Christ-centered. Compassionate conviction. Universal unity. Resilient realness. Not just catchy phrases, but a way of life for Pastor Brian Crawford and the members of City Light Church.

Not many church pastors have cordless drills and wrenches sitting on bookshelves next to spiritual and educational books in their offices, but Crawford does. The church moved into a building that formerly housed an electrical supply company and is still in the process of converting the space into a multi-purpose building for faithful worship and community outreach.

“We just rolled up our sleeves and did some of the work ourselves,” Crawford said, which explains the tools on his bookshelf and the continuing progress on the building the church moved into in 2022. “A member of the church provided general contracting services free of charge.”

Architect Greg Durrell provided a design for the space and things came together, Crawford said.

The pastor also notes that anyone who attends services at City Light Church will notice the purposeful blend of cultural music, from traditional hymns to contemporary Christian music.

“One of the values we want to pursue is universal unity,” Crawford said. “That is unity that is reflective of people of every shape, size and culture. We don’t expect uniformity. We expect cultures to come with (people) to church. We want to be a neighborhood church where anybody within a mile radius of our building can walk in this space and feel like they’ve found home. So, every one of us has to shed some of that comfort we expect when people cater only to their own culture.”

City Light, under the leadership of Crawford, seeks to unite people from all walks of life through Christ, regardless of skin color, political leanings or cultural experiences, he said.

Crawford pointed out that it’s easy to love those with whom you agree, but tension comes when people hit a disagreement.

“That’s where Christian love really begins,” he said. “When you continue to love deeply for the sake of one another, but also for the demonstration of a true Christian expression in your community.

Crawford said that, with the current state of society, there is a tendency to become angry with those with whom we disagree and turn away. Crawford wants to guide change in how Christians communicate with the world and with each other.

“The current of all relationships flow toward the familiar. That’s where (we) initially walk, where the current automatically flows. Because of that, if you’re going to pursue a multi-ethnic expression of the body of Christ, everybody has to understand we’re swimming upstream. There’s an intentionality to that,” Crawford said.

Another aspect of ministry important to Crawford is pursuing “resilient realness.”

“It’s the idea that you’re bringing all these people into this space that are coming from different walks of life, different backgrounds,” he said. “We vote differently. We’ve had different stories told to us about one another all our lives. When you bring those different groups of people together, there will be some tension; points of abrasiveness. What we tell people from the very beginning . . . is that we are the family of God.

“What kind of resiliency do you see in good families? In a healthy family, we can have a healthy dialogue . . . even amongst our differences.”

Crawford emphasized this takes vulnerability and understanding.

“As we learn that we vote differently, we think differently about these things, we should have the resiliency that says, ‘but we’re family. You’re my brother. You’re my sister. We’re the family of God. we can navigate this. We can work through all of this.”

Crawford noted the congregation of City Light Church is racially balanced, with about a 50/50 split between Black and white.

“I think Jesus wants us to grow in such a way that we can navigate that diversity in healthy ways,” he said. “We need more unity. We’ve made progress, but there’s so much left to do.”

The church also sponsors outreach beyond just Sunday services. Small groups and Wednesday “family meals” are a big part of the church. At 10 a.m. on first Saturday of each month, the church teaches a series called the “Better Man” to encourage men and young men in their walks with God. A group goes on the second Saturday to Vicksburg Convalescent Center to fellowship with residents there.

In addition to pastoring City Light, Crawford serves as president of a nonprofit, Mission Mississippi, that focuses on racial reconciliation and ways of promoting positive communication. He received a degree from Mississippi State University and recently retired from the Army Corps of Engineers, where he worked for more than 20 years. He is married to his wife, Candi, a PhD candidate in the field of mental health, and they have two sons, Brian II and Elijah.

City of Light Sunday services begin weekly at 10:30 a.m. The Church is located at 520 Depot St.