This is a work in progress (as you can tell by the formatting). It is an attempt to catalog inner city ministries and Christian urban outreach programs across the United States. Each resource has a link, an annotation, and a contact. They are sorted by city and state and then by category. I put this together a couple of years ago as a student at HUGSR in the Urban ministry class so this is pre-Katrina (sorry John!…I will get to that eventually) and needs a lot of updating. Let me know if there is anything you would add or if any of the links get broken. This is the third of my wordpress pages I am converting to posts so that the information can be better disseminated.
Please comment with relevant links of related ministries and resources you know of.
Urban Churches and Community Outreach Programs:
ALABAMA
Huntsville:
Inner City Church of Christ (Branch of Mayfair Church of Christ) –www.mayfair.org of http://www.mayfair.org/ministries/inner_city/
This is a church website that provides information on their various ministries. They also have a decent list of Bible links. They lay out their scheduled topics for the preaching year and contact information.
Email
Inner City Ministry of Huntsville – http://innercityministry.org/Huntsville/Index.htm
A very small website that, in a single page, outlines the staff and programs of this ministry, which is basically their service schedule.
Email
Mobile:
Inner City Ministry of Mobile – http://innercityministry.org/Mobile/Index.htm
Another site connected with the Nashville Inner City Church. It is a very small site that provides information on staff members and contacts.
Contact: (251) 432-5734
Montgomery:
Landmark Church of Christ – www.land-mark.org/ministries/innercity.htm
Landmark offers Bible studies to those in inner-city Montgomery 6 days a week. The provide transportation, clothing and relationships to those they come in contact with. They currently have 350 attend weekly.
Email: or by phone – Ken Kilpatrick (334) 277-5800
ARKANSAS
Little Rock:
River City Ministry –http://rivercityministry.org/
They provide health and human services as well as ministry to the poor in Little Rock. They have a medical clinic, pharmacy, eye clinic, and dental clinic. They have a food pantry, clothing, and lunch four days each week.
Email or by phone – (501) 376-6694
Silver City Church of Christ –http://www.silvercitychurch.com/
The Silver City Church has mentoring programs, weekly worship services, a Carnival and Summer camps.
Email or by phone – Greg Sublett (501) 658-8849
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles:
Bel Air Presbyterian Church –http://www.belairpres.org/Outreach/Urban_Ministry/Introduction.html
This ministry is involved in 22 different outreach ministries. They cover everything from Ronald McDonald House to outreach to at-risk teens. See also www.belairpres.org/Outreach/Urban_Ministry/Urban_Ministry.html
Email or by phone – (818) 788-4200, ext. 118
Hilltop Community Church of Christ –http://www.hilltopchurchofchrist.com/
Provides a comprehensive list of their ministries, prayer lists, youth events, and schedule of worship.
Email or by phone – Matthew McMillon (310)322-5757
Union Rescue Mission of Los Angeles – http://www.urm.com
They provide education, job training, counseling, legal assistance, recovery programs, transitional housing, medical and dental care, meals, shelter, and clothing to help people have a second chance.
Email or by phone – (213) 347-6300
Beyond Shelter (Homelessness) –www.beyondshelter.org
Dedicated to combating poverty and homelessness. They have a shelter, employment services, housing, neighborhood regeneration, and an Institute for Research, Training, and Technical Assistance that puts on workshops and does consulting work.
Email
World Impact – www.worldimpact.org
Dedicated to bringing the gospel to the inner city all over the U.S. Focuses on indigenous church planting, evangelism, discipleship, schools, and camps. They have other locations in Fresno, CA; San Francisco, CA; Oakland, CA; San Diego, CA; Newark, NJ; Chester, PA; St. Louis, MO; Wichita, KS; and Dallas, TX.
Email
Modesto:
Modesto Gospel Mission – www.homelessmission.org
Provides food, shelter, job skills, help with addictions, parenting, and spiritual guidance. They also have a women’s shelter.
Contact:http://www.homelessmission.org/contactus.phtml
Palo Alto:
Urban Ministry of Palo Alto (Palo Alto Church of Christ) – http://www.pacc.org/ExpectCommunityService.html and http://www.volunteerinfo.org/urbanmin.htm
Provides meals, groceries, employment, and shelter to the homeless and low-income of the city. They also provide gifts to poor children for Christmas. They sponsor the Urban Ministry of Palo Alto that meets the physical needs of the poor in Palo Alto.
Email or by phone – (650) 493-4263
San Diego:
Safe Harbor Church of Christ – http://homestead.juno.com/safeharborrescuemission/adv.html
San Francisco:
Raphael House – http://www.raphaelhouse.org/welcome.html
Shelter for the homeless. They have casework, aftercare, and children’s programs. They provide counseling and education as well as a thrift store.
Email or by phone – (415) 474-4621
Santa Ana:
Orange County Rescue Mission – www.rescuemission.org
Provides shelter for the homeless men and women, family housing, addiction recovery, and medical clinics. They also have a mobile medical unit for those with no insurance and a hunger relief vehicle.
Email or by phone – (888) 946-HOPE (4673)
Santa Maria:
Central Coast Rescue Mission – http://www.erescuemission.org/ccrm/min_ccrm.htm
GED prep, Bible study, helping others help others,
Contact:
ccrm@erescuemission.com
COLORADO
Denver:
Denver Rescue Mission
www.denverrescuemission.org
Has a men’s shelter with over 100 beds, 10 apartments with child care for single mothers, rehabilitation farm, and career training.
Contact:
jadams@denrescue.org
(303) 297-1815
Dry Bones
http://www.drybonesdenver.org/index.htm
Trying to reach, rescue, and reconcile Denver youth. Supported by the Lakewood Church of Christ. They have backpacking in the Rockies, friends/relationships, and generally meeting the children where they are. This even involves occasionally renting a pool hall and having kids play for free.
Contact:
jeff@drybonesdenver.org
CONNECTICUT
Bridgeport:
Bridgeport Rescue Mission
www.bridgeportrescuemission.org
They have a new life program that helps people overcome obstacles such as addiction. They have a homeless shelter, as well as clothes and food donation and distribution.
Contact:
rabbiherb@optonline.net
(203) 333-4087
FLORIDA
Miami:
Orlando:
Inner City Ministry of Orlando
http://innercityministry.org/Orlando/Index.htm
As are all the churches indexed in this website, the information is very sparse. It lists programs – basically bible classes, staff, and contacts.
Contact:
concrdst@bellsouth.net
(407) 366-1676
Orlando Union Rescue Mission
http://www.ourm.org/
Programs are split on gender lines. Men’s programs include: shelter (80 rooms), discipleship and job training. Women and children’s programs include: space for 174 people with an average stay of 8 months. They have a “Victorious Life” program with a goal of bringing people to Jesus.
Contact:
OURMission@ourm.org
(407) 422-4855
Pensacola:
Pensacola Inner City Church of Christ
http://innercityministry.org/Pensacola/Index.htm
They run a Bible school and bus ministry. This site is another branch of the Nashville Inner City Church Website.
Contact:
(850) 455-5426
GEORIGIA
Atlanta:
Atlanta Union Mission
www.aum-atl.org
Website is now down.
HAWAII
Honolulu:
River of Life Mission
www.rolm.org
This website is now down as well.
Contact:
julieohara@yahoo.com
ILLINOIS
Chicago:
Jesus People Short Term Youth Missions
www.missiontrip.net
This site is down.
Contact – jbradley@jpusa.org
Peoria:
Southside Mission
www.southsidemission.org
INDIANA
Indianapolis:
Wheeler Mission Ministries
www.wmm.org
They have a resource center/camp for men struggling with addiction and homelessness. This is called the Hebron Center. They have a women’s shelter with an average night of 75 women there. They also have a Hispanic ministry.
Contact:
wmminindy@aol.com or mikemckenzie@wmm.org
MISSOURI
Kansas City:
Swope Parkway Church of Christ
http://www.swopeparkway.org/
They host a large number of programs: meals on wheels, pantry, transportation, prison ministry, small groups, and substance dependency groups. They also have services on radio and television.
Contact:
http://www.swopeparkway.org/bus.html
Springfield:
Springfield Victory Mission
www.victorymission.com
They have GED training, job training, addiction recovery, homeless shelter, clothing giveaway, shelter for women and children, emergency food and transportation, a thrift store, and a trade school.
Contact:
alytle@victorymission.com
(800) 346-3678
NEW YORK
Beaver Falls:
Word of Grace Outreach
www.word-of-grace.com
Offers a networking service for ministers and ministers across the country. They have a number of small group resources online. They offer mission trips to India, Ukraine, Haiti, Chile, Argentina, New York, Portugal, Spain and elsewhere.
Contact – penn@word-of-grace.com
Briarwood:
Urban Impact Ministry
http://www.urbanimpactny.org
This “is an urban ministry dedicated to helping the
unreached people groups of New York City come to Christ. We primarily work with Jews and Muslims, as well as immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Africa, and Asia.” They have a nice collection of New York related links including city and subway maps, and links to information on Islam.
Contact:
wendy@urbanimpactny.org
Bronx:
Bronx Fellowship of Christ (plant of Manhattan Church of Christ)
http://www.bronxfellowship.org/
They meet the first Sunday of each month in rented space and the rest of the time in house churches. They teach conversational English, Introduction to Christianity, and have a marriage course.
Contact:
info@bronxfellowship.org
(718) 829-7801
Brooklyn:
Metro Ministries – Metro Ministries in Brooklyn, NY is based in the inner city and does Sunday School for over 20,000 kids a week. They also have “Brooklyn Boot Camp” for an intensive urban ministry training.
Manhattan:
Manhattan Church of Christ
www.manhattanchurch.org/min_umc.asp
This is an excellent website that also is host to the Urban Ministry Conference website. They have Spanish ministries, online sermons, small groups, and a number of downloadable files of information or sermons on relevant contemporary issues.
Contact:
(212) 737-4900
tlr@manhattanchurch.org – Thomas Robinson
New York:
Mission New York City
http://www.aletheia.org/mnyc/
Currently down
Camp Shiloh
http://www.shilohnyc.org/
This is a Christian camp that is aimed at inner city youth. They provide mentoring, after school programs, and tutoring. They provide a camp for children 8 to 15.
Contact:
allison@shilohnyc.org
(212) 737-8258
City Harvest
http://www.cityharvest.org/about/annual/agencies.html
They have nearly 800 programs that mainly focusing on bringing hunger relief to the needy of New York. With over 500 weekly donors, they collected over 21 million pounds of food in 2002-2003! They also have a nice information kit with valuable resource and statistics on hunger.
Contact:
pbarrick@cityharvest.org – Patricia Barrick
(917) 351-8700
NEW JERSEY
New Jersey/New York
Metro Soul Urban Outreach Team
http://www.thetruthtree.com/metrosoul/
They have an abundance of free software for ministry. They have information on planting churches in the Northeast United States. They have a “How to” for using census data for ministry. See: http://www.thetruthtree.com/metrosoul/articles/census.htm
Contains Demographics of the Northeast United States as well. They also have a number of articles on church growth and planting.
Contact:
ben@thetruthtree.com – Ben Cheek
Newark:
World Impact
www.worldimpact.org
They focus on church planting and Christian schools. This is part of the world impact churches mentioned above. See: http://www.worldimpact.org/ministries/index.html for a helpful map of their locations, schools and camps.
Contact:
shoernig@worldimpact.org
(316) 681-1317
NORTH CAROLINA
Charlotte:
Urban Ministry Center
http://www.urbanministrycenter.org/ritilist.html
The have a “Room in the Inn” ministry that encourages churches from many denominations as well as colleges to open their doors to the homeless one night each week. They also teach through art and have worship.
Contact:
dmullennix@urbanministrycenter.org – David Mullennix
(704) 347-0278
OHIO
Cincinnati:
Cincinnati Urban Ministry Outreach
http://www.northeastchurch.com/AboutOurChurch.html
This is a church website that explains their ministries. They have a pantry and prepare holiday baskets. They also have a helpful links page to many popular Christian ministries and “Church of Christ” Universities
Contact:
nechurch@cinci.rr.com
(513) 489-4659
OKLAHOMA
Tulsa:
John 3:16 Mission
http://www.john316mission.org
They have a homeless shelter for men, car donation, crisis intervention for families, food pantry, and free store.
Contact:
dganzert@john316mission.org
(918) 587-1186
OREGON
Portland:
Portland Urban Ministry Project
www.pumpchurch.org
This is a well known urban ministry website in churches of Christ. The site is currently undergoing a bit of construction. They offer church services, Bible clubs, and tutoring. They also have a van ministry, teaching reading, and community meals.
Contact:
team@pumpchurch.org
(503) 528-8158
PENNSYLVANIA
New Castle:
City Rescue Mission
www.cityrescuemission.org
Massive shelter and food services, clothing, counseling, networking, and case management are all offered. They help all from the homeless to victims of natural disaster.
Email:
Philadelphia:
Inner City Missions
www.innercitymissions.org
They are non-profit and faith based. They seek to spread the Gospel and meet people’s needs. They have medical services, crusades, clothing and food ministries, and a sidewalk Sunday school.
Contact:
innercitymissions@comcast.net
(215) 634-6635
Master’s Commission
www.mcbi.edu
This site is currently down.
Contact:
PastorJT@mcbi.edu
TENNESSEE
Chattanooga:
Inner City Ministry of Chattanooga
http://innercityministry.org/Chattanooga/Index.htm
Ministries include: Bible school, Hispanic ministry, tutoring, and chorus.
Contact:
Chattinnercity@mindspring.com
(423) 624-0752
Knoxville:
Farragut Church of Christ
http://farragutchurchofchrist.faithsite.com/default.asp
List themselves as being involved in urban missions but their website does not give any details. See http://farragutchurchofchrist.faithsite.com/content.asp?ListSG=3930 for a bulletin board of Urban ministry activity (currently empty).
Contact:
farrcofc@tds.net
(865) 966-5025
Murfreesboro:
Inner City Ministry of Murfreesboro
http://innercityministry.org/Murfreesboro/Index.htm
Provide Bible school and worship for inner city Murfreesboro.
Contact:
Minnercity@aol.com
(615) 896-4444
Riverdale Church of Christ Inner City Ministry
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/gigtlh/riverdal.htm
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/gigtlh/innercty.htm
This ministry uses buses to take volunteers into the inner city to pick up 2nd – 5th grade children and evangelize them.
Contact:
riverdalechurch@aol.com
Kingwood Heights Church of Christ
http://www.kingwoodheights.org/ministries.php
This ministry is attempting to plant an inner-city church in Murfreesboro. They also provide financial and human resources to the inner-city.
Contact:
(615) 893-8618
Memphis:
Memphis Urban Ministries (MUM)
http://www.memphisurbanministry.com/
This ministry is involved in planting inner-city churches throughout the Memphis metropolitan area. (The website could use to be a bit more detailed). Provides internship positions for those interested in inner-city ministry.
