VOLUME 17 ISSUE 2 FALL 2013

Pastor Ed Glover

Founder & President

®

Lives Transformed at Summer Camp

Shakes Student Story

UIF Singers “Moving Forward”

Volunteer Q&A: Ryanne Anderson

Students Step Up at Monday Nights

Summer Day Camp Results

Summer Day Camp Photos

Options Update

Weigand Scholar-ships Awarded

Steals Brothers Classics Concert

In this issue

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Imagine 130 elementary students singing and practically shouting this chorus to more than 300 family members and friends, who joined them in worship: “Because of who you are, I give you glory. Because of who you are, I give you praise. Because of who you are, I will lift my voice and sing, ‘Lord, I worship you, because of who you are.’” What a profession of faith! These words proved to be the theme of camp this year and illustrated just how mightily God moved in the lives of our summer staff and students. This summer, God was our provider. He reigned in victory. And He offered peace that surpassed all understanding. Every year, I am amazed by God’s provision. This summer, Coventry Cares, Grace Period, Peppi’s, and Bistro To Go came alongside us and offered their support. God also provided 40+ faithful college students that poured into the lives of our students. And God also filled our enrollment in only three days! God reigned victoriously by helping us

God Provides and Transforms Lives through Summer Day Camp By Amanda Wagner—Education Urban Missionary

PB4K Tailgate & Golf Outing Photos

Calendar of Events

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overcome academic barriers during the summer months. In order to build students holistically, we include academic and Christian education programming in our activities. One objective of camp is to limit regression in math and reading. Our end-of-summer assessments revealed that 95 percent of students in camp did not regress in math and 88.6 percent did not regress in reading. Most importantly, 50 students either gave or rededicated their lives to Christ! These confessions of faith quickly turned to action. “Being able to share the Bible with the campers and then see them demonstrate it in their relationships was powerful,” said Judy, a camp counselor for sixth grade girls. Even though it was a very busy summer, God gave us His peace and we praise Him for another safe summer. I believe God placed a shield of protection around us because He wants to defend His children. These little ones are so precious, as you will see in the pictures that follow, and they are His.

More photos on pages 6-7.

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There are many stories that I could tell that happened in Shakes this summer: God providing a theatre space, students going off to college, a tree falling on my head, bonfire moments, etc. But the heart of Shakes is best summed up in the simple story of Marlo and her friend, who just came to see a show. Marlo has been a part of Urban Impact for five years and has been in Shakes for all four summers. “Shakes was my first experience with the Christian life—what it means besides going to church every Sunday,” Marlo said. “At the beginning, I was lost and didn’t think I fit anywhere. With each year, I learned that I do have a place. God doesn’t have you here for nothing.” By the fourth year, Marlo had found her place as a Shakes student intern. Along with designing the hair, makeup, and accessories for this year’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, she played one of the lead roles. More importantly, she was a peer leader who set an example of hard work, dedication, grace, and love for the younger students. Marlo realizes Shakes is a unique ministry. “We’re the face of Christ for people who have never seen him,” she said. “It’s more than us giving a show, it’s us showing Christ.” Shakes is designed to be an outreach for the arts community. Rather than inviting seekers to sit in a church pew, Shakes brings the gospel to their theatre seat. Throughout the show, students share their personal testimonies. At the end, we relate the gospel to a theme in the show and invite the audience to accept Christ’s offer of salvation. We understand that coming to faith can be a long, slow process. Our goal is to meet each audience member where they are and nudge them one step further on their spiritual journey. For one of Marlo’s friends, that step caused her to accept Christ.

Marlo, left, with Eric Anderson, and another Much Ado About Nothing cast member.

By Eric Anderson—Performing Arts Urban Missionary

Shakes Students Sees Program Come Full-Circle

“When [my friend] said, ‘I did it! I prayed at the end!’ my mind kind of exploded. It was, like, the best show gift ever.” I could see the excitement on Marlo’s face when she brought her friend to meet me. Believe me, I was ex-cited too! I was able to get her friend a Bible and get her connected to a local church. It was then that I realized that the mission of Shakes has come full circle. We build into students so they can learn their place in the Kingdom. They grow and thrive. Then they go and make disciples. Marlo’s current mission field is her college campus. For most students, going off to college is a hard transition. But, add in the secular nature of her acting major, and it becomes even more challenging. Marlo has put herself in a spiritually vulnerable position by letting us share her story, so please join us in praying for her strength and protection. When asked, she said to pray for consistency in her walk with Christ, for courage, and for Christian friends. While you’re at it, I invite you to pray for that friend of yours who would never accompany you to church, but may just step foot inside a theatre.

Marlo, left, with members of the Much Ado About Nothing cast.

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On June 8, standing before hundreds of men, the Urban Impact Singers took the stage at ManUp Pittsburgh Dads’ conference for their first public debut of the summer. The song they delivered was “Moving Forward,” which brought hope and encouragement not only to the men in attendance, but for each of them as well. Throughout the summer, the lyrics of that song became an anthem for our group: “In You, all things become new. I’ve surrendered my life to Christ. I’m moving forward.” We’ve definitely done a lot of moving forward this summer as God has pushed us into new territory. God has also moved each student forward by developing their music reading skills and techniques, engaging in spiritual disciplines, and forming stronger bonds with each other. In three months, the group sang and ministered to well over 2,000 people at events such as community outreaches, youth events, and senior services where students led worship and even presented the Gospel! Another highlight was traveling to California to help with a Vacation Bible School program and to spread the word about UIF. For many of the singers, it was their first time

visiting California, flying on an airplane, and leading someone to Christ. With all of these new experiences and unfamiliar circumstances, the group continued to move forward in faith and trust. On August 3, the Singers closed the season with a Summer Finale Concert where friends, family members, and the local community witnessed how far God had brought each one of them musically and spiritually. Please pray for these young men as they transition to a new school year. Pray that God would help them to continue to move forward in all areas of their lives.

Urban Impact Singers Move Forward into New Territory

Matt Mason, a California native, had his first experience with Urban Impact as an intern at Summer Day Camp. As the music coordinator for Performing Arts, he is responsible for training the Urban Impact Choir and Urban Impact Singers.

By Matt Mason—Music Coordinator, Performing Arts

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Q: How did you get involved with Urban Impact? The short story: God’s guiding hand giving me a firm but loving push. The long story: After graduating from Pitt’s masters in social work program, I moved and the church I had been attending became a bit too far to drive to and was not located in my new community. A friend invited me to attend Allegheny Center Alliance Church. I became aware of how involved ACAC was in the local community and knew that this was a community of believers I wanted to be a part of. I read in the bulletin about opportunities to serve with UIF. When I recently went through a job change, I started looking to apply for jobs outside of Pittsburgh. As I was writing applications for these jobs, I felt an incredible amount of unease. I put the applications aside and started applying for jobs in Pittsburgh. I know that the Lord has called me to serve through UIF and the unease I felt was Him saying “not yet, I’m still putting you to work here.” Q: You’ve been mentoring RaKelya for a number of years. What does your relationship look like today? Initially much of my relationship with RaKelya (aka “Little”) focused on basketball, watching her play for school, coaching her through UIF, etc. Several years ago, she was in a situation and needed an adult to help her in that moment. She was able to get a hold of me and I showed up. I really think it was at that time that she learned I was someone she could trust. It was not much past then that we were able to start talking about choices she makes and starting to understand her walk with Christ. I have seen Little grow so much in the past several years and show greater respect for herself. She just recently approached me about beginning to work on a school project that is due at the end of this year. This is such a huge step, as she was once a kid who put projects off until the week (or night) they were due, often turning assignments in late. I am so encouraged to see her “stepping up to the plate.” Q: What has been the most significant thing you’ve learned about yourself or about God while volunteering? I am not by nature an incredibly outgoing person. I would shy away from anything that draws too much attention. While volunteering, I have found myself in circumstances that I would on my own RUN from and FAST! Many times, I have found myself saying “but I can’t, I don’t know how.” I have been so humbled to have the Lord say back “You can’t but I can. You don’t need to know how, I do. Trust Me, it’s about Me not you.”

Q&A with UIF Volunteer Ryanne Anderson

Coaches—Lead and invest in youth spiritually and athletically. Limited sports experience is ok.

Spiritual Growth Leaders—Lead Bible discussions and prayer with boys and girls from pre-K up to 12th grade.

Scorekeepers—Lend a helping hand by operating the score clock or scorebook during games.

Recreational Referees—Invest in youth while officiating at games. Some experience required.

Crowd Management—Invest relationally in youth and families while ensuring that a loving atmosphere is maintained.

Nurse/First Aid—Be a blessing when a sick or injured youth requires on-site attention. First aid certification is required.

Concessions—Interact with parents and students while running the snack bar at games.

Athletics Soccer Basketball Leagues Baseball Outreach Basketball Basketball Travel Teams

Ryanne with RaKelya (center) and other UIF girls basketball players.

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By Nate Glover—Athletics Urban Missionary

Students Share Testimonies at Monday Nights Program

Urban Impact desires to see young men and women won for Christ, grow in their relationship with Him, become equipped to then share their testimony and faith with others, and finally begin to multiply by mentoring others. This is a process that doesn’t happen overnight or even in a couple of years. The process of multiplication and discipleship is one where Christians must invest time, resources, and talent toward transforming an unbeliever into a disciple-making follower of Christ. One obstacle is that the results of a process are never guaranteed. The decision to love and follow Christ is ultimately up to the unbeliever. Likewise, his or her response will not follow logic but will be according to the Spirit of Christ. The control the Christian has over the situation is truly minimal and yet the investment is not. But the Lord is faithful and able to do immeasurably more than anyone could ever ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within. These obstacles pale in

comparison with what Christ is able to do through meager efforts and so despite how little the Christian can control the situation, it is not out of Christ’s control. This summer, some graduates and high school seniors who have attended UIF programs shared their testimonies at the Monday Nights program. These students talked about the life transformation they experienced and how the Lord works all things for the good of those who love him. Students who come from hard situations and live in spiritually oppressive environments are leading others to Christ in the very programs where they were led to Christ!

Nathan is a graduate of Grove City College and has spent time participating and volunteering throughout his childhood before joining the staff. Now as an Urban Missionary, he is helping to build relationships on the North Side.

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Summer Camp Stats

During eight weeks of summer day camp, 130 campers attended and participated in programming that focused on academic improvement, spiritual growth, and relationship building with staff and fellow campers.

In math: 95% showed no regression

In literacy: 88.6% showed no regression

“Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.” -Lady Bird Johnson

Amanda Wagner, an Education Urban Missionary and page 1 writer, pictured right.

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“Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.” -Lady Bird Johnson

Seth believes that God called him to urban ministry as an eighth grader at a middle school Bible camp. Many twists and turns led him to Urban Impact. Now he and his wife Niki live on the North Side with their five children and Seth is serving as an Urban Missionary and is the Director of Athletics.

