Heartbeats from the 'Hood

Vision 2020: Making an Impact in Palm Beach County

Many challenges exist for the children growing up in the inner-city of West Palm Beach.  Statistically, 32% will not graduate from high school and 24% will live below the poverty level.  It is our belief that if we address these needs, we will fulfill our mission to love, equip, and empower inner-city youth.  

Our vision for the ministry is that Urban Youth Impact will become the best in the country at developing successful, God-centered inner-city youth who will break the negative cycle of poverty.  Urban Youth Impact is prepared to confront the challenges in this community through an aggressive three-fold plan called Vision 2020.

In Phase 1, we will optimize and perfect The Leadership Academy, our comprehensive youth development program.  We will increase our mentors to full-time status, standardize processes, and improve tracking of outcomes to better evaluate the program.  We will also eliminate mortgage debt on the Dream Center.

In Phase 2, we will complete renovations on the 20,000 square foot Youth Center, which will enable us to serve an additional 200 students.  With no other organization in the area offering a comprehensive, faith-based leadership program, it is critical that we increase our student capacity.

In Phase 3, we will replicate The Leadership Academy in nine of the neediest communities in Palm Beach County by 2020.  We will partner with like-minded organizations to replicate the program, serve thousands of inner-city youth, and produce the same positive results we have seen here in West Palm Beach. 

Download Free Bow Down Messages

On Sunday, October 25th, President & Founder Bill Hobbs gave the message at Bow Down Church.  He shared the heart and history of Urban Youth Impact and how they intersect with the vision of Bow Down. You can listen to Bill's message here.  

To download Bow Down messages for free, visit iTunes and click on "Bow Down Audio."

Christmas in the City

We are so excited for this year's Christmas Store, which will be held on December 19th, and we are calling it "Christmas in the City."

Our mission to empower the parents is at the heart of how we operate our Christmas Store.  We believe that honoring the parent's role as the primary provider means giving them the opportunity to personally select Christmas gifts for their children.

We need your help!  None of us want our kids to go without gifts at Christmas.  We are in difficult economic times, however, and have had to make cutbacks in our budget.  We need you now more than ever to bring the love and message of Christmas to our families.

Please bring new toys and bikes to the Dream Center by Friday, December 18th.  Also check our website for toy drop-off locations in the West Palm Beach area.

For more information or to get involved, please contact Holly Boland at 561.832.9220 or holly@urbanyouthimpact.com.  Thank you for helping us give hope this Christmas to the fatherless families in Palm Beach County, and may God bless you in the wealth of His riches this holiday season!

Click here to make a secure donation online for the Christmas Store. 

Bill Talks Passion and Vision

Truth and Eye Contact

"Tell me who you are."  Backed against the wall, her eyes were everywhere but on me.  We know each other quite well, so I was not asking this young woman her name.  Looking down, her quiet voice coughed out a response. "I don't know."  I smiled and responded, "Please look at me."  Her eyes lifted and looked over my shoulder.  Although she stood at least a food taller than I, she wanted nothing more than to avoid my gaze.  "Please look me in the eye and tell me who you are."  After another five minutes of rolling her eyes, she finally looked in the eye.  This, of course, is when everything began to change. 

As we stood there staring at each other, I asked her once more, "Who are you?"  Without losing her gaze, I followed her head as she attempted once more to look away.  Instead, a whisper came: "I am a child of God."  "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," I prodded.  This time, a little louder and with a little more confidence, she responded, "I am a child of God!"  My smile grew wide.  "Exactly!" I exclaimed.

For the next ten minutes, I would not allow this young woman to look away.  When she looked down, I got under her chin.  All the while I filled her head with truth.  I quoted Jeremiah 29:11 and Psalm 139.  I reminded her for the millionth time of 1 John, where it talks about how we can be sure that we children of God.  I concluded with one of my favorite verses from Isaiah 49: "Can a mother forget her nursing child?  Can she feel no love for a child she has born?  But even if that were possible, I would not forget you.  See, I have written your name on my hand."

My arms were moving wildly as my voice began to squeak.  By now she could not look away.  I could not help the tears that welled up as I laid out the person God had created this amazing child to be.  "The Lord loves you so much that there is no way that he can forget you.  He has engraved your name on his hand where he can look at it a million times a day."

Her shame turned to embarrassment, and finally I saw the gleam begin to shine in her eyes.  As we gazed at each other, I concluded, "No matter what anyone tells you, this is the truth."  And this was the moment when I allowed her to look away.  What had started as a teen tantrum once again turned into a triumphant moment, all due to the power of truth and eye contact. 

-- Leneita Fix is Ministry/Program Coordinator for Urban Youth Impact

Bow Down Launches Morning Service

Urban Youth Impact started Bow Down, its church plant in the inner-city, in 2005.  On September 20, 2009, under the direction of Pastor Chris Tress, Bow Down launched its morning service at 11 a.m.  Over 70 people attended the special service, which included praise and worship, Bible study for adults, and a separate children's ministry.  To listen to Pastor Chris' message and see photos from last Sunday's service, please visit the Bow Down blog.

Service Information
When: Sundays at 11 a.m.
Where: Urban Youth Impact Dream Center Education Building 
Childcare is available

Ministering and Educating in the 'Hood

"Evidence is mounting that where and how youth spend their time outside of normal school hours has important implications for their development." -- Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)

This month we started the 2009-2010 Leadership Academy!  It is hard to believe I am now in my second year at UYI.  It seems like just yesterday I was starting to work with this ministry.  The Lord has been faithful and blessed me the first year.  I am now looking forward with eager anticipation to see how God works in this second year.

One of the ways I am looking forward to seeing how God works is through my new role in The Leadership Academy.  I will continue to work with the same group of kids as last year, who are now in the 3rd grade.  But now, I am sharing this responsibility with another mentor, John O'Hara, who has been serving with UYI for eight years.

We will work together in the classroom and outside of program hours to pour into the kids spiritually, socially, and academically.  Because I am sharing this responsibility, this frees me up to offer the 100 students in our program, and their mentors, a service that will be an asset to them.

That service is being a Supplemental Academic Tutor for the students and an Educational Consultant for the mentors.  In addition to mentoring the children I already have, I am available to give extra academic attention to individual students who need it.  I am also providing resources and guidance for the other mentors so they can provide better academic assistance to their classes.  I will take what I have learned from my experience as a teacher and apply it to our faith-based after school program!  This is the holistic and comprehensive ministry I have been working toward for several years.

To enhance my credentials for these special new roles, I am working on my re-certification as an educator in the State of Florida.  I also have the goal of seeking a minister's license over the next year.  Together, as a minister and an educator, I believe God can use these two roles as a powerful combination for spiritual and social change in the inner-city!  Please pray for God to move powerfully in our kids and staff to bring about tangible changes that will bring Him glory!

-- Brian Gaughan is a Leadership Academy Mentor

Groceries from Jesus

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us." -- Ephesians 3:20

The other morning as my wife and I were praying, God began to burden our hearts for the single moms in our community.  As we were praying, God brought our neighbor, Lucy, to mind.  Lucy has five daughters under the age of 12.  She used to have six, but her oldest daughter was caught in the crossfire of a drive by shooting a few years ago and died.  She was only 14-years-old.  After Colleen and I finished praying, we went about our normal day.

That day while Colleen was grocery shopping for our family, a thought came to her mind to purchase groceries for Lucy as well.  When she came home from the store, Colleen asked me to deliver the groceries to Lucy.  I didn't understand why Colleen didn't want to deliver them herself, but I did as she asked and delivered them to our neighbor.

Just as I pulled up to Lucy's apartment, I saw her walking out with a man.  I told her that my wife and I had been praying for her that morning and that the groceries were from Jesus.  She was very thankful.  She introduced me to her friend, Bob.

As I looked at Bob, I recognized him from 20 years ago.  We used to play basketball with one another.  After talking with Bob for a few minutes, I found out that he had just gotten out of jail and was presently living in a halfway house.  I proceeded to ask him how his relationship was with Christ.  He answered, as most do, that he believed in God.  My response was, "Almost everyone believes in God but have you ever given your life to Christ?"  He said no.

