Local church puts vision for their community to action

Serghino René

Dorchester has had its share of urban dysfunction, but don’t tell that to Rev. Antoine Montgomery, pastor of Prayer Tower Apostolic Church.

He sees this section of Boston as an inspiration.

“I grew up here and I see the negativity attached to Dorchester,” says Montgomery. “I want to be the one to make a difference.”

Indeed, there are a lot of good things happening, especially at his church.

In recent months, Rev. Montgomery has been working with other members of the church to bring his vision to life, taking small steps to create a better Dorchester, and, hopefully, a better Boston.

Efforts have been made to expand the church through buying real estate and making renovations to the facility with the goal of creating a positive and Christian environment for parishioners and residents, hoping the positive vibe will spread into the community.

“Our long term commitment is to build a church that reaches out to the community and makes an impact,” says Montgomery.

The greatest addition to the church has been the PTAC Styling Co., a full service hair salon that will hold its grand opening on Saturday, April 22. “We call it our baby,” says Montgomery.

This luxury facility is state of the art with a trendy, Newbury St. flair. Customers can expect big-time pampering, including comfortable slippers, and enjoy the view of several fifteen-inch flat screen televisions lined across the wall.

“This is one of the ways we felt we could give back to the community,” says Montgomery. “We wanted to provide a safe and relaxing environment where women can get pampered in a positive and godly environment. Our vision is to generate income to give it back to the community, like starting an after school program.”

In addition to the salon, PTAC has made some other improvements to their facility. Some features include a conference room, a couple of new bathrooms, offices, lounge space for staff and a platform for where services take place.

To the right of the salon, PTAC purchased the building next door and plans to create a mentor program for youth. Montgomery believes that investing in youth now will benefit everyone in the future because they are our future. Work on that facility is expected to begin in July.

On the opposite end of the church, PTAC purchased a house, which will become a shelter for pregnant and abused women.

“In time we would like to purchase the land across the street and build a larger facility for us to worship,” says Montgomery. “Then we can use our current location to create more recreational projects.”

Montgomery doesn’t plan to solve every problem his community faces, but he says this should kindle some change.

“I would like one day for people to think of Dorchester and immediately associate it with Prayer Tower Apostolic Church,” says Montgomery.