Contact:
(901) 755-6745
Agape Child and Family Services
http://www.agapemeanslove.org
Offers Christian counseling and adoption services. They also have counselors in several area churches. They have parenting classes, support services, and medical/insurance options.
Contact:
debbie.allen@agapemeanslove.org
901-323-3600
Nashville:
Youth Encouragement Services
http://www.youthencouragement.org/home/index.html
This is an outreach ministry to teens in Nashville’s inner-city. They provide a basketball league, tutoring, after-school programs, day care, and a Christmas store.
Contact:
info@youthencouragement.org
(615) 315-5333
Nashville Inner City Ministry
http://nashvilleinnercitymi.tripod.com/
This is a bus ministry that picks up inner-city youth and takes them to their own Bible study/worship. This has developed into the Inner City Church of Christ (listed below). It is also responsible for planting the churches listed above with the www.innercityministry.org web addresses.
Contact:
nashvilleinnercityministry@juno.com
Nashville Inner City Church of Christ
http://innercityministry.org
This is a church with the goal of planting similar churches in inner-city neighborhoods. The attendance is now over 600 (unclear if this is combined across locations or just in Nashville).
Contact:
nashvilleinnercityministry@juno.com
TEXAS
Abilene:
Southern Hills Church of Christ
http://www.southernhillschurch.org/additionalministries.html
This is an off-site urban outreach. This is mainly an outreach to children. They provide transportation, food, and Bible study. The ministers involved are Damon Parker and Brad Carter.
Contact:
shcc@abilene.com
(325) 692-2670
Arlington:
Mission Arlington
www.missionarlington.org
This is an inter-denominational group with 254 house church congregations with a 4000+ attendance.
Ministries: Citizenship classes, G.E.D. classes, Conversational English, job assistance, 12 step recovery program, busing, summer camp, carnivals, scholarships, sports, crisis intervention, dental and medical clinics, eye exams, Bible studies, and internships.
Contact:
See http://www.missionarlington.org/feedback
Beaumont:
Northside Church of Christ
http://www.nscocb.org/Default2.htm
Ministries include literacy programs, tutoring, Bible classes and worship. They provide Bible study tools and online Bible correspondence courses.
Contact:
info@nscocb.org
(409) 833-7706
Dallas:
Dallasindicators.org
http://www.dallasindicators.com/
Dallas life and demographics/statistics
Central Dallas Ministries
http://charityadvantage.com/cdm%2Dhope/homepage.asp
Came as offshoot of Preston Rd. Church of Christ
For a list of ministries, see http://charityadvantage.com/cdm%2Dhope/programs.asp
Contact:
info@cdm-hope.org
(214) 823-8710 x20
Dallas Community Youth Development Program http://www.ccgd.org/cyd.htm
This was developed as a juvenile crime prevention program. They have leadership and skill development programs, service projects, education, and mentoring. They have an extensive list of links to similar agencies.
Contact:
(214) 421-7330
Fort Worth:
Fortress Ministries
www.fortresschurchofchrist.org
This is a church interested in community outreach for inner-city For Worth.
Contact:
info@fortresschurchofchrist.org
(817) 335-1007
Houston:
Bammel Road Church of Christ
www.bammel.org
They have a lot of children’s ministries. They have addiction recovery groups and a Hispanic ministry.
Contact:
questions@bammel.org
Impact Houston Church of Christ
http://www.impacthouston.org/index.html
This church is known as the big inner-city outreach church of Houston. They have a distribution center for food and clothing that is open three days each week.
Contact:
rhowald@ev1.net
(713) 864-5667
Lubbock:
Central Lubbock Church
http://www.centrallubbockchurch.org/
They have the “Inside Out Community Outreach”, which is “a church-based substance abuse, addiction, homeless/hunger relief and HIV prevention ministry.” They have a food pantry and clothes distribution center, HIV testing for at-risk individuals, support groups for people in recovery from drugs, alcohol and other addictive behaviors. They also have Imani House Transitional Living Centers for men and women.
Contact:
email @centrallubbockchurch.org
(806) 744-8633
WASHINGTON
Spokane:
Mission Spokane
www.missionspokane.org
They focus on church planting, community transformation, and prayer ministries.
Contact:
info@missionspokane.org
(509) 468-4855
Tacoma:
Tacoma Rescue Mission
www.trm.org
They provide food, shelter, addiction recovery, and other emergency services.
Contact:
dianaj@trm.org – Diana Jeffery
mikel@trm.org – Mike Lonergan
WASHINGTON D.C.
Central Union Mission
www.missiondc.org
They provide shelter, safety, strengthening families, Hispanic ministry, Seniors luncheon, showers, medical and free legal aid, homeless shelters, and a camp retreat. They serve over 180,000 meals each year.
Contact:
info@missiondc.org
(202) 745-7118
WEST VIRGINIA
Huntington:
Huntington City Mission
www.huntingtoncitymission.org
They feed the hungry, offer pastoral care, and clothing giveaways. They provide lodging, counseling, and case management. They have a decent list of links.
