A Christ-Centered Congregation on South Fort Street
Southwestern Church of God stands at 3032 South Fort Street on Detroit's southwest side, a brick-and-mortar presence in a working-class neighborhood that the congregation calls home. Pastor Jack Perkins describes the church as Christ-centered and people focused, community based. Its public motto reads simply, "Christ-centered and people focused, community based church." Worshippers who step inside find a warm welcome from a congregation that aims higher in holiness, preaches the Word simply and without compromise, and turns its attention outward to feed the hungry, clothe those in need, and support missions in Haiti and around the world.
The congregation's vision is to be a wholistic New Testament ministry in the heart of the city, reviving, restoring, and releasing men and women to do the will of God. The three words - revive, restore, release - frame everything from Sunday worship to the Tuesday Bible study, the children's Zoom classroom, the food pantry, and the men's camping trip.
Sundays on South Fort Street
The Sunday rhythm begins before most of the neighborhood is awake. At 9:15 a.m., adults gather online for a one-hour Adult Sunday School class held over Zoom, with the meeting ID and password shared in advance. Fifteen minutes later, at 9:30 a.m., the in-person Sunday School opens for all ages inside the church.
At 11:00 a.m., the Sunday Worship Service fills the sanctuary. The service is offered in person and is also livestreamed on Facebook, so members who are traveling, sick, or homebound can follow along. A conference call line is open as well: dialing (605) 313-5989 and entering Meeting Passcode 708821# puts worshipers on the line. Recordings remain available afterward on Facebook and YouTube, and the church's YouTube channel carries the catalog of past services for anyone who missed a Sunday.
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25) sets the tone the church tries to honor every week. First-time guests are warmly received by the Usher Board Ministry, whose members serve as the congregation's doorkeepers and help shape an atmosphere of reverence and worship from the moment someone walks in.
Tuesdays Online and on the Line
Midweek life at Southwestern has settled into a steady, online rhythm. The Mid-Week Bible Study meets at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, livestreamed on Facebook and joined by phone through the same conference call line used for Sunday worship. Recordings are posted for anyone who cannot make the live hour.
At 6:30 p.m., two parallel gatherings fill the early evening. The Young Ambassadors for Christ children's program opens its Zoom rooms for ages 3 and up, with three classes - ages 3 to 7, 8 to 12, and 13 and up - designed to keep young people engaged through games, activities, and practical biblical application. At the same hour, Pastor Jack Perkins leads a Virtual Zoom Prayer Service that runs until 7:30 p.m., giving the congregation a weekly touchpoint with their pastor beyond Sunday morning.
Thursday Noon-Day Prayer
On Thursdays at 12:00 p.m., the Women's Noon Day Prayer line opens for an hour of intercession. Women of the church gather by conference call, dialing the same (605) 313-5989 number and entering Meeting Passcode 708821#. The midday hour has become one of the quieter constants of the church's prayer life, a pause in the workweek for the women of Christian Women Connection and any others who want to join in.
Young Ambassadors for Christ
The Young Ambassadors for Christ Ministry is the church's flagship effort to raise up the next generation. Designed for children and teens ages 3 and up, the interactive Bible study is built to ground young people in their faith and equip them for the questions of contemporary culture through hands-on biblical application. The virtual format keeps kids engaged with games and activities, and the three age-tiered classes - 3 to 7, 8 to 12, and 13 and up - allow each group to learn at its own level. Parents who want their children plugged in can call the church office to learn the current status of each age group.
Music, Ushers, and a Warm Welcome
Music is a calling card at Southwestern. The Music Ministry welcomes singers of every age into the Children's Choir, the Youth Choir, the Praise and Worship Team, and the Sanctuary Choir. Anyone with a song for the Master is invited to step into a part of the music program.
Hospitality is handled by the Usher Board Ministry. Ushers serve as doorkeepers, greeting members and guests, helping everyone settle in, and maintaining a reverent atmosphere throughout the service. The Welcome Committee Ministry takes that warmth a step further, reaching out to newcomers and helping connect them to the rest of the church.
Behind the scenes, the Nurses Guild staffs a fully equipped Nurses' Station, supports the ministerial team and congregation during services, and assists bereaved families at funerals. The Media Ministry runs the livestream and conference call lines that keep the church connected to shut-ins, travelers, and out-of-state members. A Transportation Ministry helps members without rides get to services and events.
Men's Ministry and Christian Women Connection
The Men's Ministry gathers men around the Word and around one another. Its annual calendar includes a weekend camping trip that mentors young boys into godly young men, a New Year's Eve breakfast cooked for wives, family, and friends as the new year is prayed in, an Annual Men's Day program, and Saturday morning men's prayer with the pastor.
