Urban Ministry

For a list of other current urban ministry volunteer opportunities, click here.

Urban Ministry at Thornapple:

Our Vision

To encourage and enable the family of God at TECC to make serving the "poor"* a lifestyle. By living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ we hope to help needy people find and follow Jesus Christ in the city of Grand Rapids.

"I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me something to drink, in prison and you visited me... Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." Matt. 25:35, 40

"But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" I John 3:17.

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done." Proverbs 19:17

Our Plan

THE LOVE IN ACTION PLAN is the framework that helps enable the TECC family to make serving the poor a priority. Regular service opportunities are offered in the city of Grand Rapids. Part of our goal is to ensure opportunities appropriate for individuals, and families with children, so that service brings families together.

Grand Rapids is blessed with a multitude of wonderful Christian Urban ministries, the "experts" in meeting the needs of the poor in our city. Rather than reinventing the wheel, we have committed to partner with a handful of these "experts" with our time, finances, and prayer.

If you are interested in knowing more about volunteer opportunities through Thornapple's ministry in the urban community, click here.  

THE GLENN VANNOORD SHORT-TERM URBAN MISSIONS PROGRAM

This program allows us to send students and young people from the Thornapple family to serve for a summer in the city of G.R. In the past few years we have sent many students to serve through a variety of partnering organizations. This program depends greatly on individual contributions. For more information on the Glenn Van Noord Short-Term Urban Missions Program click here. Karen Gerard currently oversees this program.

Below are the standards for how we choose community organizations to support:

1. Must be a non-profit organization.
2. Must serve the poor and needy in urban Grand Rapids.
3. High percentage of funds directly benefit the poor (low overhead).  The intent of this requirement is that the amount spent on administration and overhead is small. Salaries and other costs paid by the organization for individuals who provide services directly to the poor are not “administration and overhead,” but costs of those who supervise them are. 
4. Need for Thornapple support critical. We should favor organizations where Thornapple’s support will make a difference.
5. Volunteer opportunities available. 
6. Mission is Christian or consistent with Christianity. 
   1. The majority of organizations we support will have a Christian Mission. 
   2. The Urban Ministry Team, exercising its judgment, may support organizations whose mission is not specifically Christian, but is consistent with Christian faith. Examples include Kids Food Basket (feeding hungry children) and the Kent Country Jail Christmas Gift program (providing gifts for families in need). 

Do you have questions about Urban Ministry in general or would you like to join the urban ministry team?  Then contact Chuck Hahn, the leader of our team, at chuckhahn1@yahoo.com (see phone directory for additional contact information).