Apostle Rudolph Johnson was saved by the slaying of his best friend.
It was the late 1970s, and Johnson was a member of the Bishops, a gang in Wilmington, Del. He robbed, fought and left his mark with spray paint and vandalism.
Other friends had come and gone, but he was running strong. Many went to jail, some were killed. But then, when Johnson was about 20, his best friend and fellow gang member, Van, was shot to death.
“He was trying to help someone else, and because he was a gang member, they came back and shot him,” Johnson recalled.
It was one of the darkest days of his life, but if Van hadn’t been killed, Johnson believes he may have ended up the same way. He was on his way to Van’s funeral when he realized his calling as a pastor, and he’s using his position now as head of the Restoration World Ministries church in Edgewood to show gang members there that they can turn their lives around, the way he did.
“That’s the story I tell to my church,” said Johnson, 49, a Chestertown native who walks the streets and talks to whoever will listen.
“Just looking at a lot of my friends and the people I grew up with, that lifestyle doesn’t last. You need somebody to talk to you and tell you there’s a better life.
“Some of them really don’t know where I’ve come from, so then I tell them, ‘I’ve been there; I’ve been out on those streets.’ So it makes them understand: If I can change, you can change. But we’re here to help you.”
Edgewood has been devastated by crime and violence, but Johnson and the community think they have hit bottom. While five homicides struck the town of about 23,000 last year, two have been recorded this year, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and state police.
Police credit the community’s dedication.
“When you work with the community, we tend to solve problems together,” said Sgt. David Betz, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office. “Anytime you get any group involved in their community, it’s going to help.”
Still, he and residents know there is a lot of work yet to be done. Gregory Simmons narrowly escaped becoming last year’s homicide No. 6. A 50-person brawl left him paralyzed.
Residents are holding a “community healing night” tonight to unite the community and remember Harford County’s violence victims.
Johnson hopes they reach the troubled youth in time, before they are awoken the way he was 30 years ago.
IF YOU GO
What: Community Healing Night
Where: 2002 Cedar Drive in Edgewood
When: 6 to 10 tonight
Why: Remember victims of violence
Who: Community members, pastors and 92Q Jams radio station
[email protected]