Contact:
hcm@wvdsl.net
(304) 523-0293
WISCONSIN
Milwaukee:
Milwaukee Rescue Mission
www.milmission.org
Outreach to homeless men and women and to inner city youth. Help with job skills and placement, tutoring, mentoring, and spiritual development.
Contact:
bterrill@milmission.org
414-344-2211
Urban Economic Development:
The Center for Urban Economic Development – University of Illinois (Chicago)
http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/uicued/
They have a database of full text articles on: Community economic development, workforce development, Neighborhood indicators, Contingent work, labor market trends, and immigrant and labor.
The Center for Urban and Regional Policy – Northeastern University (Boston)
http://www.curp.neu.edu/index.htm
This contains mostly data and data analysis tools for the city of Boston. Citistat is a program that allows one to review all areas of Boston city government. Their staff web page offers a number of course power points that have sociological lectures – http://www.curp.neu.edu/aboutus/staff.htm
A Large list of links – including: Economic data, economic development, education, homelessness, housing, neighborhoods and communities, poverty, public policy and advocacy, sprawl, urban centers (university studies), urban planning, and urban professional organizations. See – http://www.curp.neu.edu/research/urban.htm
Economic Development Handbook
http://www.npcr.org/reports/npcr1062/npcr1062.doc
A Word document Handbook of considerable length and detail. “This study was conducted to identify the neighborhood economic development process for neighborhood members and was funded by Neighborhood Planning for Community Revitalization (NPCR)”
Pew Research Foundation – Urban Development and the Internet
http://www.pewtrusts.com/pdf/vf_pew_internet_city_online.pdf
This site is currently down.
EconData.net
http://www.econdata.net/
They provide over 1000 useful links for socioeconomic data. They have tools for gather data from multiple sets. They rank various metro areas on a number of statistics. They also have projections of economic trends
Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy
http://www.fedstats.gov/
They have clickable maps for state and local data from several federal statistical agencies. It also has links to all the original data sources.
State of the Cities Data Systems, Department of Housing and Urban Development
http://socds.huduser.org/index.html
This comes out of HUD. It is full of economic performance indicators for metro areas. They also have crime and employment statistics.
Economagic.com
http://www.economagic.com/
A source for over 100,000 data sets on state and national employment.
Urban Outreach Programs:
Pratt Institute Center for Community & Environment Development www.picced.org/advocacy/bdghope.htm
This site is currently experiencing problems.
AGRM – Association of Gospel Rescue Missions
www.agrm.org or http://www.iugm.org/
This is an very well done and comprehensive website listing hundreds of Gospel Rescue Missions. They have employment information, statistics, missions, and links to member organizations all over the country. This is a very important tool for urban organizations and networking.
Center for Urban Community Services
http://www.cucs.org/
Focuses on homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse. They have transitional housing and links to Housing publications.
Compassion Works (Branch of Compassion International) http://compassionworks.compassion.com/
“Conferences for urban youth workers. Held in March in 2 locations-Philadelphia and Chicago. The main purpose of the conference is to motivate, equip and network urban youth and children’s workers from across the United States.”
Connect for Kids
www.connectforkids.org
This site provides a very wide range of resources concerning juvenile problems, adoption, parenting, and a large range of other topics dealing with children. The goal of the site is to develop better policy concerning children.
Continent of Great Cities
http://198.87.86.46/greatcities/pg.asp
“Continent of Great Cities ministry recruits, trains, and cares for missionary teams that establish churches in Spanish and Portuguese speaking urban centers of South America.” They have a list of targeted cities and large scale church planting efforts.
Contact:
info@greatcities.org
800-524-8437
Faith-Based Community Economic Development
http://www.nubank.com/faithbased/ced.pdf
Produced by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Public and Community Affairs Department.
Habitat for Humanity International
www.habitat.org
World famous organization that is dedicated to “eliminating poverty housing.”
International Center for Urban Training – City Team Ministries http://www.goshen.net/cityteam/
“Involved in inner-city youth work which hosts a center for urban training. The year-long program combines classroom instruction with supervised field experience. Offers a one year program to equip men and women for effective ministry in urban/cross-cultural contexts.” [Site is currently down]
International Mission Board
http://www.imb.org/core/default.asp
This is a group formed by the Southern Baptist Convention. Their goal is to evangelize the world. They have a missionary directory (now accessed through 1-800-866-3621), very helpful maps of various regions of the world in need of the Gospel, and people groups identified that need the Gospel.
Mission Year
http://www.sojourners.com/missionyear/
“Our program is simple. We recruit teams of 5-6 committed Christians to live and work together in a poor urban neighborhood as ‘members’ of an active local church, reaching out to love their neighbors in a variety of practical ways. Besides church participation, our weekly routine is devoted to community service (in schools, hospitals, or other social service agencies) and neighborhood outreach, along with ongoing training, team-building, and personal devotions. Our people work long and hard to strengthen their communities, and to develop the kind of relationships that can change people’s lives forever.”
