Description of Programs
Crisis Pregnancy Center: This is a ministry through which we offer free pregnancy testing, STD testing, pro-life counseling, emphasizing the value of human life, and post-abortion counseling. Many of these young girls are unmarried, frightened, and living without God. Each client is given a clear presentation of the Gospel giving them hope for the future.
Runaway Shelter: We can offer housing for up to 72 hours, giving a runaway a safe, friendly place to rest and assess their plans for the future. We address their immediate physical and emotional needs and present the Gospel to them. We make every effort to reunite runaways with their families. If reunion is not possible we assist in locating temporary or permanent housing for them. We also refer them to agencies designed to assist with their other needs. The runaway shelter has afforded us the opportunity to witness to young people at a time when they desperately need God in their lives.
Ark Youth Academy: This ministry affords at-risk teens an avenue through which to complete their education. They are allowed to progress at their own speed in an atmosphere of acceptance and encouragement. Teaching schedules are customized to fit the individual student’s particular needs while maintaining the goal for each student to reach his/her academic potential.
Ark Baptist College: This is the most recent addition to the Ark ministries. The Ark Baptist College offers a 2-year Missions degree and other college courses for traditional and nontraditional students. These courses are taught by knowledgeable Christian instructors, and provide the students an opportunity to obtain a quality education. In only its third year of existence, it has proven to be a very effective program with outstanding results.
Mission Possible Camps: This ministry takes place every summer in North Carolina, with a subsequent church-planting journeyman program in domestic and possibly foreign locations. Each camp is a week-long training session where pastor-selected young people, who have expressed an interest in full-time Christian service, learn from veteran missionaries what life on the mission field is all about. They listen to preaching and practical training from missionaries who have been all over the world. They can reflect on God’s call on their lives and determine more clearly where and how God would have them to serve.
Church Planting Assistance: The Ark Youth Ministries coordinates and sponsors short-term trips to assist in church planting efforts. These trips are designed to give people of varying ages an opportunity to serve by participating in a concentrated effort to aid a church planter. These week-long trips provide the participants with opportunities for spiritual growth and self examination. The participants also see, first hand, the need for church planting.
Hastings Youth Academy and St. Johns Juvenile Facility Hastings and St Johns are youth detention center for boys. Brother Terry and Ark Staff holds a weekly Bible study and worship service for the inmates. We also conduct Biblical peer counseling and discipleship programs there. Many of the young men have come to know the Lord through this ministry. Several of them have since rejoined society and have gone on to serve the Lord and share the Gospel with others as well. We also provide care homes for boys leaving this facility with no home to return to.
Crisis Prevention Program: These programs take place weekly in high-risk, low-income neighborhoods. Through songs, Bible stories and scripture memory we teach these youths how to make decisions in their lives that will result in a better life. Principles taught pertain to morality, value of life, and respect for authority. These principles affect decisions young people deal with on a daily basis. For many of these young people, the only exposure they have to the Bible is that which we bring to them. We conclude each center with a clear presentation of the Gospel and an invitation to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. We have seen many young people come to know Christ as their Savior through this program.
Cartagena Satellite School and Outreach Programs: The Ark Baptist College has started a satellite Bible College for the men and women in Cartagena, Colombia. Crisis prevention programs like the ones here have also been started for the teenagers in Cartagena.
