dewey said of his family's religious background. He was raised with the teachings of the United Methodist Church. Pastor Ronda was a Lutheran. Pastor Dewey's grandfather was a member of a Pentecostal congregation.

The Friedels' 19-year-old son, Isaac, also practices Christianity in accordance with the SCC's teachings.

But the SCC leader got his first taste of interdenominational Christianity when he met Oral Roberts, president of Oral Roberts University. He then left the University of Delaware, where he had been studying for three semesters, to attend ORU.

"I didn't know quite what to think of Oral Roberts University, but once I saw it, I knew I liked this place," Pastor Dewey said.

And while his educational adventures took him through several institutions of higher learning - including the Princeton Theological Seminary, which first drew him to New Jersey - he said that sentiment stayed strong within him.

"I said, 'Why settle for one slice of the pie?' There's so much more to the Christian faith than just one emphasis."

At Princeton, he met theologians of various backgrounds - some liberal, some fundamentalist, some new-age and more. But one theme seemed to prevail.

"I saw an aspect of social consciousness that I'm grateful to have witnessed," Pastor Dewey said.

And that mentality would eventually become key to the formation of the SCC, which is based around a classical ideal, said Pastor Dewey - that the body, mind and spirit must be improved in conjunction.

"That's a major mentioning philosophy in my life," he said.

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The SCC's approach to spiritual development was the first aspect of its now-comprehensive programs to take form.

In the 1970s, the Friedels' new home in New Jersey provided a few surprises. Pastor Dewey said he had never encountered large, reverent Catholic congregations when in his former home of Delaware. It was a learning experience.

He even, on occasion, had the opportunity to preach for some Catholic congregations.

"That was new for me," he said. "To think, of all the people that would reach out to us, it would be the Roman Catholic Church."

Pastor Dewey began serving with the Avon United Methodist Church. But around that time, he also began to feel strict, fundamentalist denominationalism was too narrow.

"Denominations are wonderful because they give people a sub-culture," he said. "But if they become too narrow, they can become like a box."

Many cannot see past the specific practices of their denominations to learn the greater lessons of the gospel, he said.

"If we are [saying] words only, without [performing] works, we're missing the point of the gospel," he said.

So, by placing a small advertisement in a newspaper in 1977, the Friedels took the first step to building their congregation.

On the Shore Christian Center's first day of services some 25 years ago, it attracted what then seemed like a sizable congregation of 87 people, who crowded into the Manasquan Women's Club building. Within a few years - as the congregation bounced from one temporary home to another - it grew to several hundred people.

Pastor Dewey said the quickly growing congregation was a bit much to handle. He had never taken management courses in college, and didn't know how to handle the increasingly complex finances of his organization.

But that problem was solved thanks to the benevolence of "some wonderful people in the community."

The Shore Christian Center had found some of its earliest and most vital volunteers - businessmen and businesswomen willing to help administer the organization.

But small locations like the Asbury Park Salvation Army Building and the Manasquan Presbyterian Church offered the group little opportunity for the kind of outreach programs the Friedels had in mind.

On July 17, 1988, the Shore Christian Center moved into its own permanent home in Wall Township.

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By building a school at the facility, the SCC took one of its most significant steps toward encouraging the development of the mind.

Pastor Dewey said the school's lessons are not exclusively religious, but Christian beliefs play a key role in the education.

"We teach them to ask questions that perhaps you wouldn't teach in a more secular environment," he said.

For instance, he said, while the school teaches lessons of both evolution and creationism, it encourages students not to take either at face value. It also looks to expose students to the most modern ideas in both, he said.

"We feel that way, at least the students have alternatives," he said.

Another ethic encouraged at the school is that of unity, said Pastor Ronda. It advocates teaching the same lessons at school, in church and in the home.

"I think it's a learning process. The key is in the teacher's relationships to the students," Pastor Dewey said.

The school has enjoyed success with its methods, he noted. Some of its former students have gone on to Ivy League institutions, and pursued challenging career paths in the study of law.

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Having a permanent home allowed the SCC to expand on a theme Pastor Dewey said is somewhat unique to the center - the role of athletics in personal development.

Pastor Ronda, 54, said she and her husband found some people in the community had been resistant to the idea of intermingling athletics with religion. But she said the combinations makes sense - noting educational institutions have shown scholastic athletics can help build character.

The SCC has been involved with athletics for years. Through personal and community connections, Pastor Dewey has interviewed countless professional athletes for religious television programs.

