Community Ministries

Agape works with youth and adults in the Third Ward seeking to transform the neighborhood by preparing Christ-following, independent, community-minded leaders, creating opportunity for individuals regardless of circumstances.

Bridges International, a caring community of Christ-followers, serves, promotes social connections, and engages in spiritual conversations with international students in Houston’s universities as those students become leaders and return to their home countries.

Founded as a ministry of City of Refuge, the Forge invests in youth through mentoring, educational, and sports programs. Opportunities include mentoring students in the sports programs and volunteering in afterschool tutoring and character-building activities.

The Freedom Church Alliance combats sex-trafficking in Houston through awareness, prayer, prevention, education, and after care.

To show appreciation for our local Houston Police Department and Fire Department and our neighbors, Pipeline Supply Services, every Tuesday, we deliver goodie bags to them. Volunteers may join this weekly excursion.

Hope for Youth focuses on 6th through 12th grade students with Christian mentoring in a variety of settings including large groups, small groups, and one on one. Their monthly Friday Night Live event meets at City of Refuge.

In cooperation with the police officers’ initiatives to serve children, City of Refuge participates in the annual Back to School supply collection, Trunk or Treat Fall Festival, Share Your Holiday Food Drive, and Community Christmas Celebration. Positive Interaction Program (P.I.P.) meets the third Tuesday of every month, 7-8 PM, at 2202 St. Emanuel Street. We attend these meetings to support the police and befriend the residents and business owners of our community.

Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, an evangelical campus mission, serves students and faculty on college and university campuses nationwide.

Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, an evangelical campus mission, serves students and faculty on college and university campuses nationwide.

Receive college-level Bible training for free every Monday night right here on the City of Refuge campus. The Opened Bible Academy offers tuition-free, exceptional biblical and theological training to anyone whom God has given the desire.

Join other men to teach and lead worship every Tuesday evening with male inmates at the Jester 3 Unit. All are invited to join us for our Jester Prison worship services at the prison each Easter and Christmas season.

Desiring to close the educational gap and reach kids with the love of Christ in our community, City of Refuge works alongside teachers, parents, administrators and other partners to create an environment of hope for the students of Shearn Elementary. Reach 2 Teach Tutor/Mentor Program in partnership with Southwest Central Church of Christ and Weekley YMCA Wednesdays from 3:30 to 6:00 PM at 4011 West Bellfort. Volunteer tutors receive training. Students are identified and recommended. We offer one-on-one tutoring. Off-Site Sunday School led by City of Refuge volunteers at 11 AM every Sunday at Ashford Santa Fe Apartments. Operation Backpack in partnership with Weekley YMCA. We collect back-to-school needs in mid-July and concludes with backpack and school supply distribution to registered families at Shearn. Giving Tree Christmas Project in partnership with Weekley YMCA. Volunteers identify families, gather requested needs and wants of children, and notify potential donors, including City of Refuge. In December parents pick up the gifts while their children attend a Christmas party hosted by City of Refuge.

WorkFaith Connection, a Christ-centered non-profit, helps adults find and keep meaningful employment. Volunteers help by tutoring, encouraging, and assisting with Celebrate Recovery meetings.

Yellowstone Academy, a Christian private school in the Third Ward, provides high-quality education to children living in poverty. Previously housed in City of Refuge, the school serves children from low-income families with a program designed to deliver educational, spiritual, social, and practical resources. Volunteer opportunities include tutoring, listening to children read, chaperoning field trips, and leading Boy or Girl Scouts.

Young Life brings the good news of Jesus Christ into the lives of adolescents with an approach that is respectful of who kids are and hopeful about who they can be. Young Life starts with adults concerned enough about kids to go to them, on their turf and in their culture, building bridges of authentic friendship.