Serving an estimated 1,100 visiting police officers for funeral events for fallen Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire was just another facet of The River Community Church in New Kensington and its pastor, Dean Ward.
Ward, 56, of New Kensington isn’t your typical pastor. He built a business diving for golf balls and dons a Steelers jersey for some of his sermons at the Christian denomination that is affiliated with the Church of God.
He can whip up a few hundred volunteers for a cleanup in the city or quickly help clothe and feed a local family that falls on hard times or house dozens of teenagers in the summer from across the country for local volunteer work.
Not a shy person in the community, Ward visits local businesses that he uses as a backdrop for his weekly sermons online. That’s in addition to his two in-person Sunday services at The River’s spacious and grand church, formerly the Alcoa Clubhouse and Citizens School of Nursing. The church leases the space from the Citizens General Foundation.
“We as a church made the intentional decision we were not coming to this community with our hand out,” he said. “We want to be a blessing. We want to help. We want to serve.”
Ward isn’t so much interested in drawing Christians already ensconced in worship.
“We wanted to reach people who were far from God, who weren’t going to church, who had given up. They are who Christ reached in his ministry,” Ward said.
“Taking people from other churches to grow your church is so offensive.”
The River is probably best known in the community for its free car show each summer that attracts upwards of 1,000 people. Church members serve free food.
“Families can come and enjoy the day and not pay a penny,” Ward said.
The church partners with other churches and nonprofits, among them Sonward Youth Programs in New Kensington, said Nicky Magnelli, the ministry coordinator at The River.
In the summer, the Week of Hope mission will send 60 to 100 teenagers from across the country for seven weeks to stay in The River’s sprawling facility to conduct services and volunteer in the community.
“The River exists to be a light in a dark place,” both Magnelli and Ward said.
From scuba diving to The River
Ward started The River 18 years ago at Penn State New Kensington, then a few years later, started leasing the former Alcoa building from Citizens General.
A Delmont native, Ward began his ministerial work as an associate pastor in Southern Illinois but left after 10 months.
“I was naive and sheltered and immature and not ready for real ministry,” he said.
Ward returned to his college-era job as a professional scuba diver retrieving golf balls at golf courses. From 1989 to 1996, he operated Dean’s Diving Service, pulling out about a million golf balls annually from about 150 golf courses in a five-hour radius of Pittsburgh, he said. Most summers, he had 11 people on the payroll.
“I loved it and had a blast,” he said.
After his first child was born, however, his wife, Leslie, asked him if he was sure that’s what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
“There was a whisper in my soul,” Ward said. “It was the spirit asking, ‘Are you sure you want to devote your life to chasing 2-inch, synthetic rubber spheres?’ “
Ward credits his wife, formerly Leslie Hetrick, a 1986 Valley High School graduate, for changing his life and bringing him to New Kensington. They met in 1991 and raised their three children in the city, with each child attending schools in the New Kensington- Arnold School District.
Since Ward grew up in a rural area where it was rare to see a soul on his 6-mile ride to town, he was impressed with the community connectivity in New Kensington’s urban surroundings.
“I’m highly relational,” Ward said. “When I met Leslie, I fell in love with the community, friendships and ethnic diversity. It just captivated my soul.”
Pitching in for Knead
Knead Community Café President Kevin Bode wasn’t thinking much about the power of large numbers of people until he met Ward a decade ago. Both men were recruiting volunteers for a litter cleanup in New Kensington.
“I had five people, Dean had 200,” Bode said.
Then more volunteers from The River arrived, bringing food to feed the volunteers.
“I was intrigued by the whole thing,” Bode said. “How did he get that many people to show up?”
When Bode bought the building for Knead Community Café and needed to gut it in early 2016, he hoped to gather 50 volunteers to help reduce the cost, as gutting a building can be an expensive undertaking.
Ward and The River showed up with 150 volunteers, and the building was gutted in one day. Some of those people still volunteer at the cafe, Bode said.
“They walk the walk. They really do things outside of their four walls,” Bode said. “They are amazing people who want to serve the community. Dean’s got a servant’s heart.”
New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said Ward, his family and The River support the city in many ways and are part of its revitalization.
“We can always count on Dean and The River to help with events,” Guzzo said. “He and the church have been there to celebrate with us in great times and to offer solace and grieve with us as he did most recently with the tragic murder of Chief McIntire.”
Mary Ann Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Mary by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .