Missional partners

As a church shaped by the love of Jesus, our desire is to use the resources God has entrusted to our community to extend good news, develop a posture of generosity, and foster catalytic relationships of reciprocity and Kingdom impact.

Below are the individuals and organizations Reality Church Boston is partnering with in 2024. To help us support their important work and to help our church continue advancing God’s kingdom ourselves, we invite you to prayerfully consider giving to RCB.

THE BOSTON PROJECT

The Boston Project’s mission is to engage and equip neighbors, volunteers, and congregations to build strong communities characterized by God’s shalom. In alignment with the Christian Community Development Association, the organization serves a geography-based group of families and individuals in Dorchester.

The Boston Project partners with 10 neighborhood/civic organizations in the work of community development approach. Their youth development initiatives provide local youth with jobs, opportunities to serve the community, and safe spaces to hear about Jesus. Their adult engagement initiatives include leading trainings, helping older neighbors navigate the digital age, improving community green spaces, and convening leadership gatherings for civic organizations.

FAMILY Nurturing CENTER

Family Nurturing Center offers free programs for families in low income neighborhoods to help parents and caregivers improve their parenting skills and enhance the cognitive and social development of their children. These programs help to strengthen the family, build community, and provide children with the nurturing and engaging environments necessary to ensure school readiness, resilience, and long-term success.

Their unique curriculum Nurturing Parenting is used to train families and practitioners in neighborhoods throughout Boston. The 15 week program focuses on alleviating risk factors for abuse and neglect. They also offer a Nurturing Fathers programs in 4 different languages as well as a ParentChild+ home visiting program, which equips families with early education support. Other programs include Parent Child playgroups and home visiting programs to build parents’ skills.

Matt & alex, global entrepreneurship

Matt and Alex live in an under-resourced region in the Global South and aim to help locals run businesses that are self-sustainable, socially-impactful, and spiritually-transformative. They are passionate about empowering marginalized communities through equipping people to earn a living and conduct business with impact and integrity.

Their current opportunities include a potential partnership with a local organization that trains youth in job skills and meaningful storytelling. As part of their long-term commitment to serve in the region, they are also working with language tutors, taking classes at the local university, and building relationships with neighbors.

Melanie weindl, global aid network

Melanie works for GAiN (Global Aid Network) in Austria, which supports humanitarian aid projects in over 40 crisis areas around the world. They provide disaster relief, long-term emergency assistance, and support in transitioning these regions to stability and independence. Every year GAiN delivers over 800 tons of relief supplies to people in need in war and crisis areas, especially to children and social institutions (such as hospitals) around the world.

Melanie works as a logistics coordinator, building partnerships with organizations that provide supplies and organizing trips to deliver those supplies to regions in crisis. For instance, GAiN Austria has been able to respond to the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis by supplying people with essential goods such as food, clothing, school supplies, and hygiene items. In the coming year, Melanie will be stepping into new leadership opportunities, learning to work as a first responder and training others in first response aid.

Straight ahead ministries

Straight Ahead Ministries exists to see Jesus Christ transform the lives of justice-involved youth.  Over 1 million youth are arrested every year in the US, with 500,000 sent to one of nearly 1,200 detention centers across the country. Family relationships, community connections, education, and employment are all interrupted and negatively impacted. Straight Ahead believes that this time of crisis can become the first step towards a transformed life.

Straight Ahead engages relationally with young people in lock-up, offering faith-based programs and ongoing support for youth while they are in juvenile justice institutions and as they transition back into their communities. Their Straight2Work Job Readiness & Placement Program addresses the unique needs of high risk youth who want to get off the streets, break ties with gangs, stay out of jail, and begin to pursue a new future. This program focuses on practical, hands-on work experience along with character and leadership development. Their re-entry staff also matches individual youth with business partners in the community to develop resumes, interview skills, employment experience, and attain industry certifications to help them gain long-term employment in the community.

Church planting