Empowering the Next Generation of Leaders

About This Campaign

Everyone needs opportunities to grow! At Family Empowerment Centers, we want to walk alongside youth & young adults to help them develop leadership skills as they serve their communities. These are some of the leadership programs we offer at our center:

• Greenhouse Residency 
• Envision Internships
• Practical Christian Ministry for Moody Bible Institute Students
• Football Leadership Camp

What is Greenhouse?

March 2024

While we may not be focused on growing plants, plenty of growth is happening! A Greenhouse Environment (GHE) is an intentional space to foster holistic development for deployment into faithful and sustainable Kingdom impact. Each quarter residents work through spheres of development where they work to discover more about God, themselves, and others; develop knowledge, skills, and experiences; and deploy what they have learned in their lives and focus on multiplying it to others. Greenhouse also provides opportunities to experience exposure to different types of ministries at Family Empowerment Centers/Redemption Church and around the city of Chicago. Overall, Greenhouse makes intentional space for deep discipleship and discernment of how God is inviting each resident into partnering with God in his mission.

Greenhouse Resident Interview

Why did you choose to become a Greenhouse Resident?

• Jay Calvin: I chose to do this program because I have served as a lay leader in ministry for over ten years and felt stuck and was not moving forward.
• Daniel Wright: I was wrestling with figuring out what God was calling me to in the city of Chicago, while seeing a need for deeper development.

What have you been learning during your last eight months through the Greenhouse Environment at Family Empowerment Centers/Redemption Church?

• Jay Calvin: Over several months I have learned new ways to deal with emotions, trauma, and everyday life. I have also learned how to be more open to talking about things and talking about them in a more positive way. Besides that, I have also seen how a church runs and how to do ministry in an urban setting. One way I’ve been able to learn more has been through our monthly north side pastor meeting and hearing how others are doing ministry in the city.
• Daniel Wright: Over the last few months, I have worked on two different spheres of development that have pushed me to think about time management with new lens’. First, I worked through silence & solitude where God showed me that I have a desire to be master of my own time. God met me and revealed that instead of fighting between my timing and other people’s time I am called to submit to His timing. Now, I am working through capacity, where I have been building tools around how to manage my time and energy to be faithful with the time God has given me.