It's Sabbath Saturday at the Seventh Day Adventist church in the Toronto suburb of Rexdale. The choir is singing and Pastor Andrew King is greeting parishioners. He's proud of his congregation -- especially of the number of young people he draws in.

"We have a very large youth population which we're very happy with. I'd say 50 per cent of our population is young. So it's vibrant, it's young and it has very strong traditional roots inside of our church," he says

Surrounding the church are some of the most densely populated housing projects in Canada. Projects with a sordid reputation as breeding grounds for gang culture.

It's a neighborhood under siege. Where guns and gangs are a cold, hard fact of life. Where within a two-block radius of Pastor King's church -- five young men were gunned down in just four months.

So there was nothing unusual about Pastor Andrew King conducting a funeral service for yet another young shooting victim. He describes the scene:

"There's a lot of tears, a lot of crying. I'm looking at young people mourning the tragic death of this young man, surrounding a casket. And then, amidst the outpouring of tears and sorrow, the unthinkable happened. I hear pop-pop-pop. And it was outside the building. Someone then came in and said, someone's been shot."

On the steps of Pastor King's church, 17 year-old Amon Beckles was shot to death.

Sgt. Larry Dee was one of the first officers from Metro Toronto's 23 Division to arrive at the scene.

"It was hard to believe even at first when we heard the call," he says. "And then actually when we first got here there was -- you know -- mass confusion, people running around, you know, officers running around."

THE YOUTH

A five-minute walk from the church is Father Henry Carr Secondary School.

Youth worker Susan Bashford admits they are usually the last to know if a kid has been sucked into a gang.

"There's a real code of silence," she says. "They don't want to be known that way as a snitch. It's very strong amongst them. They will not be known as a snitch."

Sometimes the kids manage to break free, like two ex-gang members who've seen one too many friends laid out in a coffin.

"I've had three friends already that passed away from guns," says one of them. "I got a friend recently who was shot in the face down by Rexdale. Guy got shot in his mouth and went out his ear, that was my friend, you know. It affects me in a lot of ways."

Principal Vince Burzotta is doing his best to keep the guns and gangs off school property. He's implemented a strict school policy of uniforms, photo ID and no hoodies.

"What's wrong with hoods? They conceal," says Burzotta. "Their ID has to be known. It makes us feel safe in who they are and makes the students around them feel safe."

And so do the school's security cameras and a constant police presence.

DRUG WARS

Up the street from Father Henry Carr is a low rent high-rise building where Rocky Jeyam and his family have lived for the past 20 years. He can tell you how bad living in Rexdale is he dreams of making it big and moving out.

And he'll do it through his music -- as a performer and producer of rap videos. His group, Meditating Minds, emits a positive message -- stay away from drugs, gangs and crime. Because they know how hard life is growing up in the 'hood.

"On my way home from school as a little kid, I see a guy, I seen a shooting right in front of my face."

When asked who's doing it and why, Rocky says: "It's back to the drug trade, man. That's the people getting shot and the people doing the shooting. If a drug lord wants to maintain control and make money you cannot -- you can't leave that alone. If you're messing around with ten grand, ten grand will put you down nowadays. And they'll kill you and the next guy standing beside you because that sets a point."

Sgt. Larry Dee agrees that drugs are the trigger.

"Especially crack cocaine and now crystal meth that's getting more involved. I mean it's an ever growing problem."

And as the drug turf wars escalate, so does the caliber of the guns.

"We're getting some really high tech weaponry out here," says Sgt. Dee. "These aren't just the Saturday night specials or the drilled out started pistols. These are fully workable, brand new handguns, same sort thing that we're carrying. Glocks."

Drugs, guns and gangs -- a lethal mixture that has been festering in Rexdale for more than two decades.

Pastor Andrew King says enough is enough.

"How much more of a wake up call do we need to realize that now it's open warfare on citizens. Gang members don't care anymore. They'll shoot their gun wherever they are whenever they want to do it -- in broad daylight. There's not fear for them. We have to take back the streets and make them safe for the citizens of Toronto."

MINISTERING HOPE

In Boston, Massachusetts, Dorchester is the rough, tough part of the city. People are poor; the streets are mean and rife with drugs, crime and violence.

In 1992, that violence spilled into the Morning Star Baptist Church where Pastor John Borders was holding a funeral for a young shooting victim.

