COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city.”
Jeremiah 29:7
In September 2022, we hired Naomi Desilets to serve as our first ever part-time Community Partnerships Director! Naomi is passionate about mobilizing the church to partner with our community to serve our community—especially the most vulnerable. Naomi is hard at work developing relationships and assessing the needs and strengths within our congregation and community. In the coming months she’ll be inviting us to get our hands dirty, and to discern together how God has uniquely gifted us to love our neighbors.
We are privileged to be able to partner with others to work for the good of the city! Here are some of our partnerships:
Grace House
The Grace House is a residential treatment program for mothers in recovery, and their children. We provide transportation to church, mentoring, enriching activities and other supports to the residents and staff. Contact Naomi Desilets to find out more or to get involved!
Straight Ahead Ministry
Volunteers share the love of Christ with students in lock-up facilities throughout the region through friendship and Bible Study. Find out more, or contact Marc O’Neil to get involved!
Refugee Resettlement
Northampton and surrounding communities have welcomed well over 100 refugees to the Valley since 2016. From 2017-2021, College Church partnered with Catholic Charities to provide a “Circle of Care” for a refugee family from the Congo. We are currently the Donation Hub for Refugee Resettlement in the Valley and continue to support refugee resettlement efforts in various ways. For more information, visit www.welcomehomenorthampton.org.
Find out more, or contact Keegan Pyle.
The Connection
Fridays & Saturdays, 8am-12noon
College Church has been in community with the homeless for many years: hosting a cot program, soup kitchen and free medical clinic and later serving a hot breakfast to bridge the “gap” when no other services and warming stations were available. We are providing a safe place for anyone to drop in and grab coffee and a snack, relax and recharge, make connections and find community at times when resources for the homeless are scarce. There are many opportunities to support this ministry: in person or behind the scenes, regularly or one-off. Click Here to express your interest and availability or email David Damsky.
Operation Christmas Child
Every November, roughly 10,000 shoeboxes filled with gifts pass through our campus on their way to children living in poverty all over the world. In addition, our congregation hosts an annual packing party where hundreds of shoeboxes are packed and prayed over before shipping!
Throughout the year, College Church partners with other organizations, including: