INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW
A co-op of urban ministries serving together in greater Little Rock
PV fully supports Keith Lape an urban missionary through the River City Church. The larger collaborative network includes four, Christ-centered ministries. They endeavor to glorify the Lord by being faithful and effective ministers of reconciliation among people who chronically struggle with poverty and dysfunction. Their aim is to reconcile people to God and all His resources intended for human flourishing.
Ministries
Our four ministries are distinct, autonomous entities; one church (River City Church) and three nonprofit, para-church ministries (Silver City Ministry, River City Ministry, and Hand up Housing). All our facilities are currently located in North Little Rock, however our ministry influence extends into Greater Little Rock. The beginning of our shared history goes back to the mid-80’s when a small handful of believers from the Levy church of Christ started to actively share Christ and care for people in His name in a poverty and crime-ridden area of North Little Rock, without any grand strategic plan, they simply started knocking doors, offering bible studies, and doing youth outreach activities. In keeping with these beginnings, our faith heritage and practice is that of churches of Christ. Being an informal, strategic alliance of four separate entities, we have no formal name to identify us as a group.
Our Efforts
The scope of our efforts include…
● RiverCityMinistry(RCM)-homelessdayresourcecenter,food&
clothing distribution, evangelistic outreach, spiritual counseling, daily hot meal preceded by a 30 minute devotional service (Mon-Fri), housing resources and counsel, medical care, pharmaceutical assistance, dental care, vision care, mental health referrals, chemical dependency assessment and rehab referral.
● HandupHousing(HUH)-(servesundertheumbrellaofRCM)high- accountability, transitional, temporary, transformational housing for men, women, and families.
● RiverCityChurch(RCC)-aninner-citymissionchurch,proclaiming Jesus as Savior and Lord, disciple-making, providing a church family and culturally connected worship within the urban poor context, youth tutoring, youth ministry, christian youth camping, limited material & financial help, spiritual counseling, family enrichment, breaking down barriers of race and class, promoting peace and justice, providing advocacy for the disadvantaged, and cultivating Kingdom-covenant- community.
● SilverCityMinistry(SCM)—Sincethemid90’s,SCM’sheartbeathas been a Christ-centered, biblically grounded, youth-mentoring and empowerment ministry for young people who come from chronic disadvantage and poverty. Their youth mentoring program as well as their summer tutoring program operates out of the WingSong Church of Christ’s facilities.
● Summer Youth Initiatives – Both RCC and SCC make a strong effort to involve our young people in as much Christian camping and retreats as possible – knowing the tremendous potential for spiritual and character formation that can occur in these settings. We have taken advantage of these opportunities at both Camp Caudle and Camp Wyldewood.
● Internships&Apprenticeships-Raisingupthenextgenerationof Kingdom workers is woven into the fabric of our shared DNA. We, therefore, are always eager for interns and apprentices to serve and learn and grow with us for a season. The globe is now dotted with faithful and effective servants of Christ who have passed our way as an intern and/or apprentice.
Our Larger Network
Recognizing our limitations, and not wanting to reinvent the wheel, we eagerly network and partner with a host of other ministries, agencies and organizations in order to achieve the best outcomes for those among whom we serve.
Funding
Given that each of our entities are mission efforts, all of them rely on some funding from outside sources. We are funded by a combination of individuals, churches, and grants. RCC runs our basic operations largely from our own regular weekly contributions; however, to support our special initiatives, most of which are centered around ministering to disadvantaged youth, we rely on support from outside sources. Each of the four entities can address the specifics of their funding and finances accordingly.
Involvement
How can I get involved? There are a number of ways. Pray, we covet your prayers.
Ask, and we can give you a prayer list. Given the nature of our work, funding is always a need. So, if you are able and are so inclined, we’d gladly receive your support. There is also a shortage of manpower. There are always many opportunities for personally investing in the lives of people. It is most impactful when those investments can be regularly recurring in order to cultivate Christ- centered, transformational relationships. We find that mentoring provides a good environment for this to happen. Such opportunities are had with both youth and adult mentoring.
And, although group service projects are not the primary thrust of our ministry endeavors, they can be an important and helpful secondary support to our efforts. So, on a case-by-case basis, we can occasionally accommodate groups in a wide variety of ways.
Please let us know if you’d like to learn more about any of these opportunities.