Portland Church Combats Gang Violence, Drop Out Rates by Transforming a High School in 'Undivided' Trailer EXCLUSIVE
The Christian Post is exclusively sharing the trailer for "UNDIVIDED," a true story of an unlikely bond between an inner city school and a thriving local church.
"UNDIVIDED" takes place in Portland, Oregon where racial tensions and gang violence reached an all-time high. In an unlikely team effort, SouthLake Church and Roosevelt High School banded together to tear down walls, build bridges and help kids reach their potential. The film documents the true story of how the church united with the high school- once Portland's best, but now failing and scheduled for closure- to create a haven for change and betterment.
"There was no reason why that neighborhood couldn't be revitalized if it could build up around a quality high school," one narrator explains in the trailer.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
It was then that SouthLake Church and its members turned their attention to Roosevelt High.
"The original idea was simply like a one day clean-up day, and a punch list that would have taken probably three years was done in about four hours," another narrator said.
After working on the school grounds for just one day, SouthLake church leaders realized the effects of the crumbling facility had on the students. After learning about the high drop-out rates, hunger and homelessness of Roosevelt High students, the church commited to serving the school with unconditional love.
SouthLake also began a winter coat drive as well as food drives, serving hot meals to teens who had not eaten in days in some instances, and continued working on the foundation of the school when the entire community joined in. Consequently, SouthLake actually has an office in the public high school today, marking a very rare intersection of church and schools. Also joining in on the effort was NFL star Neil Lomax.
"I just kinda felt an urge that I need to go help," the former athlete said.
"UNIDIVIDED" opens in theaters on Jan. 29, 2015. Watch the trailer here.