National Crisis Prevention Institute
http://www.execpc.com/cpi/
“Provides nonviolent crisis intervention training to youth service providers.”
Contact:
cpi@execpc.com
North American Mission Board
http://www.namb.net/
They have a large amount of education resources, computer/clip art, church planting resources, financial information, and a large staff dedicated to church planting and broadcasting resources.
Urban Immersion 2004
seizeit.org
Offers spring break urban mission opportunities in Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Detroit, and Washington D.C.
Contact:
ui@ccci.org
World Vision
http://www.wvi.org/wvi/home.htm
is an international Christian relief and development organisation working to promote the well being of all people – especially children. In 2003, World Vision offered material, emotional, social and spiritual support to 100 million people in 99 countries.” They have information on relief efforts, publications, and a large number of relief related links.
Federal Government Programs:
Community Development Financial Institution Fund www.treas.gov/cdfi/overview/index.html
This site is currently down.
Faith-based and Community Initiatives
http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/
This covers everything from abstinence grants, conferences, data collections, and regulations for faith-based initiatives to receive government support.
National Congress for Community Economic Development
www.ncced.org
They have a HUGE number of links national and regional that deal with economic development. They run everything from AmeriCorp to the Prescription Benefit Card Program. For a list of programs, see http://www.ncced.org/programs/index.html
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
www.hud.gov see also www.hud.gov/local for information on specific communities.
This is the place for information and statistics on housing, rent, and many articles on a wide range of housing related subjects.
Demographic Resources:
Association of Gospel Rescue Missions Studies
http://www.agrm.org/stats.html
AGRM’s population and demographics page.
American FactFinder
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet
This is a data extraction tool for use on the 1990 and 2000 U.S. census data.
Bureau of Economic Analysis
http://www.bea.doc.gov/
They have income levels by industry even down to the county level. They have regional input-output data and gross state product.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/
Statistics on National, State, and Metropolitan employment and unemployment. They also have wages broken down by industry.
Census Scope
http://www.censusscope.org/
This has a large number of trends and population growth statistics. There are also numerous maps and rankings.
Demographics and Census Data
http://www.usg.edu/galileo/internet/census/demograp.html
This site has numerous articles on demographics and population information. There are also census directories and definitions.
HUD USER – Housing and Urban Development – Policy Development and Research Information Service
http://www.huduser.org/
This is a “gateway to current written research and analytic tools produced by and for HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research (PD&R). You can use this online resource to access research reports about housing and community & economic development, datasets that can be used for original research, HUD income limits and fair market rents, and much more.” They also have some very useful reports.
U.S. Census Website
www.census.gov
Home of the U.S. census. They have a population clock (U.S. and world), as well as trends, demographics, and projections. All things dealing with population figures and access tools.
Urban Youth Ministry:
Urban Youth Ministry Information
http://www.iugm.org/youth.html
This is part of the AGRM website. It is full of resources and ideas for working with urban youth. See also http://www.iugm.org/yth-res.html
Contact:
kfischer@cityteam.org
Summer Camps for Inner City Youth
CALIFORNIA
San Francisco:
CityTeam Camp MayMac
www.maymac.org
They serve “disadvantaged and at-risk youth” from the San Francisco area.
Contact:
campmaymac@usa.com
(831) 335-3019
COLORADO
Durango:
Cross Bar X Youth Ranch
http://www.crossbarxcamp.org
This camp is specifically designed to take on low-income and at-risk inner city children.
Contact:
theranch@crossbarx.org
(970) 259-2716
ILLINOIS
Chicago
Riverwoods Christian Center
www.mcs.net/~riverwds/
This site is currently running very slowly or is down.
Contact:
riverwds@mcs.net
Summer in the City
www.hlic.org/seizeit
This is designed to let college students spend their spring break making a difference for those in inner city Chicago.
Contact:
Marc.Henkel@ccci.org
Peoria:
South Side Missions Camp Kearney
http://www.southsidemission.org/ministries/kearney.shtml
This camp is for inner city and foster children.
Contact:
campkearney@juno.com
MICHIGAN
Detroit
Wildwood Ranch
www.wildwoodranch.org
This camp is directed toward inner city children. Over 90% of those attending are on scholarships. They have over 1000 children attend each summer.
Contact:
drmmcamp1@aol.com
Grand Rapids:
Camp Mel-Tro-Mi
www.meltrotter.org/camp.php
This is a camp for all ages. Its goal is to share the Gospel with hurting children and families.
Contact:
(616)454-8249 ext. 248
MISSOURI
Kansas City
City Union Mission/Camp CUMCITO
www.cumission.org
This is a branch of the City Union Mission in Kansas City, MO. This camp is to provide love and discipline for those with no home stability. Follow-ups happen after camp.
Contact:
info@cumission.org
(816) 474-9380
OHIO
Cleveland:
The City Mission Youth Department
www.thecitymission.org
NEW YORK
Buffalo:
Buffalo City Mission, Inc
www.cornerstonemanor.org
They have a shelter for women and children as well as food and clothing. They help with job loss and substance abuse. They also have a summer camp.
