BUFFALO, N.Y. -- With an Opportunity Bus parked outside Kleinhan's, a mini job fair inside and a reality TV star as the guest speaker you might say this wasn't your typical Easter Day Mass, but then again True Bethel Baptist Church is not your typical church.
"It's never a typical Easter Day Celebration at True Bethel Baptist Church," said Craig Pridgen, Pastor of True Bethel Baptist Church Niagara Falls. "Each year we try to do something different and innovative to pull the un-churched off the street. We're not looking for anybody that goes to anybody else's church. We're looking to pull those fish that don't belong to anybody else's church."
More than 1,000 people filled the music hall to hear a mixture of music, the gospel and words of inspiration. Following the service, worshippers were also encouraged to participate in a job fair that featured the Buffalo Employment Training Center and the Buffalo Police. True Bethel member Mary Harris thinks it's just another example of Pastor Darius Pridgen's and the church's mission.
"He's just a wonderful pastor he reaches out to the community. He tries to provide services to the community other than pastoring, because there's more things needed in the community: jobs, skills, food, clothing. He's an all around Pastor," said Harris.
This year's guest speaker was a reality TV star and Grammy award winning musician Stevie J. The Love and Hip Hop star who lived and went to school in Buffalo told the crowd about his battles with excess, including a stint in rehab for drugs. He says he hopes people can learn from his story that you can have a second chance.
"Know what you're doing in order to know where you're going," said Stevie J. "You can't lie to yourself because if you lie to yourself you can never be honest about wherever you're going. Me, I'm honest about all my mistakes because may I can change someone's life by being honest and being truthful."
This is the eleventh year True Bethel has held it's Easter Day service at Kleinhan's.