"We started interviewing Christian baseball players, or baseball players that had stories worth telling," he said.

Many of them even attend the SCC and preach once a year for the center's famed "Diamond Days."

"It's exciting that kids' eyes sparkle when they see their heroes," he said.

The SCC has reached out to other professional athletic organizations, such as the National Football League and the National Basketball Association.

Pastor Dewey, a lifelong fan of baseball and other sports, said as an outsider he never expected to enjoy living in New Jersey. However, the tri-state area sports scene provided one small incentive to make the move.

"The Yankees were my heroes, along with Billy Graham," he said"

Pastor Dewey had tried to pursue a professional baseball career as well, but he said God chose a different path for him.

"Every time I started to do well, I suffered an injury. I was meant for something else," he said.

At the center's facility is now a large athletic field used not only by its own teams - which compete regionally - but by those of the St. Rose Catholic School in Belmar.

Pastor Dewey said he is not afraid to admit he likes to win, and said that ethic is part of the reason the SCC has been successful. He said he hopes the center's athletic programs can instill the same value in its young congregants, and they carry that over into other aspects of their lives.

"I think the Dark Ages taught us poverty is a virtue. I don't think there's anything virtuous about it. People should not be ashamed to be ambitious, or to be successful" he said.

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Pastor Ronda said the SCC, in its effort to stay nondenominational, has focused on a strict interpretation of the Bible. It forwards that message not only to the roughly 1,000 people who attend its services regularly, but to the countless more who experience abridged versions on religious television stations throughout the country.

"I just knew that the message we were carrying was for everyone," Pastor Dewey said.

The television programs are produced by members of the congregation and aired weekly on several public access stations throughout the country, and on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Many of the viewers donate to the SCC, allowing the weekly broadcasts to continue.

And while those viewing the services remotely are a valuable part of the extended congregation, they do miss out on what Pastor Dewey said is one of his favorite parts of the Thursday and Sunday proceedings - as they conclude, the school's cafeteria is turned into a restaurant where congregants can meet socially.

"After a worship service, it's great for everyone to be able to sit down and talk to each other. That's something I really enjoy," said Pastor Dewey.

That is just one of the many ways the SCC encourages its members to think of themselves as a community, he said.

"This is our family. This is our home, where we've worked together and grown together", he said.

Perhaps most key to that family, said Pastor Dewey, is the staff of volunteers that helps run the SCC.

"Without the volunteer staff, we could never do this", said Pastor Dewey.

The professional staff at Shore Christian is made up of 13 people, and another 26 are employed at the school. But the volunteer staff helping to run both facilities numbers more than 100. The dedication of the SCC's community has made its several ministry programs possible, as well, Pastor Dewey said. Through the ministries, the SCC offers counseling services, addiction rehabilitation meetings and food donation programs. It reaches out to those in crisis, and connects those facing similar problems so they can learn from each other how to cope.

"We've attracted a lot of people. The attraction, I think, is that good people want to be near others who are doing God's work."

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The Shore Christian Center may not be for everyone, said Pastor Dewey. Its non-denominational approach to Christianity may be more liberal than strict fundamentalism, but is still more rooted in traditional belief than those drawn to new-age religions find appealing.

"There are sects out there that believe all roads lead to Heaven. I don't believe that." he said. "This would not be as general as they might like. I'm a Christian minister, and I'm not afraid to say the one true path is Jesus Christ. That's our bedrock here."

And for some, a more denominational approach might be best, he said.

But those people aren't the ones the SCC is most interested in drawing to its congregation, although they're certainly welcome, said Pastor Dewey.

"We want the agnostics, the atheists. We want to help people who have lost their way find it again," said Pastor Dewey.

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As with any church, the SCC is dependent on the generosity of its members for financial support.

Pastor Dewey said the SCC has had little reason to worry about financial matters.

"We really haven't had to do any fund-raising," he said, adding that donations from congregants up and down the financial ladder have kept the SCC going strong for a quarter-century.

And he said by giving what they can, even the poorest members of the SCC's community have found new dignity.

While donations of money, time and effort - all of which provide the foundation for the SCC's expansive programs - are hard to predict, Pastor Dewey said he is confident his organization will continue to grow and do good things for those in its reach.

"There always seems to be a way," he said. "In that regard, we've been very blessed."

 

Republished with permission by the Coast Star newspaper, Manasquan, New Jersey.