Church Group Rallies to Change Lives : Santa Paula: The New Harvest Christian Fellowship marches to turn youths away from drugs and gangs.

Five years ago, Anthony Hayes was serving time for homicide. Now he sings in a church choir and works as a forklift operator in Salinas.

The 24-year-old credits the New Harvest Christian Fellowship for changing his life. “I was hurting,” Hayes said. “I lost my girlfriend, my son, my values.”

Hayes was one of about 350 “born-again” Christians from throughout Southern California who held a march and rally Saturday in Santa Paula to discourage youths from joining gangs and abusing drugs and alcohol.

“We’re concentrating on the youths because they’re the growing generation,” said Alexander Jaime, a 23-year-old former stockbroker who said he abused cocaine before joining the church three months ago.

Creating a scene reminiscent of an old-fashioned Southern revival, the participants belted out hearty “Hallelujahs,” clapped their hands, beat tambourines and listened to testimonials from former drug abusers and gang members.

Not all the speakers were members of the church. Charles Jordan, whose 20-year-old daughter was killed in a drive-by shooting last May in Thousand Oaks, pleaded for a moratorium on gang violence.

“We have to stop the insanity,” he said. “We need to make a commitment in Santa Paula. No more shootings!”

William Shannon, 23, said he used to belong to a gang but decided to join New Harvest when he realized he was drifting away from his family. For the past two weeks, Shannon said, he has been living in the church’s group home for men in Oxnard.

“It’s changing me,” Shannon said of the fellowship. “The wall in my heart has disappeared.”

Rally organizers said they use such events to recruit people who may be overlooked by mainstream churches.

“We’re getting people from the streets, the barrios, from prison,” said Daniel Montoyne, who served seven years in state prison for robbery and now hopes to become a pastor.

The strategy works.

“It seemed like they were speaking directly to me,” said Jaime, who joined the church after attending a similar rally. Now, he has returned to inspire people who were once like himself.

“We give them destiny,” said Montoyne.

The temptations of the street are difficult to resist, but many said they see this as just one more obstacle to overcome.

“I don’t want to go back to the streets,” Hayes said, “because there’s nothing there.”