Ministry Stories

The least, the lost, the ‘knuckleheads’

The least, the lost, the ‘knuckleheads’

Church-based nonprofit part of Raleigh-Durham Go & See

RALEIGH—When Royce Hathcock first felt God’s call to full-time ministry, he sensed God sending him to a unique, unreached people group.

Hathcock, who grew up in inner-city Phoenix, never setting foot in a church, met Jesus through a basketball ministry. “I was a backward white kid with no dad who grew up with Latinos and African-Americans. My mom always said we were poor, but we weren’t white trash.”

Re-Imagining the War on Gangs

The U.S. is populated with over 1.4 million gang members. Over 33,000 gangs are responsible for 80% of crimes committed and 40% of violent crimes. Every city in the U.S. with at least 250,000 people has gang activity. (Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics) Gangs operate by using violence to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal money-making activities, which include robbery, drug and gun trafficking, fraud, extortion and prostitution rings.

Despite decades of law enforcement and task force operations, the gang crisis continues to grow and have major impact in our neighborhoods.

Now is the Time for Urban Education Reform

Memphis Teacher Residency (MTR) believes reform starts with the teacher. A teacher is the key to a child’s future for they can have the most positive impact on a child’s life, other than a parent. They also believe teachers are professionals that should be trained as such.

Changing Lives Over Coffee (and Soap)

Harvest Hands ministry, founded by Courtney and Brian Hicks, has discovered a way to teach teenagers job skills and responsibility through coffee and soap.

It all began in a renovated old church in an under-resourced neighborhood in South Nashville with the goal of establishing after-school programs that would provide children in the area with positive role models while receiving support in school and healthy spiritual development.