The faith community needs to be part of Anchorage’s crime solution.

The faith community needs to be part of Anchorage’s crime solution.

Note: The post was written and submitted to ADN.com as an opinion piece, but was not picked up so it is running here as submitted.

"What the hell is going on here?,” was the opening line of the editorial, “We need a better solution for crime in Anchorage,” which ran December 10 in the Anchorage Daily News. Yes, a better solution to Anchorage’s crime must be found. Yet that solution must involve—at least in part—people more accustomed to talking about heaven than hell: the faith community.

Anchorage has broken its record for total number of murders two years in a row. As those numbers have risen, daily news stories greet the city’s inhabitants with more bad news of all kinds of crime also on the rise. In response, there have been repeated calls for more police officers and stronger policing as well as cries to repeal SB-91. Sadly, I fear most common the reaction, though, has simply been bemoaning the decay of our city to friends. While giving voice to the condition of the city has its place, action is what causes change. And though politicians, police, and citizens have raised their voices to address—or at least comment on—this crime, one group has been strangely silent: the faith community.

I was taught by my alma mater the Latin motto, “ora et labora,” which means pray and work, which is the key to the response needed from the faith community. While I am sure that individual people of faith, congregations, and other small groups have prayed over Anchorage’s condition these past few years, there has been no discernable group effort to address the violence and crime we are experiencing. In a city filled with Christian churches—all of whom are, presumably, following the “Prince of Peace”—there has been no comment, movement, or large scale call to prayer.

In the Old Testament’s Book of Jonah, Jonah was asked to be concerned about the city of Nineveh, something he had refused to do at every turn in the story. At the end of the book, Jonah—God’s prophet—is found sitting outside the city waiting for God to destroy it. God asks Jonah an interesting question, “Should I not have concern for the great city?” Are the people of faith in Anchorage like Jonah in our silence? I believe that God has great concern for our city and that he would ask us the same question.

In the mid-nineteen nineties (in the years following the previous record high for murders in 1995) during a similar time of struggle in the city, Mayor Mystrom called on the churches to respond to the problem of chronic homelessness and helpless women in the city. The Church of Anchorage responded, prayed, and became involved in serving the city. In our current situation, this example from our recent past provides a template for what could happen, but this time around there has been no call, no prayer, no movement.

The solution to Anchorage’s crime will require engagement from citizens of all kinds and from all city sectors, but the faith community can no longer remain silent. It is time for people of faith to come together to, as the prophet Jerimiah said, “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city… Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

As the new year dawns, there is hope. On January 12, 2018, a dozen churches are gathering to pray for the city and begin discussing how the church might seek Anchorage’s peace. The event—ACTIVATE—will happen at 7 pm at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium. ACTIVATE is not an organization or a commitment. It is a relational opportunity for faith leaders and their congregations to partner toward bringing organized and peaceful solutions to recent violence and injustice in Anchorage. This will be done by praying, talking, developing a plan, and acting.

Another group—The Anchorage Urban Training Collaborative—is launching The Anchorage Peacemaking Fellowship in 2018. The fellowship will gather 10-12 people from around the city to answering the question: "How should the people of faith in Anchorage respond to the violence in our city?"

Imagine if we prayed together at each location of violent crime in the city, remembering victims and reclaiming that space for peace? What if every house of prayer set aside two minutes weekly to ask God to bring our city peace? What if churches came together in their neighborhoods to provide support for those affected by crime? What if people of faith began to dream about how we could come together to bless our community, strengthen families, and create an environment where people would be less likely to turn to crime?

People of faith must be involved in seeking a solution to crime in Anchorage. While there are no simple solutions, doing nothing is not an option. We must commit ourselves to pray and work on behalf of our city.


Joel Kiekintveld
Joel Kiekintveld is the Teaching Pastor at Crosspoint Community Church and the Director of the Anchorage Urban Training Collaborative, which is launching the Anchorage Peacemaking Fellowship in January to answer the question, “How should the people of faith in Anchorage respond to the violence in our city?” More information at www.facebook.com/AnchorageUrbanTrainingCollaborative or joel@crosspointcommunity.com.