Love

City Church celebrates the coming of God’s Kingdom in Philadelphia everywhere we see it coming. Recognizing that the good news of that Kingdom finds its nexus in Jesus, many go out from among us on Sundays to help serve the needy through organizations that work to heal the brokenness of our city during the week. Below is a small sampling of that service—a few spotlights that allows us to see just where we as a community are following God’s lead to love our neighbors, helping to restore peace and wholeness where God has placed us.



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Beth Dyson & Young Lives

YoungLives is a program within the larger high school ministry of Young Life that is especially geared towards teen mothers and their babies. The girls are connected to older mentors who provide friendship, parenting advice and help in meeting the practical demands of raising a child. Once a month, at YoungLives “club” meetings, they all come together to have fun, build friendships, and hear a message about real life and God’s love. Dinner and childcare are a part of every club meeting.

A few years ago, Beth Dyson got involved with YoungLives after graduating from college. She had always known about the parent organization “Young Life” because several of her family members have been involved as staff-workers there. But it was the unique vision and mission of YoungLives that was really attractive and exciting to her. Wanting to help the YoungLives ministry grow in Philadelphia, she now coordinates the childcare aspect of their monthly club meetings in both North Philadelphia and Norristown.

Beth is moving to University City in the fall and attends a Center City small group. To learn more about YoungLives here in Philadelphia, email Beth.




Ginny Toliver & Jubilee School

More than three decades ago, Jubilee School opened its doors to its first class of four and five year-olds with the goal of providing a rigorous and comprehensive private school education that is affordable to all, regardless of income. Recognizing that Philadelphia public schools struggle with the effects of poverty, violence, and low academic standards, Jubilee provides an alternative environment in which the curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm that children begin with are kept alive throughout their school years. Jubilee now offers pre-kindergarten through sixth grade classes at 42nd & Chester Ave.

Ginny Toliver first heard of Jubilee about a dozen years ago when a friend, who was a teacher there, invited her to observe a student in her class who was having academic difficulties. With a master’s degree in education, Ginny has spent her whole adult life helping children learn – first as a teacher at schools such as the Phil-Mont Academy and Delaware Valley Friends School, and then as a private tutor for kids struggling with learning differences. Now she volunteers several days a week at Jubilee as a learning specialist, assessing and tutoring the students as well as providing classroom support.

Ginny and David live in Mt. Airy and attend the small group there. To learn more about Jubilee, or for volunteer inquiries, you can contact contact Ginny directly.




Dustin & Jenny Haferbecker & Hosts for Hospitals

Each year, thousands of people travel to the Philadelphia area seeking medical care. And almost every patient has someone travel along to provide support. Often these people, and even the patients themselves, arrive in need of convenient and inexpensive lodging. Since 1988, Hosts for Hospitals has helped to meet this need through a network of volunteer host homes that not only provide a place to sleep and a feeling of home, but also help save hundreds of dollars in lodging expenses for families that are already struggling with the difficulties of illness. Hosts provide for their guests so that guests can support their hospitalized loved ones.

Dusty and Jenny Haferbecker found out about Hosts for Hospitals through the Bartholomews, who are also participants in the program. After exploring a bit more, they were pleased to learn that the program screens all its guests, and that hosts can always choose not to open up their home at any point. Impressed with this degree of flexibility, and having just bought their home in West Philadelphia, the Haferbeckers took on this opportunity as an easy but very tangible way of helping out families in need.

To learn more about Hosts for Hospitals, or to volunteer, please contact Jenny or visit Hosts for Hospitals.




Laura Twilley & Big Brothers Big Sisters

In 1904, a court clerk in New York City was beginning to worry that more and more boys were coming through his courtroom. And so, recognizing that caring adults could help many of these kids stay out of trouble, he started a volunteer mentoring program. Now, more than a century later, as many children in our country continue to confront the serious risks of growing school drop out rates and neighborhoods suffering from poverty and violence, Big Brother Big Sisters (BBBS) steps in to develop mentoring relationships that have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of these young people.

Several months ago, Laura Twilley learned that her employer had established a partnership with BBBS. Every week during the lunch hour, kids from a local South Philadelphia school are brought over to the corporate campus to participate with their mentors in structured activities, to share a meal, or simply to hang out. Signing up with her co-workers, Laura saw it as an easy and worthwhile way of investing in the life of her “little sister,” who now, in Laura, has another adult to care for her, mentor her, and expose her to a broader array of options in life.

Laura and Gene live in South Philadelphia and attend a UCity small group. To find out more about how the Twilleys love their neighbors, check out her blog, jotting ajar.