A Chicago church and its pastor are making people a priority in one of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods.

Humboldt Park is known to be a neighborhood with significantly high crime rates, something pastor Wilfredo "Choco" De Jesus knows from growing up there.

For De Jesus, the crime rates are more than a statistic - his brother died because of gang-related violence - and now, he's taking the opportunity to transform his childhood stomping grounds, Charisma News reports.

"I have passion and compassion toward people who are suffering, who are broken," De Jesus shared.

New Life Covenant Church is committed to spreading that compassion at all costs. Rather than seeking to preserve funds in the 2008 recession. De Jesus says his church decided they weren't going to take part in it, and instead bought buildings in the Humboldt Park area. Former drug and liquor stores became medical clinics, thrift stores, homeless ministries.

In particular, a central hub for violence in the community was bought by the church. It was with that purchase the area changed.

De Jesus says that police informed him of the significance of the corner they had obtained, how it was a core area for danger. "Since we bought that big building in a corner in Chicago, crime rate has come down by 42 per cent," says De Jesus.

"You have to get involved in this. You just cannot be in a corner or in a community and not pay taxes and not acclimate, not get involved in the problems in that community," the pastor continued. "You have to be able to, as a church, as a ministry, do something about what's happening with the violence and the injustice."

One group took issue with the work of De Jesus and his church - Humboldt Park's gang community. Even in the face of death threats, however, De Jesus has remained committed to the work his church has started and hopes others will in their own work for good.

"I just want those who are thinking about engaging the community, it's not without risk," De Jesus said.

"Sometimes you just have to move forward ... just be prepared for pushback, and you need to be prepared to push back as well."