MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio — The scripture taught Pastor Gregory Walker to help save people spiritually at Warrensville Road Community Baptist Church.

What You Need To Know

  • The Make Them Know Your Name foundation is gifting an AED to an organization in need after each Cleveland Browns win

  • The foundation is run by Denzel Ward and his family

  • Ward's father, Paul, died after going into cardiac arrest

  • Warrensville Road Community Baptist Church is a recepient

“We believe that God will sustain life," Walker said. "But he's given us instruments that can be used to sustain life as well."

He’s talking about an automated external defibrillator, or an AED. It's a device that can physically save lives and the church just received a new one.

“We're thankful unto God," Walker said. "[As] of Sept. 30, we received the AED machine."

Walker said the church couldn’t afford a quality AED on their own. Then he learned about a new initiative run by Denzel Ward’s Make Them Know Your Name foundation. Ward's mother, Nicole, is the executive director.

“What we are doing for every Browns win, not only is it going to be a win for the team, but it's a win for the community because we are going to be awarding an AED to an individual who has submitted a request through our website,” Ward said.

The initiative honors Ward’s father, Paul, who died after going into cardiac arrest at a spin class.

“What we learned since this happening is that this is something that is preventable if someone takes action immediately by performing CPR or utilizing an AED,” Ward said.

For the pastor, prevention is why he said the church is placing the life-saving machine in a high-traffic location.

“We’ve sought direction from the local fire department and two medical professionals," he said. "One, they said that it should be placed in a place where it can be seen by others prior to the use and need."

However, perfect placement for the AED only goes so far if people don’t know how to use it. So, Walker’s doing something about that.

“Our own captain of the Maple Heights Fire Department has agreed to provide training for us internally,” Walker said.

The pastor added that they plan to host another training session for the public. It’s all a part of a larger campaign that Walker's running the rest of the year to keep his congregation and community healthy.