Our WorkConnecting, Coaching, and Resourcing
Connecting
- The church to the community
- Church to church
- Resources to needs
Coaching
- Encouraging ministries and ministers
- Training and capacity building
- By vision casting and strategic planning
Resourcing
- Identifying significant opportunities for Christians to serve the community
- Locating needed expertise and training
- By stirring up spiritual vitality in the Church community
"I never feel isolated and alone any more."
"No other agenda but relating and encouraging one another."
Sound Like Good Work?
Then we'd love to talk! We are always looking for gifted and called leaders to help us help others. Read more about opportunities to join with us.
“There are no losers in the arrangement... The caregivers tell me they are now doing what they have always most wanted to do—just practice their profession in a hassle-free environment. The care recipients tell me they receive more than ongoing care. They receive their dignity... The hospital wins by our taking the non-paying primary care patient out of their ER. In the process we save them an enormous amount of money and allow them to organize the ER to properly handle emergencies. The town wins by having a stable healthy work force that is no longer tax dependent but tax paying. Providing health care to the “working poor” is helping to transform the town into a community.”
Dr. Jack McConnell, M.D.
Founder, Volunteers in Medicine Institute
"...where I am connected to the larger body of Christ in the city."
Selected Partners and Projects
Dr. Ray Bakke
In early 2004, ABBA hosted a series of meetings and presentations early by Dr. Ray Bakke, the founder and Chancellor of Northwest Graduate School for the Ministry and President of International Urban Associates, for ABBA partners and area ministers. Dr. Bakke, who is a noted international missiologist and author of A Theology As Big As The City, helped the group cast a vision for city and community transformation in Austin, Texas. In addition, he offered suggestions on ways ABBA could bless the city.
Dr. Bakke will be returning to Austin February 10-13, 2005 for further meetings to encourage and coach area ministers and ABBA partners on community renewal and city transformation. Additionally, he will be facilitating a joint Missions Committee meeting comprised of the Missions Committees of Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church, Covenant Presbyterian Church, and Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church to enable them to cast a collaborative vision. Dr. Bakke will also be preaching on February 13 at Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church.
Community New Start (CNS)
ABBA continues to connect and coach this wholistic East Austin ministry to accomplish its goal of transformation in the St. John neighborhood. Community New Start (CNS) is a ministry of community revitalization closely based upon a successful working model from Shreveport, Louisiana. The Shreveport model has been one of former President Bush's "points of light" and has received funds from the Compassion Capital Fund appropriated by current President Bush.
CNS utilizes indigenous Christian leaders from its immediate environment to model Christian principles as well as train and mentor other residents of the neighborhood. Part of the ministry involves reading to and tutoring elementary and middle school children in an after-school program know as Smart Start, which is offered four afternoons each week. 150 children are enrolled for the upcoming Fall 2004 semester and 120 more are on the waiting list until additional tutors can be found. CNS also currently offers a three-week summer camp program for children in the neighborhood and 80 have enrolled. CNS has received strong endorsement from the school principals because the reading levels and testing scores of Smart Start children have been greatly improved. CNS also has 12 Haven House leaders, mature Christians who serve as block captains offering their homes for neighborhood meetings, Bible studies and mentoring.
» More About Community New Start
New York Avenue Christian Center (NYACC)
NYACC is a multi-purpose Christian Center in East Austin which offers neighborhood camp programs, Vacation Bible School for neighborhood children, a Christian women's job corps program with vocational training, as well as "urban immersion weekend" programs for a number of churches in Austin. NYACC is one of the ministries that are under the umbrella of MISSION: POSSIBLE! Austin, Inc.
ABBA continues to promote their activities and connect NYACC to churches in the community. ABBA participated in NYACC's 2004 Juneteenth Celebration where they invited various gospel groups to an all-day event.
» More About New York Avenue Christian Center
AISD/Austin Partners in Education (APIE)
This is a collaborative effort of AISD and the business community in Austin to simultaneously promote mentorship in the school system and beautification of individual school grounds. Because studies have shown that mentors have a significant impact on academic performance, school attendance and character building, ABBA underwrote development and production of a video to raise awareness and recruit mentors for AISD students in the fall of 2003. At the time, approximately 2400 mentors in AISD struggled to meet the needs of the 78,000-member student population. Since then, more than 700 new mentors have been added to the roll. And, numerous copies of ABBA’s recruiting and training video will be used by the city of Austin in its efforts to significantly increase employee participation in its mentoring program for the 2004-2005 school year. Furthermore, numerous additional copies of ABBA's recruiting and training video have been duplicated and will be used by the city of Austin in its effort to significantly increase employee participation in the city-sponsored program for the 2004-2005 school year.
» More About Austin Partners in Education
How Can We Serve You?
To find out how we can serve your organization, please call us at (512) 680-5007 or email us to set up a time to meet. To find out more about what we do, we invite you to read more about who we are.
Austin Bridge Builders Alliance
Connecting, Coaching and Resourcing
© Austin Bridge Builders Alliance
5608 Parkcrest Drive, Suite 330 / Austin,Texas 78731
(512) 680-5007 info@abbaaustin.net