Pastor M. E. Drane "The People's Pastor"

Pastor M. E. Drane

“Meeting people where they are and showing them where God is.“ This statement personifies The People's Pastor as he allows God to use him to be the bridge that people need to get closer to God and to fill the void in their lives. IndyGospel.com's Sha'Quila Mathews had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Pastor M. Drane of Joy of The Lord Church. Pastor Drane spoke candidly about his journey to Christ, and the vision of his ministry.

My first question for pastor Drane was how did it all begin for him; his journey to salvation. Pastor Drane replied, "long." At a point in his life where he had experienced so many things but was still feeling void and in need of something else, he began to seek, not necessarily spiritually, but he felt like, "I need a change." So, he threw out all his old CD’s and desiring the comforts of gospel music, Pastor Drane picked up the CD, "Lost and Found" by Deitrick Haddon. There was a picture of a crossroads on the back, and hearing the song "Changed Man," knowing that’s where he was in his life, and feeling void, he knew the Lord was touching his heart. So, that was the beginning of the transformation that the Lord was calling him.

Since the calling, God began to do a quick work. After only one year God called him to Pastor. After going to his Pastor and being released to do the work, and knowing that he didn’t have a choice, despite what people had to say, he continued to do what the Lord had instructed him to do. Choosing to be obedient to God, on the first Sunday that Pastor Drane opened the doors of the church, 21 people joined the ministry. This response definitely silenced a lot of murmuring from the 'haters.' As the ministry began to progress, God began to allow the ministry to accomplish things in a shorter amount of time than older ministries had ever seen. Pastor Drane was sure that God had His hand on the ministry.

Pastor Drane went through his own Damascus Road experience of thinking he had arrived. He had the big rims, fancy truck, pocket full of money and his own agenda. He had not only been in gangs, but was also in a drive by shooting. From these life experiences God was positioning Pastor Drane to be an example to young men like himself, to let them know Jesus is the void filler they are searching for, not other things like drugs, women and material things. Pastor Drane felt like his mission was "meeting people where they are and showing them where God is." This mindset allowed Pastor Drane to become the "People's Pastor." He does not condemn the people that pull up with 'big rims' and baggy jeans because he knows that God is leading him to speak to a generation that is "unchurched." Pastor Drane knows that he has to be as the mission statement says, 'meeting people where they are,' because he knows with conviction that God can touch their hearts, because that's what God has done for him.

As he began to grow in the Lord, Pastor Drane began to see that the body of Christ has got to begin to bear the infirmities of one another and know that it's not just 'your four and no more.' We have all been called to build God's Kingdom outside of our four walls. In his soon to be released book, "It's Not Crazy, It's Kingdom," he goes on to speak more on this topic concerning the state of the church.

Pastor Drane is a man of God who is full of vision and zeal. He calls people to know that if you start tapping into the principles and precepts of God's words, you can a have little bit of Heaven now! Pastor Drane is not only hearing the instructions of the Lord, but he is also surrounding himself with wise counsel, sitting under the leadership of Bishop T. Garret Benjamin of Light of the World, a very well respected pillar in the city of Indianapolis and abroad. Pastor Drane is on the move for God and there is more to be heard from him as the Lord continues to bring him to the forefront for such a time as this.