Some say just as the church's support and involvement led to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, it will take the church to bring about a change of equality for all Americans today.

"The church gives people hope," said the Rev. Kenneth Butler, pastor of the Apostolic House of Prayer Church in Suite 3 at 413 Headquarters Drive.

He said people are returning to church because the recession has them in a state of hopelessness. Butler explained that churches are like a big family of brothers and sisters whose faith is strong even in the face of a struggling economy.

"We know that with God we will make it," he explained of...