DORCHESTER, Mass. (WHDH) -- A 13-year-old boy shot through the stomach while he was walking to church is starting to recover. But in Dorchester, fellow churchgoers are looking for ways to heal from more violence.

The boy was heading to choir practice and had just texted his mom saying he was on his way. The next message she got was from Boston police saying her son had been shot.

“I was on my way to church last night when this happened. It's shocking, but I’m going to be honest with you it's the reality of the times we live in,” said Nigel David, church pastor.

The boy hit by the bullet is a junior deacon at Berea Seventh Day Adventist Church. He sings in the choir and friends say he hopes to become a minister.

““He’s never getting in trouble and there’s no reason for him to get into trouble because he’s always here with us,” said J.D. Chery, church treasurer.

Boston police investigating the shooting called him an innocent young man. He was shot through the stomach around 7 p.m. Friday. Church members prayed for the boy during a service Saturday morning.

“The fact that Gabriel is alive is nothing short of a miracle. He could have been dead,” said David.

At church there is a sense of relief, but leaders said it's time now for everyone in the community to take on more responsibility.

“It’s our job as the adults in the community to keep them as safe as possible.”

The teenager was transported to Boston Medical Center where he is in stable condition. Police have not made an arrest.

Church leaders are holding a meeting Wednesday night at 7 p.m. and inviting the public to participate in a conversation on how to make the streets safer.