Contact:
(716) 852-0761
Syracuse:
Syracuse Rescue Mission
www.rmsyr.org
They have a learning center, career development, vocational training, and work experience. They also have a thrift store and statistical resources.
Contact:
info@rmsyr.org
(315) 472-6251
WASHINGTON D.C.
Camp Bennett
www.missionDC.org
Contact:
CbennettDir@aol.com
Urban Studies Institutions:
For a large list of University Urban Institutions, see http://www.curp.neu.edu/research/urban.htm
That was listed above under URBAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – The Center for Urban and Regional Policy – Northeastern University (Boston)
The Center for Student Missions
www.csm.org
“The Center for Student Missions exists to provide students with an effective urban ministry experience that transforms lives, invluences local churches and honors Christ. Local churches, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, childcare facilities and youth facilities are active in the inner city, but they need volunteers to be successful.”
Contact:
info@csm.org
Stadia – New Church Strategies – Christian Church Planting
http://www.stadia.cc/support/
This site helps organize church planters. They have a number of helpful downloadable forms on church planting. They have region specific information on church planting. They also outline the vital steps for planting a church.
HEALTH/ILLNESS
AIDS:
Christian Connections for International Health
http://www.ccih.org/harp/1d.htm
This is from the Christian Connections for International Health website.
ADDICTIONS
Alcoholism:
Alcoholics Victorious (Kansas City, MO)
http://www.alcoholicsvictorious.org/
“Alcoholics Victorious support groups offer a safe environment where recovering people who recognize Jesus Christ as their “Higher Power” gather together and share their experience, strength and hope. Both the 12 Steps and the Alcoholics Victorious Creed are used at most AV meetings.”
Contact:
(816) 471-8020
Alcoholics for Christ (Detroit, MI)
http://www.alcoholicsforchrist.com/
Based out of Detroit, they minister to alcoholics, their families, and children raised by alcoholic parents.
Contact:
al4christ@globalbiz.net
(248) 399 – 9955
Drug Treatment:
Calvary Ranch (Lakeside, CA)
http://www.calvaryranch.org/
Residential Christian Drug treatment facility.
Christians in Recovery (Tequesta, FL)
http://www.christians-in-recovery.com/
Over 2000 pages of helpful information to overcome addiction and maladaptive behaviors. A huge resource of information on drug treatment.
Contact:
See – http://www.christians-in-recovery.org/forms/form.html
GOAL Ministries – Global Outreach for Addiction, Leadership, and Learning (Princeton, NJ)
http://www.goalproject.org/
Helping people overcome addictions with Christian principles. GOAL stands for Global Outreach for Addiction Leadership.
Contact:
mail@goalproject.org
1-888-229-3045
National Association for Christian Recovery (Brea, CA)
http://www.christianrecovery.com/
Have additional recovery ministries linked at – http://www.christianrecovery.com/dox/contact_cri.htm
Contact:
dryan@christianrecovery.com – Dale Ryan
Net Casting Ministries (Statesville, NC)
http://www.netcastingministries.org/
Helps broken families and addictions.
Contact:
ronross@netcastingministries.org – Ron Ross
(704) 872-9769
Overcomers Outreach (Oakhurst, CA)
http://www.overcomersoutreach.org/
12 step program, Christian, deals with addictions
Contact:
info@overcomersoutreach.org
1-800-310-3001
Teen Challenge World Wide Network (Springfield, MO and around the world)
Teen Challenge National Website
Teen Challenge of Southern California
Global Teen Challenge
Drug prevention program for teens. There are multiple site all over the world. See – http://www.teenchallenge.com/index.cfm?directoryID=1&worldID=1
They have drug information and parental resources, as well as residential programs for teen drug recovery.
Contact:
tcusa@teenchallengeusa.com
Sexual addiction:
Heart to Heart Counseling Centers (Colorado Springs, CO)
http://www.sexaddict.com/
Deals with sexual addiction. They have telephone counseling, support groups, information on finding out if your spouse has a sexual addiction, and journal articles.
Contact:
Heart2Heart@XC.Org
Mastering Life Ministries (Jacksonville, FL)
http://www.gospelcom.net/mlm/
Deals with sexual sin and brokenness as well as anger management.
Contact:
Staff@MasteringLife.org
(904) 220-7474
Urban Counseling
Christian Counselors Directory
http://www.fishernet.com/counslng/region.htm
926 Counselors in 636 communities. This is a networking and reference tool.
Turning Point Counseling Center
http://www.hway.net/turnin/
This site is currently down.
Abuse:
CARELINK
http://web2.iadfw.net/carelink/
Offers information for those affected by abortion, rape, incest, and sexual abuse
This site is currently down.
Persevering
http://www.novagate.com/~stranshouse/
For those overcoming sexual abuse
This site is currently down.
Confident Kids Support Groups
http://www.confidentkids.com/
Website for children of dysfunctional homes. They have curriculums, resources, seminars, and directories.