"A wave of violence as I describe it came into the sanctuary," says Borders. "People started jumping out the windows, jumping off of chairs, breaking down doors to escape the violence taking place. Once the people cleared we could see this group of about twelve individuals nearly beating a young man to death. You have no idea to watch a person stomped, nearly to death in the house of God and stabbed. It's unconscionable."

Unconscionable and unimaginable – even in a city that was experiencing the highest number of gun deaths in its history. The stabbing at Morning Star Baptist Church stunned Boston and became a rallying cry.

For several weeks after that Borders and other clergy in Boston walked the streets at night.

"Talking to gang members. Talking to anyone we saw on the street," Borders says. "Telling them about what happened at the church and what we needed to do ourselves and not expect the help to come from outside."

It started in the pulpits, galvanizing the religious community to lead a pastor-run revolution. And one man – Reverend Eugene Rivers, spearheaded it. He drafted a Ten Point Strategy and today leads a group called the Ten Point Coalition.

"Our goal is very clearly defined," says Rivers. "Minister, mentor, monitor. Avoid violence, encourage literacy, employment, with a strategy of prevention, intervention and enforcement."

Reverend Rivers understands what motivates a boy to join a gang because he's been there. As a former street punk and gangster who found salvation and then went on to attend Harvard University.

"These young men are looking for a manly expression of what it means to be a responsible adult. As black males they didn't see father figures and individuals who were strong, authoritative, and took responsibility for the community," says Rivers. "From Boston to Toronto, the fathers abandoned the families and so these young men were largely victims of father absence."

Part of the Ten Point Coalition's solution is to be tough on crime. That means stiff sentences and strict enforcement for high-risk kids. At night undercover cops work in tandem with probation officers in Dorchester. They check up on kids to make sure they're obeying their curfew. It's a way for desperate single mothers to deal with their out of control sons.

One mother says, "I think it's a great thing. It's helped my family tremendously. It helped him get a foundation back in his life."

And everyone on the street gets to know each other a little better.

"It's a very good program," says one cop. "Most of these kids get it -- we're watching you, keeping our eye on you and in a sense they're not left out there by themselves."

Instead they go to community centres like the one Rivers opened in Dorchester. It's a safe haven for kids who would otherwise be hanging around street corners and parking lots.

"They need individuals that are committed to working with them seven days a week. We police seven days a week, we should care for children seven days a week. There needs to be programming activities, keep them busy," says Rivers.

The approach worked and the results impressive. Over the past decade, the murder rate of young men plummeted. And soon the Ten Point Strategy was dubbed the Boston Miracle and copied in cities across the United States.

But in 2005, Boston's murder rate suddenly spiked. And it hit close to home for Rev. Rivers. Outside his home four young men were shot to death in the deadliest shooting in a decade.

"I saw the police tape around my yard and thought something happened in my home. I had my niece, my daughter, my wife and my sister in law inside."

But Rivers says that doesn't change his approach.

"Even in our current crisis here in Boston, the faith communities take responsibility, so when there's a problem we're going to step up and engage the issue and take personal responsibility for the issue and work on producing solutions."

THE SOLUTION

Solutions are what Toronto's Rexdale neighborhood desperately cries out for. Boston's Reverend Rivers visited some of the poorest and most violent neighborhoods in Toronto's Jamestown housing project. And the Reverend's message is clear:

"The communities have to be more aggressive in speaking up for themselves and advocating for the poor in this country."

So the pastors in Rexdale are stepping away from their pulpits and heading into the streets. They've started their own action plan based on Boston's 10 Point Strategy.

Small steps -- like an after school basketball program at a local high school. It's run by the pastors to keep the kids off the streets. Even the police come out to shoot a few hoops.

And one last stop for Reverend Rivers. Back at Father Henry Carr School they've invited him to talk to the students. And they listen because he shoots straight from the lip…

"In this world today it's very easy to die," he says.

Minister, monitor and mentor ... in a language the students will understand. Because everyone in this community knows, it's only a matter of time before the next shooting. And the only way to stop the carnage is to reclaim the streets.

"The reason I came here was to encourage you to stay out of gangs," Rivers tells the kids. "Don't get in the mix. Don't pick up the gun. Stay away from the reefer. Don't do coke. Don't get caught up in this stuff because it will destroy your life."

Not a new message ... they've all heard it before. Maybe it takes an American visionary. An academic. An ex-gangster. All wrapped in the dynamic form of Reverend Eugene Rivers to show them the way.