INDIANAPOLIS — A morning church hug or even a handshake greeting a neighbor goes a long way.

Especially for IMPD officers, who joined in worship at Resurrection Community Church on Sunday to strengthen their relationship with the faith community in the city.

Resurrection Community Church Senior Pastor Orlando Jordan Jr. says the church has a strong relationship with IMPD, and this wasn’t the first service they attended.

“I think that people get misconstrued a lot of times that that doesn’t mean that we’re always gonna agree,” Pastor Jordan said. “That doesn’t mean that we’re always going to, like what the other does, but it does mean that we have a mutual respect, for one another and we come together and collaborate”

IMPD Major Corey Mims attended the service. He says faith provides the space to hear from youth.

“A lot of times we do a lot of talking and not enough listening, so we, we allow the, the young people to have that platform to provide us with solutions, uh, that can impact or or uh disrupt violent crime in the communities that we serve,” Mjr. Mims said.

He knows change won’t happen overnight. The city saw a significant amount of violence involving youth and young adults this summer.

“Consistent, relentless communication and connection is what’s gonna turn the tide, to develop that trust between us, the community, and more specifically our young people,” Mims said.

Mjr. Mims adds that community engagement, for example Indy Police Athletic and Activities Leagues, builds their relationship with youth as well. He says this past year they saw a surge in involvement for kids and teens who want to participate.

Simone Manson, the church’s outreach coordinator, says it’s not only about teens. Young kids need to build trust with police too.

“Every time you see them it’s not a negative time. You can see them in a positive light,” Manson said.

Church member Carol Ward says she sees the relationship changing already.

“Sometimes they grow up with the fear of the police, but we bring them together here in the church so they can interact with the police to let them know that it’s safe,” Ward said.

Pastor Jordan says they’ve seen an increase in youth involvement at the church.

“Just when violence happens, isn’t it when we meet with our youth or we with these youth organizations we’ve already planted those seeds, so we’ve just been watering watching it grow,” Mjr. Mims said.

Faith and Blue is a nationally recognized weekend but IMPD and Resurrection Community Church says they work together throughout the year to keep the community safe.