PASTOR SMITH: We began in Decatur. The Lord led us to relocate out here in Stockbridge, and we've been here three years this coming February. We also have an association that is in 34 countries throughout the world, with the organizational participation of some 200,000. We just believe in hooking up the world for Jesus Christ. That's what we've been doing for the last seventeen years.

We have birthed quite a few ministries. Covenant Christian Ministries in Lithonia, GA came from this ministry, and Bishop Patton out in Snellville, GA, are just a couple of the many which are connected to us.

Archbishop Smith, my late husband was from Lithonia. He went into the military and came back to Georgia, where he ministered for some 42 years of his life. He was 60 when he passed away. His whole life was the ministry. I grew up in Greensboro, Alabama, just below Tuscaloosa. When I finished high school I came to Georgia and I've been here ever since. I worked in corporate America, cut my teeth at BellSouth corporation, where I worked in management. I left to do full time ministry in 1991.

My call to the ministry came a few years before that. We were in a denominational church at that time, and my call was certainly not acknowledged there. So I just kept that till the time came for me to expand. When we started this church I joined my husband in leading this church from the beginning.

It was fantastic, to have your husband working and serving God, and you serving alongside him, that's a dream come true.

ORR: What are some of the most important changes you have seen in your ministry, and in the Atlanta area in general?

PASTOR SMITH: In the Decatur area, when we first came there it was more of a middle class community, very solid people who had been there for many years. Those individuals started to move away, to pass away, whatever, and the neighborhood began to change. So where we used to impact lives in a local community, we began to see that that was not the case any more. But since we've moved to the Stockbridge area, people were coming from right around our doors who are interested in joining up with us and pushing forth this vision.

ORR: If you had to name the two most important things that Light of the World is involved in, what would those be?

PASTOR SMITH: The main thing, the first thing would be the outreach to the inner city. We have buses that we send into the inner city to pick up from the homeless shelters, bringing people in for empowerment, for enrichment, for development. That is the very heartbeat of what we do. I can remember back in the early 80s, I was doing street ministry down in the city of Atlanta. Back then it wasn't so difficult, you could just pull up anywhere and stop and do ministry. Nowadays it's much more difficult, you need so many permits and everything. We would bring them into the church next Sunday, and if it wasn't a Sunday where water was in the pool, my husband would take them into his shower and baptize them by running water over them. That was such a powerful anointing on his (Archbishop Smith's) life.

That is still a major heartbeat of this ministry, to reach out to the less fortunate, the downtrodden, the inner city, but not only reaching with a handout, but constantly trying to develop productive citizens.

The second thing that is really a heartbeat of this ministry is our international work. We reach out to the nations, we have churches in 34 countries throughout the world. We have a saying that we'd like to hook up the world for Jesus Christ, to link the world together literally for Him. We've been going to the mission fields since long before it was popular.

That's what we come together for, to get enriched, strengthened, fueled up, fired up to go out and do the job with the less fortunate for Jesus Christ.

ORR: What can you say about the BRC, the Overground RR!!© and its work in strengthening the links between African American churches and the business community?

PASTOR SMITH: I think it's all very interlinked. We can't just deal with the spiritual aspect, that's one-dimensional. We have to also empower people economically. The person who comes to the worship experience but doesn't know how they're going to eat tomorrow is going to have a different experience from that person who comes to the worship experience with their needs met. I think that businesses, the community and the church need to, have to partner together. We have to be willing to reach into the church community and share resources. The church is a non-profit institution, so it relies heavily upon contributions and people sharing. And so the more the businesses partner up and truly tithe into the church the more we will actually see them prosper.

The Word of God says that if we give, it will be given back to us. And the other side is that we are helping our own. We might be able to give you the references of quality young people who need employment. We might be able to say that this young person has been trained, that they know what to do, that you'll know they will do a good job for you.

So I applaud what the Overground RR!! TM is doing and I think it's very necessary.

The church and the business community, as far as I'm concerned are one, because the same people that worship here in this church are the business people. So as far as I;m concerned there's not a separation of church and the businesses, there's got to be the two working together.

