Missionary Andrew Mann (middle) checks the work of Axel, a student who attends Graffi ti’s after-school program. Axel’s mentor is Jay (left), a senior who serves through the G.S.A.L.T. program at Graffi ti 2..
found tangible ways to share the love of God. “The impact here is not going to be short term,”
explains Andrew. “If we look day-to-day, we can get really frustrated. We have to look year-to-year to see change in people’s lives, and eventually it will be decade to decade to really see the impact throughout the community.”
SEEDS OF CHANGE
They are starting to see small seeds of change sprout- ing from the concrete jungle these three now call home. When Andrew needed more volunteers to work with the kids in the after-school program, he recruited the high school students and middle school students from the neighborhood. Today, 20 teenagers are involved in a ministry called G.S.A.L.T.—Graf- fi ti Serving and Leading Teenagers. They assist every day after school from 2:30-5:30 p.m., teaching and mentoring the younger kids. After they walk the kids home, they come back to the center for Bible study and help with their own homework. “A GSALT student is not your average Mott
Haven student,” says Kelsey, a semester missionary and associate director of youth ministry at Graffi ti 2. “Graffi ti gives them a safe place after school, they hear the Word of Christ and get loved on, and in return they are affecting the lives of younger kids.”
One of those students is Jay, who only two years
ago was failing out of high school. He started coming to church and Bible study at Graffi ti. In 2008 he gave his life to Christ. Andrew helped Jay’s parents get him into a better school. Now, the 18-year-old is looking forward to graduation and a future in fulltime ministry.
“Jay is a special guy, a young old soul,” says An-
drew. “He’s very dependable, loving and consistent with the kids in the after-school program.” Andrew has watched God work in the lives of several students and their families. “I can see how God is strategically planting seeds
all over the place,” says Andrew. “I believe the harvest is yet to come, and I believe the harvest is going to be more than we can ever dare ask, dream or imagine.” OM
Carol Pipes is editor of On Mission.
ACTION ITEM:
Take a virtual prayerwalk through Mott Haven at graffi
ti2ministries.org. Visit
onmission.com to view a video and slideshow about Andrew Mann and his ministry at Graffi ti 2.
ON MISSION • Summer 2010 31
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