Helping Children in Need

Student Impact Team – Thanks to help from the Greater Spokane Association of Evangelicals and Moody Bible Institute, UGM Youth Outreach started the Student Impact Team to reach teens and children throughout the school term. In the team’s first year, over 40 college students helped stock local high schools’ clothing closets, mentor students at Rogers High School, conduct homework club for children at the UGM Crisis Shelter for Women and Children, and more. It was an incredible year, and the future looks even bigger and brighter as we dive into new partnerships and new opportunities.

Rogers High School – UGM partnered with Community in Schools to mentor at-risk high school students in Spokane. When the Student Impact Team arrived at Rogers High School for their second mentoring session, one student approached her mentor, shocked and with tears in her eyes. Asked what was wrong, the student replied, “I didn’t think you’d come back.” Rogers draws students from one of the poorest and most at-risk neighborhoods in Spokane. Through mentorship, relationships are built and students are encouraged in both academic and personal goals.

Juvenile Detention – Each week, volunteers hold Bible study for the youth at Juvenile Detention. Jerry McGlade, who has faithfully volunteered for 31 years, recently shared, “The kids are just kids who need love, guidance, parents, and the Lord…But for the grace of God, it could be me or one of my children locked up in there. I am more convinced than I ever have been, that the only hope for these kids, and the only hope for this world is Jesus Christ.” We asked the kids what they liked about our Bible studies, and one of the teens replied, “It’s one of the only times we can have joy in here.”

UGM Camp – It was an amazing summer with copious stories of redemption, healing, and restoration. (You can read some of them at blog.uniongospelmission.org.) The best part is that it isn’t over. “We are investing in kids’ lives and in generational transformation among various neighborhoods in the Inland Northwest, which we hope will bear fruit for decades to come,” said Director Ryan Brown. At camp, kids receive three good, healthy meals a day, they learn trust, and they experience what it means to be loved and valued. “God is doing a BIG work!”

Fast Facts:

• 150 at-risk youth were reached through the Student Impact Team over the 2014-2015 school year.
• Over 120 teens heard the gospel at Juvenile Detention; more than half came to know and receive Christ.
• 500 kids from nine different neighborhoods attended UGM Camp throughout the course of the summer.
• 125 kids made decisions for Christ at UGM Camp (and this newsletter went to print with several weeks of camp left!)

Thank you for all the ways you partner with us to care for children and youth in our area! ●