The clock is ticking down to the launch of the OvergroundRR!!'s TM new web site. ORR's new site will contain a wealth of information, connections and opportunities available nowhere else for member businesses, churches and community alliances.

On the new web site, ORR church affiliates can show videos of their special events, pastoral greetings, sermons, lectures and more. Current ORR business members are invited to call for 404-346-0808 for appointments to film their own video web commercials, anywhere from 30 seconds to two full minutes. The ORR will even assist you in writing the script for your promotional video. Alternatively, ORR businesses may film and edit their own promotional spots or special events, and send them into the ORR office. Edited videos should be in .AVI or .FLV format. Call 404-346-0808 for details.

The train is coming. Get on board!!

GABEO is deeply saddened at the loss of our brother, friend and colleague, Rev. James Orange.

Rev. Orange was a diligent member and supporter of GABEO, who served as our Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa. Before Nelson Mandela was freed in 1990, Rev. Orange went to South Africa to mentor, train, and prepare the African National Congress (ANC) for the upcoming registration of elections. He was one of the first people on the ground in South Africa working on that project. He established a great relationship with the ANC and Nelson Mandela.

A 40-year resident of southwest Atlanta, Rev. Orange was a life-long civil rights activist, who was hired as a field staffer by the SCLC in the 1960s. He later worked for the AFL-CIO as a regional coordinator. In 1995, he founded the M.L. King Jr. March Committee-Africa/African American Renaissance Committee, Inc., and was the key organizer of the annual march and other activities in Atlanta in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He joined the Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery and Rep. Tyrone Brooks in organizing the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda.

Described as a "gentle giant" and a "master organizer" by friends and colleagues, Rev. Orange participated in numerous major civil rights marches for freedom, justice and equality. Through the years he has been a key organizer of voter registration, education and mobilization efforts in Alabama, Georgia and throughout the nation.

"Rev. Orange has been a good friend, colleague and a big brother to me for more than 40 years," said Tyrone Brooks, president of GABEO. "We'll miss him because he was just a big, big giant in the movement. He died young but we have to thank God we had him for 65 years," Brooks said.

Please keep his wife, Mrs. Cleophas Orange, his children, grandchildren, and their entire family in your thoughts and prayers.

For information on Rev. Orange's memorial services, which will be held this coming weekend, click here.

The National Institute of Health Undergraduate Scholarship Program offers up to $20,000 per recipient in competitive scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are committed to careers in biomedical, behavioral and social science health related research. NIH, or the National Institutes of Health, is the world's largest biomedical research institution. NIH seeks to improve health by conducting research in its own laboratories and by funding the research of other scientists throughout the United States and around the world.
For each full or partial scholarship year, you are committed to two NIH service obligations - a 10 week summer laboratory experience and employment at NIH after graduation.
Application deadlines are February 29, 2008. For full information click here.

Girls Going Places®Entrepreneurship Award Program is Guardian's annual initiative designed to reward the enterprising spirits of girls ages 12 to 18. Guardian awards prizes to 15 girls who demonstrate budding entrepreneurship, who are are taking the first steps toward financial independence, and who are making a difference in their schools and communities.
Prizes totaling $30,000 are granted to three top winners and 12 finalists each year, to further their entrepreneurial pursuits or save for college.
Applications for the 2008 Award Program Year are still being accepted. Entries must be postmarked by or on February 29, 2008. For full details click here .

Alltel has teamed up with Dr. Maya Angelou to give away ten scholarships of $5,000 each to 10 lucky finalists. The Alltel Words of Wisdom essay contest asks, "In remembering the past, what would you do to contribute to a brighter future?" Essays must be 600-800 words and must be the original work of the submitting author. Ten winners will be chosen from all essays submitted to the contest. Each winning essayist will receive a scholarship to a participating black college or university. All 10 winners will be honored at an awards Luncheon to be held Monday, March 31st in Little Rock, Arkansas. Words of Wisdom spokesperson and esteemed poet and author, Dr. Maya Angelou, will personally present each winner with their scholarship. Additionally, Ruban Studdard will perform for the winners and their guests at an exclusive concert.
The application deadline is March 1, 2008. For full information, click here.