Contact:
CK@confidentkids.com
His Mansion Ministries
http://www.hismansion.com/
Helps dysfunctional Young Adults.
Contact:
personnel@hismansion.com
(603) 464-5555
Homosexuality:
Christianity and Homosexuality – http://www.messiah.edu/hpages/facstaff/chase/h/
Has great links, organizations, and articles on the topic of Christianity and Homosexuality. It has a bibliography, questions and answers, and other links. It is part of the “Gay Change Web Ring” which can be accessed at the bottom of the page.
Exodus International
http://www.exodus-international.org/
Helps people leave the gay lifestyle. Resources for those in the gay lifestyle as well as for ministers who deal with this topic. They have a large array of articles and topics with detailed information.
Contact:
info@exodus-international.org
Other:
Rest Ministries
http://www.ixpres.com/jlcopen
For those with chronic pain
Website is currently down.
Victim to Victor
http://www.vvm.org/
Reconciliation for victims
Website is currently down.
URBAN JOURNALS/CONFERENCES
Urban Mission Journal
http://www.wts.edu/publications/journal/umjindex.htm
Offers a selection of full text articles from the Urban Mission Journal
Urban Ministry Conference
www.urbanconference.org
email umc@manhattanchurch.org for information
Helpful articles with Urban Ministry tools:
http://www.urbanconference.org/articles
Hispanic Urban Ministry Conference
http://www.urbanconference.org/hispanic/index.htm
The Hispanic version of the above Urban Ministry Conference.
URBAN MINISTRY RESOURCES
Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization
www.lausanne.org
http://www.gospelcom.net/lcwe/LOP/lop22.htm
This site is dedicated to spreading the gospel all over the world.
Urban Ministry Resource Guide (Emmanuel Gospel Center)
http://www.egc.org/urbanmin/
They have a guide book for urban ministry, pastoral resources, and service opportunities.
Association of Gospel Rescue Missions – Computer resources
www.agrm.org In particular – http://www.agrm.org/links/computer.html
This is a page of their online tools for urban ministry. They have an introduction to using computers as tools for urban ministry, a software library, and list serves.
They also have an extensive list of more Urban ministries similar to those listed in this post.
Christ Sites.com
www.Christsites.com
They provide a huge number of links and databases on all things Christian. This covers everything from church history to languages and upcoming concerts.
Urban Cross.com
www.Urbancross.com
They call themselves the “ultimate online Christian search tool”. This site also provides links to a large number of Christian resources.
Poverty and Homelessness
American Bar Association Commission on Homelessness and Poverty
http://www.abanet.org/homeless/home.html
This is the Bar Associations Commission/Conference on Homelessness.
Homeless Online
http://www.homeless.org/do/Home
This is a not for profit organization that also serves a few other interests. They are non-religious.
Homelessness Information from the AGRM
http://www.iugm.org/homeless.html
This page has a large number of articles on all facets of homelessness. It also contains statistical information on homelessness.
National Alliance to End Homelessness
http://www.naeh.org/
This is an effort to mobilize the private sector to bring an end to homelessness. They have a 10 year plan and a tool kit of information to prevent and end homelessness.
National Resource Center for Homelessness and Mental Illness – www.nrchmi.samhsa.gov
They have statistics on homelessness, links to journals regarding homelessness and a large list of links of Federal sites regarding homelessness.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Homelessness Page http://www.hhs.gov/specificpopulations/index.shtml#homeless
A very small page of several government links regarding homelessness.
Report on Homelessness
http://www.bethesda-mission.org/report.htm
This is a substantial article on the state of the homeless in the U.S. They cover mental illness, definition of terms, substance abuse among the homeless, and the spiritual condition of the homeless.
Operation Work
www.operationwork.org
“To provide homeless men and women Worthwhile Opportunities through Resources, Knowledge, Job Training and Career Development, helping them to become productive and self-sufficient members of society”
Online poverty tour
http://www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa/tour2.htm
From the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. This is a flash presentation on the homeless.
Urban Missions Internships
Association for Gospel Rescue Missions – Internships
http://www.agrm.org/dir/listing.shtml
Check here for many internship positions in Urban or Inner City rescue environments. It contains many non-CofC national/international outreach programs.
Online Church of Christ Directories
Here are three key online lists of Churches of Christ in America:
Churches of Christ Online
www.cconline.org
Church of Christ.org – Church of Christ Directory
www.church-of-christ.org
Church Zip – Online Directory for Churches of Christ
www.churchzip.com
The more I read the New Testament the more I am convinced that God wants us to become like Jesus. I am not talking about becoming like him in his divinity. That just isn’t possible. But we are to become like Jesus in every area of our life. Just as Jesus loves God with all his heart, mind, soul and strength…he calls us to do the same. Just as Jesus loves mankind, he calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves. My point is, we are supposed to be like Jesus in as many was as possible. So when we read about Jesus’ life and ministry it is important that we learn to imitate him (or “follow him” as his disciple).
One of the new found blessings of having cable television for the first time in six years are all the “great” religious programming we can now watch. Last week we tuned in to see the 
Kingdom Living 
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