The Christian Women Connection (CWC) Ministry serves as the umbrella for the women's work of the church, including the Thursday Noon Day Prayer call and other gatherings. Bethany Fellowship carries the Marriage Ministry, supporting couples through fellowship and teaching. The Singles Group Ministry serves unmarried adults, and the Deacon and Deaconess Board along with the Pastor's Aid (Paracletes) round out the leadership structure that supports the pastor and the church family.
Feeding, Tutoring, and Testing
Outreach is woven into the church's identity. The Feeding Program, run through the Kitchen Committee and the Benevolence Committee, provides meals for those in need in the surrounding neighborhood. A Benevolence Committee directs additional practical care to families in crisis.
Bright Minds Tutoring, offered Monday through Friday online and on Saturdays one-on-one, helps students of the community with their schoolwork. Appointments can be requested through the program's dedicated email. During the height of the COVID-19 response, Southwestern opened its doors as a free testing site, with scheduled appointments or walk-ins welcome several days a week - a concrete example of the church's stated commitment to being community based.
Missions extend beyond Detroit. The congregation supports missions in Haiti and around the world, and the Scholarship Committee invests in the educational aspirations of young people connected to the church.
What the Church of God Believes
The church's statement of faith centers on a biblical case for the Church of God as a divine institution. The congregation teaches that the Church was built by Christ (Matthew 16:18), that it is named of God (Isaiah 62:1-2; Acts 20:28), that it takes the Father's name (Ephesians 3:14-15), and that Christ prayed for His people to be kept in His name (John 17:9-12). Members enter the Church through Christ the door (John 10:9) by spiritual regeneration (1 Corinthians 12:13) and are born into it (Psalms 87:5).
The church affirms the supernatural acts of the Spirit of God in the Church: salvation and deliverance from sin through the new birth (Matthew 1:21; John 3:3, 5-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17); sanctification and purification of believers (Acts 2:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:23); divine healing of sickness and disease (James 5:14-16); and special gifts of preaching, teaching, and faith (1 Corinthians 12 and 14).
The local congregation, in this view, is formed by the voluntary association of the saved (Matthew 18:20), standing in Christ alone and worshiping alongside all others who have done the same. The Church, the statement reads, is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23), built of lively stones (1 Peter 2:5), the blood-washed (Acts 20:28), and all the saved in heaven and earth (Ephesians 3:14-15). Christ built but one Church, and the cross reconciles all in one body (Ephesians 2:11-16). Christ, the statement insists, condemned division (1 Corinthians 1:10).
Meet Pastor Jack Perkins
Pastor Jack Perkins was born in Deatsville, Alabama, on May 8, 1954. He was raised in the Church of God in Prattville, Alabama, and was saved on January 8, 1968. At sixteen, in 1970, he answered the call to ministry. He graduated from Stanhope Elmore High School in 1972, and in 1973 he married Ruby Hollenquest. Together they have three children - a set of twin boys and a daughter - six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
His working life ran alongside his ministry. In September 1973 he joined Ford Motor Company as an hourly employee at the Michigan Casting Plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, where he was promoted to supervisor and completed the company's Supervisory Institute. In 1980 he attended the National Institute of Technology in Livonia, majoring in advanced computer programming, and later worked as a driving instructor and as a computer operator and programmer. In 1983 he was recalled to Ford's Sharonville Transmission plant, where he served for twenty years as Supervisor of Manufacturing Operations and as Diversity Trainer for the company's Matter of Respect program, training more than two thousand employees in diversity, sexual harassment, workers with disabilities, and racial tolerance.
His ministry at Southwestern began in 1979, when he joined the church under Pastor Lawrence P. Wyatt and worked with the Youth Ministry. After serving in Ohio and pastoring a growing congregation in Hamilton that purchased a new downtown building and burned the mortgage in seven years, he accepted the call to return to Southwestern following the death of Dr. Lawrence P. Wyatt. He became pastor in February 2009.
Ways to Connect
The church office is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Visitors and members can reach the office by phone at 313-386-7960 or 313-386-7961, by fax at 313-386-0551, or by email at southwesterncog3032@yahoo.com. A prayer request page on the church's online home invites anyone to submit a prayer need.
Giving is offered in three ways: online through Givelify for a one-time or recurring gift, by mail with checks made payable to Southwestern Church of God and sent to the Detroit mailing address, and in person during worship service when baskets are passed. The church's Facebook page carries the livestream of Sunday worship and the Tuesday Bible study, and the YouTube channel archives services for later viewing. Anyone considering Southwestern as a church home is invited to come as they are - the congregation's own invitation puts it plainly: "We are not a perfect people, but we serve a perfect Christ."