A Brief History of How We Got Here

Well, I suppose you could say that it goes all the way back to 1974. That would take us into the life of a 25-year-old heroin-addicted alcoholic named Steve Upshur. Steve had lived in Detroit most of his life, primarily growing up on the West Side. As he ventured into his teenage years, like many of us he began to hang out with the wrong crowd and get into trouble. He quickly fell prey to the drug scene — marijuana, alcohol, LSD, speed, barbiturates, and finally heroin. Heroin proved to be the mother of all addictions as it took Steve's life to new lows: in and out of jails, homelessness, burning bridges with loved ones, and a life of crime.

The addiction to methadone became so overwhelming that Steve was visiting three clinics a day using fake I.D.s, consuming amounts that would kill most people — just to get rid of the physical sickness and “get normal.” It was impossible to stop. As far as he knew, the only way out was prison or death.

In 1974, however, Steve Upshur was introduced to Jesus Christ while out in Oklahoma. He was radically and miraculously delivered from all drug addiction — with no withdrawals! This is medically and scientifically impossible… but as we at Peacemakers know, “With God all things are possible!” He came back to Detroit a changed person, eager to reach others who were desperate and searching for hope, as he once had been. To hear the full story, watch Pastor Steve's testimony.

As the years ticked on he began sharing what he knew, teaching Bible studies to the youth on Detroit's east side. Over time it naturally formed into what we'd call a “church.” In 1980 Steve's ministry, “The Breadline,” merged with another group of Christians, forming a new church pastored by three men: Tony Mancina, Bob Pannecouk, and Steve Upshur — “New Life Fellowship of Believers.” A school was birthed, “Zoe Christian Academy,” and Pastor Steve hosted the “New Life” TV program for fifteen years, ministering across South East Michigan while also reaching into prisons and jails.

But there was a chronic itch in the back of Pastor Steve's mind — a drawing back to the streets of Detroit. One day Jim and Zilpha Fox, members of the New Life congregation, offered to donate an old four-story warehouse they owned in the inner city, on a street called Chene. It was in that conversation that Peacemakers International was birthed! All this took place in 1994. Volunteers rolled up their sleeves every Saturday, and “Chene St. Outreach Ministry,” as it was then called, began putting on events to reach the community — barbeques, campfires, live music.

In 1997 Pastor Steve came full-time to Chene St. Peacemakers International has been going strong full time ever since. It is interesting: Peacemakers arrived in Detroit at a time when everyone else was leavingDetroit. Pastor Steve has had a strong vision for the Chene community that has never faltered, and his wife Elaine has co-labored with him faithfully from the start. They have kept their hand to the plow, building an organization literally from the ground up. It has never been easy, but it's worth every minute of labor — because people are important. And God loves people.

Many good things have happened since 1994… but this, my friend, has been the history of how it all began.