At Urban Impact, when staff members talk to students about their futures, it usually sounds something like this: “We believe the Lord Jesus Christ has a special plan and purpose for your life. God created you for a very unique purpose that only you can fulfill. There has never been anyone like you before; there is no one exactly like you now; and there will never be anyone like you in the future. You were created to do great things for God in this generation!” It is always an exciting experience to see young men and women begin to believe this truth and live according to God’s purpose for their lives. Paul is a young man who started attending the basketball program. When Paul came to Urban Impact, it was obvious that his family had made a significant investment in teaching him to be a man of character. Urban Missionaries Nehemiah Brazil and Chad Braunersrither as well as volunteers like Eric Harrison, Greg Friday, Ron Steele, and others were also very involved in Paul’s life. They continued to encourage him throughout high school to be a man of character. This summer, it was a privilege to watch Paul demonstrate the fruits of all the investments in his character over the years by his family at home and his Urban Impact family. During the summer break from college, Paul had a full-time job at a department store and worked as a camp counselor at Urban Impact’s summer day camp. With two jobs, he worked more than 80 hours each week, but continued to show up each day because he felt called to give back to his community. Urban Impact helped Paul begin his career at Penn State in the fall of 2012. During the first semester of his freshman year, Paul was playing basketball and often had a hard time keeping up with the rigors of college. He realized he was falling behind and was not going to be able to keep up with his college studies. Paul made the very difficult decision to give up the game of basketball—a game that he loves to play—for the sake of keeping up with his grades. Despite making this decision, Paul finished his second semester with a 1.93 GPA, just short of what he needed to retain his $10,000 Pittsburgh Promise scholarship. In this moment of crisis, Paul showed he was a man of true character. He did not sit around the rest of the summer whining and complaining; instead, he kept working hard. Every morning he reported to camp before 8 a.m. and every evening and weekend, he went to the department store to work another shift. It was amazing to watch Paul’s resilience and determination. All day long, he

was with summer day camp students, teaching lessons, playing games, disciplining, leading Bible studies, and being a role model. He was working for as much enthusiasm and strength as he could muster after working nights and weekends at the department store. When he found out he fell short of the 2.0 that was needed, Paul was crushed. He felt hopeless and in despair. But he never gave up. He kept moving forward. Chad Braunersrither, who helps coordinate the athletics department’s Options program, came alongside Paul and began to go through the appeal process with the Pittsburgh Promise to see if they could make an exception for such an exceptional young man. Paul and the UIF staff began to pray and asked for God’s favor and His provision. They asked God to do a miracle and help Paul get his Pittsburgh Promise scholarship reinstated. Well, there’s some great news to share with you. God performed a miracle! Paul received a call from one of his professors who said he found a project Paul had turned in. It had been misplaced, and as a result, Paul had received a failing grade on that assignment. After the professor resubmitted Paul’s final grade, his GPA was raised above a 2.0, and Paul’s scholarship was reinstated. Paul was also a recipient of this year’s Weigand Scholarship. Praise God!

By Seth Reichart—Athletics Urban Missionary

God Performs a Miracle in the Life of an Options Program Student

Paul (back right) with his group of students at UIF’s summer day camp.

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2013 Weigand Scholarship Award Recipients

God Performs a Miracle in the Life of an Options Program Student

Donte Jones- Jeter Robert Morris University

Joshua Glover Geneva College

Dominaye Randolph Slippery Rock University

Shaquille Hager Penn State University

Isaiah Reeves Grove City College

Paul Currington Penn State University

Six scholarships have been awarded to qualified and deserving youth that exemplify the mission of Urban Impact and also the leading of Jesus Christ in their hearts and minds. The Weigand Scholarship Fund was established in 2011 as a result of generous donations by the Weigand Morning Star Foundation, Inc. and Premier Capital Advisors, among others. The scholarships are awarded to students that participate in Urban Impact Foundation programs and graduate from high school. Through Urban Impact, students can participate in the Options program, which helps them transition successfully into college, the workforce, trade school, the military, or the ministry. The scholarship is designed to help students transition after high school and help meet their financial needs. In the past three years, Urban Impact has awarded 16 scholarships through this program and looks forward to witnessing the success of each of the scholarship recipients as they live a life that reflects the active indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Past recipients include: 2012 Scholarship Recipients Isaiah Reeves Ebonee Grover Samantha Reynolds Shaquala Hager 2011 Scholarship Recipients Breann Ford Jeff Steele Donte Jones-Jeter Taylor Davis Tone Brown Nate Glover

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By Cindy Dell—Manager, Marketing and Communications

