 Christy Craddock, left, is one of CBF’s field personnel serving in Miami, where she ministers to youth growing up in a neighborhood filled with challenges such as drugs, crime and violence. (PHOTO/CBF Commnunications) |
Over several months they’ve talked about life and how painful it’s been for this 12-year-old, whose mother died and whose father is in prison for killing her.
In an art class, Kevin drew a picture of a flower blooming from pieces of a broken heart. Craddock asked him what the picture meant. He said that even out of sadness and pain, something beautiful can grow.
In the Miami neighborhood of Overtown, one of the poorest areas in Florida, youth flock the Touching Miami with Love (TML) after-school program for its activities and to spend time with adults, such as Craddock, who care about them. It’s a bright spot in lives surrounded by drugs, crime and violence. Many of the teens live in substandard housing and attend failing public schools with high dropout rates. Yet they come to TML for something different.
“I am seeing young people make choices to follow Christ,” said Craddock, a native of Lexington, Ky. “They are choosing not to get caught up in the crime, violence, drug dealing, and promiscuity around them. Instead, they are choosing to open their hearts up to God and to allow God to mold their lives.”
Teens aren’t the only ones molded by this life-changing ministry. During a summer serving at TML in 2001, Craddock felt God calling her to ministry and social work. After earning degrees in both fields from Baylor University, including CBF partner Truett Theological Seminary, Craddock returned to TML in 2007 to serve through CBF in a two-year assignment.
As the ministry’s director of youth programs, Craddock is able to live her call to work with at-risk urban youth.
“God has given me a heart to reach out to and care for teens struggling amid difficult circumstances,” she said. “As I have built relationships with the youth over this past year, I am beginning to see several of the youth truly open up and share their lives with me.”
Their stories reveal the challenges many Overtown teenagers face. Their family was robbed and needs help. Their family is homeless and living in a shelter. Drug dealers ask them to make deliveries.
Two girls recently came to Craddock with news that their friend had been shot and killed. She talked with them about the emotions of losing a friend, and at the end of the conversation they prayed.
“After the girls left my office, I thought to myself, ‘This is why I moved to Miami,’” Craddock said. “’I moved here to be with young people as they deal with life’s struggles. I don’t have all the answers and I can’t fix their problems. But, I can offer them love, encouragement, and I can share with them that there is a God who knows their struggles and who longs to heal their hurts.’”
As vital as the youth ministry is, it couldn’t happen without support from CBF partner churches that sponsor the after-school program, special events, field trips and more. University Baptist Church in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables and Beaver Dam Baptist Church in Beaver Dam, Ky., have been significant supporters. But there’s always need and room for more churches to become involved, whether it’s mentoring youth or hosting special events or field trips.
“Our youth need adult role models who can pour into their lives,” said Craddock.
Through CBF’s Offering for Global Missions, TML receives funding for several staff members, including Craddock. Without financial gifts to the offering, which support many CBF field personnel, Craddock would be unable to live in Miami and serve among youth whose lives can be so significantly influenced through the presence of Christ.
“Without the funds from the Offering for Global Missions, I would not be able to spend my days working with youth in Overtown,” Craddock said. “It is an honor for me to work with [these] young people. Even in the midst of sadness and despair, truly something beautiful can grow.”
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Carla Wynn Davis is a writer for CBF Communications.