Building Judson from the inside out

By April A. Morris  

APRIL 26, 2012 11:41 a.m. (1)

Near the Milliken mill in Greenville’s Judson community stands a brick church where Rev. Windell Rogers recently held a Pray for Judson event. Visitors and members could come and pray for the restoration of community identity, freedom from poverty and abundance.

Rogers has a vision for restoring the sense of community to this neighborhood that was once a vibrant mill village. With Greater Mt. Calvary Baptist Church as a neighborhood resource and his home base, Rogers wants to help spark interest in Judson as an affordable and beautiful place to live.

“It’s only two miles from Falls Park. This is one of the few places close to downtown that you can still find a decent structure with yard space,” he said.

Judson faces problems like a high home rental rate and high unemployment, Rogers said, and he wants to help facilitate change. Rogers came to the Upstate from Columbia in 1980. After serving seven years active duty in the military, he became a manager with the U.S. Postal Service before beginning pastoral work.

Rogers has been pastor at Greater Mt. Calvary for 14 years. He said  he knew this sort of outreach would be part of his focus after multiple mission trips to Mexico and Honduras. Those trips “reminded me that we have some of the same conditions at home,” he said.

Rogers is often in the neighborhood on prayer walks with others, stopping to pray for residents. He encounters people living in all types of situations. “If they’re spiritually awakened, then that can cure many ills,” he says.

The church participates in neighborhood outreach each year at Thanksgiving, partnering with Southside Fellowship in Simpsonville to provide meals for the community through Boxes of Love. As a result of this work, Rogers met a grandmother who was raising her grandson the best way she could in adverse conditions. The two became close and Rogers, who has been married for nearly 40 years and has three grown children, became the guardian of the 10-year-old boy when the grandmother passed away about 18 months ago. He says going back to childrearing after being an empty nester required much prayer, but “he’s worth every minute that he’s been with us.”

Reaching out to the community through the church is vital, Rogers said. Greater Mt. Calvary Baptist Church moved into the area seven years ago and he considers the facility itself a fantastic asset, with 60 rooms, many of those unused. Some of those rooms are being tapped as classroom space for an “I Can Learn” program that offers afterschool and summer enrichment for students. And there’s a clothes closet and food pantry for those in need. “We try to be a resource for this neighborhood. Ideally that’s what we’d like to be,” Rogers said.

He adds that there are many non-English speakers in the area and he sees a demand for English as a Second Language (ESL) workshops and classes. He sees using some of the church’s space to allow artists or artisans to work and a community garden on the horizon.

Rogers said there are excellent existing neighborhood resources in the Judson community, among them Hollis Academy and the Judson YMCA. He said he dreams of restoring the old mill village baseball fields to provide a gathering place and recreation for all ages.

Though he believes that community change should begin with the residents, Rogers admits that other resources are required. “We are looking for someone to help with renewal. We need people who have monetary resources. I’m praying for people to get interested in Judson.”

To discover avenues for generating interest in the area, Rogers has been talking with residents and meeting with local businesses and law enforcement. He’s also partnering with Greenville Connect, a church, ministry and business alliance, to offer assistance in Judson.

“I believe that God wants us to help other people and we have that opportunity here in Judson. We just want Judson to thrive.”