“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory.” — Ephesians 3:20-21

This is Pastor Donny Martin here.

Yep — that’s me in the camo in the picture above, trying to capture a mountain sunset while surrounded by some of my favorite kids from our Chester neighborhood. But how did we end up on top of a mountain with a group of teens who rarely get the chance to leave their own blocks? Well, today I want to share with you that God is moving in the lives of young people in Chester!

And I speak for both myself and my wife, Rachelle, when I say that ministering to these kids has been one of the deepest privileges we’ve ever known — not just in ministry, but in life.

These teens (and others not pictured!) live within a four-block radius of the church. Many are on the same street as the 44 House. Their sidewalks are our sidewalks. Their blocks are our blocks. And their stories? They’re not easy ones.

Four years ago, before we started the homework club, a lot of these kids were just roaming the neighborhood after school. If you know Chester at all, you know that’s not exactly the safest way to spend an afternoon. In fact, I know for certain that one of these kids was already being groomed by a local drug dealer when we first met him.

And that’s why this ministry matters. And it might sound dramatic, but God is literally giving us an opportunity to change kid’s lives right now.

Which brings me back to that mountaintop. Just a couple of months ago — after years of showing up, building trust, and sharing life — Rachelle and I had the chance to take several of them on a long hike to a summit where they saw a kind of beauty, and a glimpse of God’s glory, many of them had never experienced before.

FOUR YEARS AGO…

It’s hard to believe that four years ago, when we opened the doors to host a homework club in Chester, a few neighborhood kids walked in who we’d have the privilege of knowing for years to come.

Back then, some of those young students — just looking for somewhere to go after school—came in ready for a fight (not kidding!), and we did our best to meet them with patience and love. I won’t pretend it was easy. Showing up week after week for street-hardened kids takes endurance. They’ve grown up around things no kid should have to call “normal” — poverty, one of the most under-resourced school districts in the state, drugs sold on corners, and sadly, violence of every kind.

Over time, however, we’ve been privileged to see what happens when kids are planted, watered, and loved. These students are growing up in some of the hardest circumstances and somehow their hearts are getting softer toward God, not harder.

This isn’t our doing — we simply opened the doors.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW

What started as an afterschool homework club has grown into something we never could have planned…

A yearly trip to summer camp (shoutout to Inspire Sports Camp in the Poconos!)
A youth group for teens
Students taking turns leading youth group
And a church building now filled with kids constantly asking for snacks…

They come to church. They come to events. They volunteer. Sometimes they just show up at our house like it’s a second living room. And we get to talk to them about God all the time.

For starters, the Gospel is preached every week at homework club, but some of the most important moments happen in my office — which has basically become a drop-in center for teenagers with big questions and bigger life situations. We talk about anger, fear, family life, school, temptation – the list goes on.

And some of the most meaningful discipleship happens when you get kids out of their normal environment and into God’s creation, which is why we make it a priority to take these students out of Chester whenever we can.

Which brings us back to that West Virginia mountaintop: five kids, our ministry intern Judah, and two cars later, we paid and parked and hiked to an overlook. On the mountaintop we cooked pounds of ramen on a camp stove and shared a devotional together.

Watching these kids experience that kind of quiet, beauty, and space to breathe — some for the first time — was really powerful.

And something shifted that day. They weren’t just kids from the same tough streets anymore. They were young men and women walking together, talking about God, and seeing a bigger world than the one they’ve grown up in.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Almost every student who’s been with us a year or more — especially those who’ve gone to camp — has made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

But one story I’ll never forget started at a summer block party. One young girl came for the Slip ’N Slide and ended up sitting down to hear the gospel presentation.

When we gave an invitation for baptism, she came forward. I pulled her aside to make sure she knew what it all meant. I joked that it wasn’t just about getting in a pool because it’s hot out. I explained baptism and told her to go home, think, and pray about it. I said if she still wanted to be baptized, she could come to the next block party.

When we held the next block party a month later, she was the first one in line to be baptized.

So, how was year ONE of Homework Club? Well, that felt like breaking up hard ground. And literal fights. That and settling arguments and walking kids home so they didn’t wander into trouble.

But what about year FOUR of Homework Club? So many of those same kids still show up at Greenhouse. Three of our original crew are now freshman student leaders. In a couple weeks, they’ll be sharing their testimonies with younger students who are exactly where they used to be. As I write this, I’m honestly in awe.

Can you imagine where these kids will be four years from now? Some will be starting careers, some continuing education, and maybe even some will have families of their own. It’s our prayer that these guys will be solid, sold-out believers in Jesus not just four years from now, but forever. And that’s why we’re spending our days, evenings, and weekends with them!

HOW YOU CAN PRAY

What these kids are exposed to daily is dark and destructive. The pull back toward old patterns, old pressures, and old voices is real. But we trust a God who loves them more than we do — a God who paid the highest price to rescue them from sin and death.

Pray for protection for them.
Pray we would have His heart, patience, and wisdom toward them.
Pray for grace to minister well as more kids come alongside us. We could really use some more people who feel called to step into this work.
Pray we’d have the faith to trust Him for what’s next.
And, finally, maybe pray that we can get a church van too!