How Do You Turn Church Inside-Out?
Lifepath Church has a strong history of desiring to make a practical
impact by helping others. This is reflected in our support of seven
missionaries both in the United States and across the globe, and our
decision to have our future facility in a strategic Cy-Fair location.
After extensive research into the needs of our community, we discovered one of the greatest opportunities is a pocket of Title 1 schools and students clustered in the southern part of the school district. In 2009, we initiated a school partnership with Tipps Elementary, a Title 1 school located in the heart of our identified target area. Our initial plan was to develop relationships at the school level by offering support and a listening ear to school personnel and students. As our relationship with Tipps grew, we learned another startling statistic: one-third (approx. 400) of Tipps' students reside in nine apartment complexes off of Timber Creek Place Drive. One of the best ways to establish long-term relationships with these students and families is to identify needs for services within their apartment communities.
About the same time, Lifepath embraced the idea that a Community Development Corporation (CDC) partnered with an anchor church was the best approach to meet the needs of our community. This model, taught by the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA), is being successfully used by other churches and ministries across the country. Lifepath's goal is to develop a CDC in order to make a deep impact in the Cy-Fair area and equip other churches to do likewise. In order to accomplish this, Lifepath formed a separate non-profit organization called Mission Cy-Fair. Lifepath Church serves as the anchor church for Mission Cy-Fair, but a separate board of directors oversees the day-to-day operations and functions of the organization.
As a direct answer to prayer, Jaw Equity, the owner of two properties on Timber Creek Place Drive, donated to Mission Cy-Fair a two-bedroom apartment at no cost with the purpose of developing an after-school program and various other activites. Although Lifepath maintains its partnership with Tipps, the after-school program (called "The Bridge" or "El Puente"), was developed by Mission Cy-Fair in collaboration with Nehemiah Ministries. Together with other Cy-Fair churches, we continue to strengthen this after-school program that serves the children and families in The Lake and Timberwalk apartments. "The Bridge" is staffed by volunteers from various churches and is open Monday through Friday from 4 to 6:30 pm for children who reside in the apartments.
The after-school program is the first of many programs which will be offered by Mission Cy-Fair. Through this partnership we have the unique opportunity to help strengthen relationships between the community, school district, apartments and local churches as we all work together to meet the practical needs of our neighbors.
