Ministry Puts the Street on Stage : Religion: Rap music and portrayals of gangbangers will help Victory Outreach bring its message to teens.

When he was strung out on cocaine and heroin, Gregory Yalch would do just about anything to pay for his next high.

So it won’t be too much of a stretch when Yalch portrays a crack addict on stage tonight at the Santa Ana Bowl in “My Funky Nayba ‘Hood,” a play presented by Victory Outreach Santa Ana that draws on Christian rap, hip-hop music and break dancing to encourage people to abandon gangs and drugs.

Yalch and most of the other cast members have backgrounds that include crime, gangs and even prostitution. But that brings a dose of realism to the play about rival African American and Latino gangs fighting over turf, he said.

“And that, hopefully, will help get our message across,” said Yalch, who is now a counselor for the nondenominational ministry. “We want people to know we were the worst of the worst, people who had no hope, but who have been touched and changed by the love of God.”

A lowrider car show featuring more than 150 customized cars will begin at 6 p.m., with the performance following at the bowl, 602 N. Flower St. in downtown Santa Ana, Yalch said.

Flyers for the show tout the location as “neutral ground,” and all members of the audience will be patted down for contraband. But Yalch said the police presence is only precautionary and no problems are anticipated. More than 7,500 people attended last year’s performances without incident, he said.

Although the collaborative play is about religion and rehabilitation, it features gangs, drugs and violence to grab the attention of its audience, Yalch said.

“It’s not like you can walk up to drug dealers and gang bangers and say ‘Hey, come to church on Sunday,’ ” joked Yalch. “That’s not going to work. But lowriders, gangbangers, the kids respond to it. Hopefully they’ll come, see themselves [in the play] and say ‘Hey, this is for me.’ It’s a real effective tool.”

Part comedy, part drama, the play focuses on gangbangers going through a life change, Yalch said.

“By the end, everyone puts down their weapons and says ‘Hey, we’re tired of the killings,”’ said Yalch, who added that evangelist Mario Murillo will also be featured at tonight’s performance.

The play kicks off several other events to celebrate Victory Outreach’s work, Yalch said. A Christian rap concert will be held Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Centennial Regional Park in Santa Ana, and at 6 p.m. Wednesday, a service will be held at the park to congratulate the more than 1,000 people who have been working to turn their lives around, Yalch said.