O n any given weekday you will find youngsters attending Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill, not for service but to complete their homework and participate in other fun activities. Ministry in Action, a religious-based program that prevents young people from going into gangs and other criminal activities was created by Rev. Carl Callendar. Its many features include basketball, roller skating, track, bowling, dance, music, and other things that young people enjoy.
Russell Williams has been coming to MIA for five years, where he is a member of the Brown Memorial Roadrunners Basketball Team. “The reason why I keep going back to the MIA program is that it provides a fun and competitive environment for me and my teammates,” says the tenth grader. “Every Saturday morning there is a practice or game. On the weekends we may go to one of the other boroughs for games, or we have practices here in Brooklyn.”
In addition to basketball there is a teen summit interaction every Friday evening. Purely recreational activities in the program range from trips to Nets basketball games, picnics, trips to Six Flags Great Adventure, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Usher society, The Junior Choir to inter-church basketball leagues, and Sunday school. Once every month there is Youth Sunday where the congregation listens to the Youth Choir and watches Praise dancers. For the young adult males age 19-21, there is a basketball league, to keep the young men off the street after they graduate school.
Among the adult volunteers who support and teach the kids of MIA is Victor Joyce, one of the basketball team’s head coaches. “I volunteer as a basketball head coach and I mentor young teenage men in their academic school work, as well as helping them become responsible young adults by teaching them the values of having a committed relationship with God in their lives.” Mr. Joyce proves that MIA isn’t just making kids better it’s improving the lives of volunteers like him. “Working with young people has taught me the value of having enormous humility, which is needed in order to guide our young men and women on the right course. It has also given me a Godly sense of purpose, which is to teach our youth to be knowledgeable, respectful, studios, hard-working and most importantly to give back to the community, which is what I am doing with them.â€
After interviewing MIA members and visiting the site of the program it’s apparent that the goal of gathering young people who maybe lost to the streets and need something constructive to do is working. However, adult and kids alike believe that there is more to be done. “MIA can improve on the size of program, widen the variety of sports and other activities,” says Williams. “And, exposing the student to colleges so they can get a sense on where they want to go in the future.
The MIA program runs all week but most of the activities are during the weekend. Sometimes special activities are during the week if school is not in session. Ministry in Action is located at Brown Memorial Baptist Church, 484 Washington Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11238 or (718) 638-6121. MIA is a great program for young people who want to learn about the value of religious belief or just have something to do on the weekends.
