AKRON, Ohio — More than 24 hours after the deadly Akron street party, some church leaders say they’re still in shock after what police say appeared to be a drive-by shooting.
“Very hard to hear especially because of the area that we live in,” said Apostle Jimmie Rodgers of the Good Hope Ministries.
Now, a group of concerned pastors are coming together to pick up the pieces.
The Good Hope Ministries is located just one block away from the incident on Kelly and 8th avenues, which took the life of a 27-year-old man and left 24 others injured.
The shooting happened during a street party and police are still investigating how it happened.
RELATED: 24 shot, 1 dead in street party shooting in Akron
“Even in situation like this, it doesn’t seem good, doesn’t look good, doesn’t feel good, but Romans 8:28 says all things work together for the good,” said Rodgers.
Pastor Juanita Watson of Faith Outreach Ministries, "The Faith Factory," tells News 5 it’s been a difficult time for her and her family.
“Six of the people shot were my family members. The rest were friends of the family, and the one who passed away, unfortunately, was the father of one of my little cousins,” said Watson.
Late Monday night, News 5 met Watson outside Providence Baptist Church, where she and several dozen other concerned pastors met with the Akron Police Department and city leaders to figure out the next steps following this weekend’s events.
“We redefined what a pastor was, what they can expect from a pastor, and how we plan on putting the groundwork in our community to make it a better place,” said Watson.
Creating stronger relationships with law enforcement and the community is another call to action for Pastor Vincent Peterson of Providence Baptist Church.
“We’re going to sit down, talk to our congregations, find out the things that they think will help,” said Vincent.
As detectives work to uncover the suspect or suspects involved, Peterson and Pastor Eric Nevins of Goshen House Interdenominational Church believe they can overcome this situation by pulling everyone together as one.
“We have a power that the police don’t have, the community doesn’t have. We have God, and we have the power of prayer, and I know that prayer works,” said Nevins.
“The church needs to let the community see that we’re more than just on Sunday,” said Pastor Mark Ward of Zion Temple Baptist Church.
News 5 reached out to Cleveland Clinic Akron General and the hospital says one person remains in critical condition, while four others are hospitalized on regular floors.
