Ministry Spotlight: Summer Edition

Thanks to Coach Rick Barnes and the Winegardner Foundation, all gifts up to $250,000 are being matched through September 23, 2024. That means your donation will be DOUBLED in support of city young people. Give now … and watch the fun video below!

Young People Experience the Joy of Baptism

On Sunday, July 29, nine young people were baptized at Hillcrest Community Church, one of our partner churches in South Knoxville.

Alec Ross, who serves on staff in Emerald’s Calling & Career Ministry for high school students through young adults, shared this about the day:

In addition to my position on staff with Emerald, I’ve been the youth director at Hillcrest Community Church for about 10 years. Hillcrest is a small church in South Knoxville that has partnered with Emerald Youth Foundation for about eight years. Through my roles, I serve in a number of ways, including leading Bible studies on Wednesday nights with younger children, and serving high schoolers and young adults the rest of the week. There are so many highs and lows that come with youth ministry, but I can say our church has been blessed over the years with really good kids. Many of the youth come to church with heavy hearts and bigger burdens in life that I grew up with. We have had youth from all different kinds of backgrounds and walks of life come through our doors. The things they have all had in common was their curiosity for God.
To be transparent, we didn’t know that the young people were ready to make the decision to get baptized. God had truly put it on their hearts to ask about baptism. We had five or six of them ask separately about what it looks like to get baptized. God was moving in their hearts. We announced to our youth group that we would hold a six-week confirmation class through the summer. We told them if you were curious about baptism this would be a time to come and learn more, but there was no pressure. By the end of the class, we had nine young people decide to get baptized. God is doing amazing things in South Knoxville!
The day had come and everyone in the church was excited to celebrate. We decided we would recognize the young people during service but baptize them after service on the front lawn of the church. We had a moment after the service to line up in the empty sanctuary while the congregation waited outside. I remember they all stopped and looked at me right before we walked outside. I thought about all the Godly people in their lives that helped them get to this moment. I’ve always used the expression, “It takes a village.” All of the busy days in ministry with Emerald Youth and Hillcrest played an important part in these young peoples’ walk with Christ. Ecclesiastes 3 talks about the different seasons as a Christian. I hope and pray these young people always remember the feeling that they have in this season.

Variety Zoo Day

On July 12, 253 young people from 11 different Emerald Youth locations, along with 78 adults, enjoyed Variety Zoo Day!

Variety Zoo Day is a fun-filled day at Zoo Knoxville that is funded entirely by our friends at Variety of Eastern Tennessee. Children get admission to the zoo, a t-shirt, lunch, a carousel token, and take home a stuffed animal from the gift shop. There are lots of animals to see, an amazing playground, a fun splash pad, and memories to create!

Here are some words from Emerald Youth leaders about the experience:

Our young people had seen a carousel but had never ridden one! Lemonade, ice cream, stuffed animal and splash pad - what a delightful zoo day!

Variety Zoo Day is always my favorite part of the summer. It's well-organized and my young people walk around all day saying, “This is the best day ever!” Even though it's a long, hot day for the adults, getting to see the excitement on my young peoples' faces makes it all worth it. We can't wait for next year!

Zoo Day was so fun! Our youth had a blast. They enjoyed the animals and loved petting the lizard. Lunch was great, and they all enjoyed their burgers and hot dogs! Although it was hot, the ice cream and splash pad were both a huge hit and helped with the heat!

Calling & Career Summer Experiences

High schoolers and young adults had a meaningful summer with Emerald! Over the past three months, young people took part in eight different, 3–5-day Summer Experiences to explore different career paths and businesses across the East Tennessee area, including:

Public Service Careers: Young adults spoke with a police officer, teacher, and non-profit leader, and had trips and tours of the City’s Public Safety Building, the Air National Guard facility at McGhee Tyson, the Vine Clinic, and KUB.
“Understanding Business Development and Management”: Many of our young adults are interested in starting their own businesses. They met with local entrepreneurs, toured successful Knoxville businesses, and explored other post-secondary opportunities that might be appealing.
LaunchPoint: Located at the Strawberry Plains Pellissippi State Campus, our high school seniors participated in fun workshops and discussions to help them become more prepared for their next step beyond high school.
Social Media Branding: Students created their own advertising campaign, toured an advertising firm, and learned from leading professors at UT’s Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations.
Future of Hope Intensive: High school juniors and seniors stayed on campus at Johnson University for a week-long, faith-based program that provides an actionable framework to ignite hope, community building, and a longing for restoration and justice in their lives and the world.
StartingPoint: Our program aimed to help our high school rising freshmen transition from middle to high school, focusing on understanding high school requirements and recognizing the skills and supports necessary to be successful.
Intro to Trades: Young adults explored several trades through instruction and hands-on opportunities and post-secondary pathways necessary to gain an advantage in these fields.
Financial Literacy: Focused on the connection between financial literacy and reaching goals, young people engaged in activities including determining needs and wants, developing a budget, and identifying additional ways of earning an income in addition to a career.

Some words from Emerald Youth’s Susan Dalton, Program Developer - Calling & Career Ministry:

Summer provides us with the opportunity to spend more time working with partners to help high schoolers and young adults explore a variety of career fields and learn skills that set them up for success. Summer experiences match their interests and high-demand career fields to give them a real-life perspective of what these fields entail and pathways to get there. Our young adults hear from leaders in the industry, visit workplaces, and see what opportunities are available right here in Knoxville. More importantly, they are learning how their faith, career, and impact can come together to serve God and the community around them.

Elston Turner Basketball Camp

"When I see the kids, I see me." Elston Turner, better known as “E.T.” to his friends and family, grew up in East Knoxville and starred as a player at Vine Jr. High, Austin-East High and Ole Miss. He returns to Knoxville each summer to host his annual basketball camp at A-E.

Elston had an eight-year career in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and as a teammate to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen with the Chicago Bulls. After retiring as a player, he became an NBA coach, having served as an assistant coach for the last 20 years. He’s currently assistant coach/defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Elston Turner Basketball Camp teaches youth the fundamentals of basketball and helps develop life skills, and is a partnership with Emerald Youth Foundation.

This year’s camp hosted elementary players from July 22 - 24, and middle and high school players from July 25 - 27. In total, over 100 players from across the city participated!

Camp Highlights: