About Us
Urban Youth Ministry with the Navigators - Grand Rapids, MI
Our Team
Henry and Jacqueline Bouma
Aaron Collier
Walter Caballero
Tom VanderKodde
Sam Raak
Who We Are
Henry and Jacqueline Bouma are staff with The Navigators
We live in an urban neighborhood; training
urban teens to be leaders throughout their high school and college years,
helping establish them as positive Christ like role models and influencers in
their homes and communities. Teaching them to live and disciple among the lost
and raise up spiritual generations who will rebuild, repair and restore the
city.
What We Do
We believe we are called to walk with people throughout their lives, starting in high school and staying with them as long as they want us in their lives, teaching them what we have been taught so they can teach others. We do this through:
· Urban Youth Bible Studies
· Mentoring one on one
· Tutoring High School and College students
· Leadership Development
· Where U At? Urban youth Conference
· Teaming up with others who are going in the same direction as we are, such as: South West Community Church, Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association, The Edge Church, Cook Library, Grand Rapids Initiative for Leaders and others.
· Premarital counseling
· Marriage and Ministry Support Group: Six young couples who are working to keep their marriages healthy as they minister in the city.
Our challenge to
you is: Read Isaiah 61:1-4, then ask God how he wants you to live it out. You will find it is a great adventure!
Who We Serve
Why We Serve
Henry and Jacqueline Bouma
Most of the teens we work with don’t have a father in their lives; they feel hurt, abandoned and afraid. It goes beyond feeling unwanted; many of them don’t even know their father’s name. According to the datacenter.kidscount.org, 21% of kids in Grand Rapids have no father listed on their birth certificates!
They desperately want to believe that God is a good and loving father but having known only rejection from their own fathers it is difficult for them to trust God’s love.
Henry Bouma is staff with The Navigators
He lives in an urban neighbourhood; training urban teens to be leaders throughout their high school and college years, helping establish them as positive Christ like role models and influencers in their homes and communities. Teaching them to live and disciple among the lost and raise up spiritual generations who will rebuild, repair and restore the city
WHAT IS GOING ON TODAY
We believe we are called to walk with people throughout their lives, starting in high school and staying with them as long as they want us in their lives, teaching them what we have been taught so they can teach others. We do this through:
· Urban teen Bible studies
· Mentoring people one on one
· Tutoring High School and College students
· Leadership Development
· Where U At? Urban youth Conference
· Teaming up with others who are going in the same direction as we are, like: Roosevelt Park Ministries, Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association, The Edge Church, The Hispanic Center, Cook Library, Gril U Leadership and others.
· Premarital counseling
· And recently have been asked to do pre-parenting counseling with some of the couples with whom we did premarital counseling
· Marriage and Ministry Support Group with six other couples, who are working on keeping their marriage healthy as they minister in the city.
· Our challenge to you is: Read Isaiah 61:1-4, then ask God how he wants you to live it out. You will find it is a great adventure!
Aaron Collier
Walter Caballero
Tom VanderKodde
Sam Raak