I then gave him a brief overview of my testimony, shared the gospel with him, and explained how God had changed me and worked in my own life.  God allowed me the opportunity to plant a seed.  I showed him where I lived and told him that I would be praying for him and that he was welcome to stop by if he needed to talk.

The cool thing about this encounter is that God orchestrated it all.  Colleen could have gone over herself and dropped off the groceries to Lucy, but I believe it was the Holy Spirit in my wife who prompted her to ask me to deliver the groceries.  She didn't know Bob, but God knew that I did (coincidence or divine providence?).  I had the privilege to be used by God to share the Good News of Christ.

With our limited perspective, we thought we were just delivering some groceries, and to be honest, at the time I wanted my wife to do it so she could connect with Lucy.  But God has his own halfway house (the Church) of which he wants Bob to be a part.

Please pray for Lucy and Bob, and pray that we will live with the expectation that our Father wants to do far more abundantly above all that we ask or think in our lives.  We pray that prayer for you today in Jesus' name.

-- Pastor Chris Tress is Director of Ministry at Urban Youth Impact

Intercessory Missionaries Begin Prayer Ministry at UYI

Over the last month I have definitely been on a "faith walk." [smile]  Jesus has been consistently teaching me about faith, hope, and love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).  I have been learning just how much I serve in an "upside down kingdom" where we "lose to gain, and die (to ourselves) to live," as songwriter Misty Edwards put it.  What a beautiful God we serve!

It is rather funny to me that God has been using the most unlikely people to provide for me!  I have had some unbelievable and unexpected blessings come my way since embarking on this journey of raising support.  Here are some examples: Three brothers and sisters in the Lord who are also in ministry have put gas in my car, a beautiful friend surprised me with a free hair cut, a roommate insisted that I keep my utilities check so she could pay the rest, a coworker placed some cash in an envelope and left it for me, and a homeless man bought me groceries!

Of course there are many other stories of provision, but these are examples of how important it is for me to not "despise the day of small things" (Zechariah 4:10).  These may have been small acts of kindness, but they have provided more hope than I could have imagined!  Jesus' description of the "widow's mite" (Mark 12:41-44) has become an incredible reality through this process and I desire to give in the same way that others have given to me.

With that said, I would like to introduce you to the other role I play at UYI, in addition to arts and music, and the two people who play an important role in pushing me forward and keeping me encouraged during this season.  I am what UYI considers an Intercessory Missionary, which is someone who acts out the belief that the power of prayer, fasting, and loving others is a critical part of seeing a community or city transformed.

Five days a week, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., you will find me in a little room at Urban Youth Impact, using that time to fulfill my calling as an Intercessory Missionary.  Having a time set apart for prayer provides the opportunity for staff at UYI, and members of the community who pass through, to come and pray with me.

Darrell Gannett and James Gavin have also taken on roles as Intercessory Missionaries.  Darrell has set aside six hours a day for four days a week to pray at the Impact House, UYI's discipleship house in the center of the community.  James joins him for a few hours a day during these times.  These two brothers have been such a wonderful blessing to me and I am so thankful to have two comrades in prayer to keep me going!

Please join me in praying for endurance, strategy, protection, and financial coverage for Darrell and James.  Darrell is married and has two kids, and James lives in the Impact House and constantly ministers in the community.  Without these two amazing brothers I would not be sustained in this crucial task.  Please also pray and consider being a partner with me in this adventure with Jesus.  You can make a donation toward my prayer ministry here.

-- Lorraine Mutzer is an Intercessory Missionary for Urban Youth Impact

Coins from Palm Beach International Airport fountains not a drop in the bucket for charities

"Passengers at Palm Beach International Airport who cast a wish on their spare change before tossing it into the terminal's decorative fountains may actually help make the dreams of others come true.

Each month, crews drain the water from the airport's two fountains and gather up all of the coins that have been deposited into them. The money is donated to non-profit groups across the county."

Urban Youth Impact is one of those non-profits and will be the recipient of a donation this April.  The money received will go toward The Leadership Academy.  "We are grateful for it," Bill Hobbs, President & Founder, said.  Read the full story in the Palm Beach Post.