Forty years ago, Melvin and Mervin Steals captured in song those first heart-fluttering, mind-boggling feelings of youthful romance with “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” which became a huge hit for the legendary group, the Spinners. Melvin and Mervin are legends in their own right. Born and raised in Aliquippa, PA, they have written songs for numerous other renowned singers, including Gloria Gaynor (“Honey Bee” ) and hip-hop artist Chubb Rock (“Treat ‘Em Right.”) To commemorate their historic accomplishment, Melvin and Mervin Steals will present the inaugural Steals Brothers Classic Awards Gala at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture in downtown Pittsburgh, Saturday, November 9, 2013. The event will be hosted by Urban Impact and Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Ticket proceeds will benefit both organizations. The concert will open with a performance by the Urban Impact Singers, followed by an R&B repertoire of songs performed by Pittsburgh’s Johnny Angel and the Halos.

First Annual Steals Brothers Gala Benefits Urban Impact

Cindy plans and coordinates Urban Impact events, Play Ball for Kids sponsorships and associated events, and creates materials to inform and educate people about the organization. Although she works in the business office, she takes every opportunity to interact and build relationships with youth.

Scan to enter your video in the competition

Taking the stage after intermission will be concert headliner, Eddie Holman, whose timeless hit, “Hey There, Lonely Girl” resonates with all generations. The celebration will include a pre-concert VIP reception and award presentation to recognize artists from the Pittsburgh region who have made contributions to popular music and had direct impact on the careers of the Steals brothers. To help mark the occasion, local singing groups and singing group wannabes are invited to participate in a video contest to see who can come up with the best rendition of the Steals brothers’ hit song. For information about how to enter a video for the competition, scan the QR code below. Tickets for the gala are $50 for general admission and $100 for VIP, which includes the pre-concert reception. They are available through brownpapertickets.com. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the gala. Please contact cindy.dell@urbanimpactpittsburgh.org to receive a sponsorship packet.

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2013 Charity Golf Outing Diamond Run Golf Club Sewickley, PA

The Tailgate Party for Play Ball for Kids sponsors was held on August 10 in the white hospitality tent in front of Gate A at Heinz Field. The family-friendly event features a fun competition among the sponsors in a corn hole tournament. This year’s winners, pictured left, were Steve Kantz and Todd McElhattan, of Premier Capital Advisors. Steelers alumnus Jeff Hartings awarded the trophy. Pete Canovali, Premier’s President, above, is seated with his sons and twin grandsons. Sponsors attended the first Steelers preseason game after the party.

Tailgate Party Heinz Field

www.UrbanImpactPittsburgh.org Phone: 412-321-3811|Fax: 412-321-2369 | Email: info@urbanimpactpittsburgh.org

October-December 2013

CALENDAR of EVENTS

Urban Impact Foundation 801 Union Place 4th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15212

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Oct 5-6 Middle School & High School Choir Retreat Oct 13 Pastor Ed preaches at Christ Church at Grove Farm, 9 & 11:15 am services Oct 14 Connexions at Christ Church at Grove Farm, 5:45-9 p.m. Oct 19-20 Urban Impact Sunday at Grace Community Church in Cranberry Oct 26 Soccer Celebration at Allegheny Center Alliance Church Nov 3 Pastor Ed preaches at Christ Church at Grove Farm, 9 & 11:15 am services Nov 4 Final Night of Intramural Basketball Nov 9 Steals Brothers Classics Concert at 8 p.m. at the August Wilson Center Nov 10 Pastor Ed preaches at Christ Church at Grove Farm, 9 & 11:15 am services Nov 14 High School Boys’ Basketball League Banquet and Championship Nov 16-17 Children’s Choir performs at Allegheny Center Alliance Church, all services Nov 18 PB4K Appreciation Dinner at the Priory (by invitation only) Nov 21 Performing Arts Academy open house, 4:30PM-8PM at Union Place Nov 25 Urban Impact makes Thanksgiving dinner deliveries Dec 6 & 8 Light the Night Christmas Concert (choir performs, Pastor Ed preaches); program begins at 6 pm at Allegheny Center Alliance Church Dec 8 Pastor Ed preaches at Christ Church at Grove Farm, 9 & 11:15 services