There are so many titles one may walk away with as we leave 2009. Magazines, TV shows, even newspapers account for the top 1, 10 or even 100 people grouped into categories according to frivolous interests: Hottest women of 2009 or weirdest celebrities of the year. But, the Insider News awards an esteemed title yearly. This title does not magnify the meaningless or intensify the foolish; instead, it brings light to the meaningful, the impactful and the valuable. Bestowing the title of the Insider News’ 2009 Man of the Year is not an act to be taken lightly. It involves great consideration; and, in light of consideration taken, without doubt, this year’s title goes to Pastor Elliott K. Cohen, of Abundant Life Christian Center.
Through his influential leadership skills and his heart for the true Gospel, Pastor Cohen has succeeded in touching many lives in 2009. Shepherding a continuously growing church of over 400 members, he knows what positive change can mean for an individual, and, in cooperation with his church and affiliations, he works to bring about that much needed change.
“I am only one individual,” Cohen claims, “[But] one of my strong points it the ability to cast vision, and [consequently] as others begin to fulfill that vision, they become fulfilled.” Leading his congregation to bring about change, he encourages care and compassion for a fellow neighbor. “The church has a responsibility to care for one another. A church that isn’t impacting the community is non-essential.” Pastor Cohen has made it clear: he and his church’s efforts are essential.
Referring to the book of Matthew, chapter 14, Pastor Cohen notes how Jesus took a small amount of food, dispersed it among the disciples and directed them to feed over 5,000 people. “Jesus said ‘you take care of them’. When it comes time to take care of the masses, he put the food into the hands of the disciples to feed the people.” Taking that to heart, Pastor Cohen sees the significance in properly handling and dispersing that which he has been given. Fulfilling his primary spiritual goal, Cohen and his church make a wholehearted effort to reach the ‘unreachable’. “We go after the people no one else wants to spend anytime reaching. We look for desolate places, shelters, e-wards, foster homes, detention centers, jails… because we believe that everyone should have the opportunity for redemption [through Jesus Christ].” Likening the church’s efforts to John the Baptist, Cohen says they are “a voice in the wilderness, calling out to those who are looking for a way out.”
According to Pastor Cohen, there are no ‘taboos’ and there is no one ‘beyond hope’. Referring to the lead supervisor in an inner-city home restoration project led by the pastor, Cohen says the man was facing 30 years to life for past felony activity. The opportunity to work on the rehab project, plus a total persona transformation, reduced the man’s sentence down to probation. “The one who is able to redeem is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” says Cohen who is grateful to have been a part of and witnessed hope and redemption for yet another soul.
Proud to boast in Christ, Cohen also shares that his congregation includes ex-felons, ex-cons, ex-drug dealers, former prostitutes and gang-bangers. “You can come as you are,” says Cohen, “but you won’t stay who you are.” And that is exactly Pastor Cohen’s heart, to see an individual, a people and a community change for the better.
And while spiritual needs top Pastor’s list, he is very aware of the immediate, physical and financial needs of the community. “The primary goal of Abundant Life is to reach the lost with the message of Christ, but we are able to fulfill secondary objectives through a separate, non-profit agency.” The secondary objectives Cohen refers to are food, shelter, clothing, job skills, addiction intervention and financial independence. The non-profit agency he refers to is Project New Life, an organization providing the prevention, intervention and social services necessary for children and families to excel in life. Donating time, money and resources to the agency’s goals and objectives, Cohen and Abundant Life see greater visionary fulfillment through the needs met within Project New Life. Programs supported include an emergency shelter program geared toward harboring and helping the homeless to become successfully independent; a permanent housing program where homeless people with mental illnesses or alcohol or drug-addictions can find help to eventually integrate back into a functioning member of society; a mentoring program where troublesome teens work one-on-one with a mentor to turn from their life’s destructive path; a teenage job placement program where teens can learn job skills through on-the-job experience; an after-school program where students can obtain help with homework and gain additional operation skills; a job readiness program where students learn how to make a resume and prepare for a job interview; and an annual back-to-school event where the community can partake in fun and festivities, and disadvantage students can receive the supplies they need to enter the upcoming school year. It is through these efforts, big and small, that Pastor Cohen’s vision sees ultimate satisfaction; through the many who’ve shared in his vision, many more have reaped numerous beneficial, uplifting, positive results. “We invest in what we believe in,” says Cohen who believes in a better community, one individual at a time.
To ‘the greatest church this side of heaven’, Pastor Cohen would like to say to the congregation at Abundant Life Christian Center, “It is your faithful support, time, financial resources and gifting that allow our ministry to be on the scale that it is in our community. If we didn’t have the support of Abundant Life, we wouldn’t be here.” Pastor Cohen would also like to attribute his achievements to the faithful love and support of his wife, Pastor Josette Cohen. “She’s a great, great woman.”
So, what does it mean to be number one, and of what value is it to be awarded any title? For the Insider News, for the Racine community, and for the individuals touched by a vision, it means positive change. It means a chance for better. It means someone cares. It means there is hope. To the 2009 Insider News Man of the Year, Pastor Elliott K. Cohen, we as a newspaper, representing the community as a whole, say thank you. Thank you for time. Thank you for effort. Thank you for concern. Thank you for love. It is through your continued, selfless efforts that this community can carry on, looking to better days and brighter futures.
