Recently our Executive Director, Scott Grzesiak, had the opportunity to share the work of our ministry on Moody Radio’s Karl and June Mornings. Listen to the segment below and celebrate two stories of transformation through Life-on-Life relationships!
Become a part of this work to build more Life-on-Life relationships!
The post GRIP on Moody Radio appeared first on GRIP.
Peter and Juan
What does it take to change the course of a life? Juan, a 14 year old freshman at Chicago Public School, Phoenix Military Academy, wanted to find out. Even more so, he wanted to see revival in his school—so he boldly took action.
Juan took the initiative and approached the school faculty with the desire to start a Christian club. He was quickly connected with Peter, a chemistry teacher at the school who supported Juan in his efforts. Though, it wasn’t long before Juan ran into barriers when inviting his classmates. “In today’s age, students are more keen to not want to hear the Word of God. They say ‘I want to do my own thing, and I don’t want anyone else controlling me.’ So the hardest thing was actually getting people to come,” Juan shares.
However, Juan and Peter continued to meet and one-by-one students began attending the club, which presented the next challenge—bridging the gap between Scripture and the daily life of Juan’s peers. That all changed though, when Juan discovered and began to experience the audio, video, and curriculum of the Streetlights Urban Multimedia Bible. “Many of the students didn’t know how to connect to Scripture, but Streetlights would use pop culture references to help the individuals understand how [Scripture] connects to our world today. The Streetlights curriculum helped me lead the Christian club,” Juan reminisces.
“At that point, I saw certain students awaken to their own brokenness and sinfulness,” says Peter.
With Juan’s boldness, Peter’s support, and the Streetlights Urban Multimedia Bible, two students came to know Christ as their Savior through the Christian club! When Juan started this club 5 years ago he desired to see revival. Now, after graduating from high school, and seeing the renewed lives of these young men and women from the club, his dream may one day become a reality in this school. Also, with the release of the new Streetlights mobile app, Juan is listening to Scripture on-the-go, and Peter is looking forward to sharing it with the students who continue to attend the Christian club!
The Streetlights Urban Multimedia Bible has produced two curriculum volumes to empower youth and young adults of all literacy levels to engage Scripture and grow in their relationship with God. With your financial support, we can create and distribute the third volume of curriculum, titled Faith Movement, covering Genesis 11-25 and the entire book of Acts, showing a young person what a walk of faith looks like in Abraham and what the community of faith looks like in the Church.
Become a part of this work to build more Life-on-Life relationships!
The post A Changed Life: Life-on-Life – Peter & Juan appeared first on GRIP.
One of the key ways to prepare and equip you for the upcoming year is the Life-on-Life Retreat. This retreat is required for ALL VOLUNTEERS and will be filled with important training, worship, team time, and more! Take a look at the retreat details below and click here to RSVP. We ask that ALL volunteers RSVP, regardless of whether or not you’re attending – this will help us know who we’ve heard from, who we need to follow up with, etc.
WHEN
Friday-Saturday, September 12-13, 2018
WHERE
Cedar Lake Ministries
13701 Lauerman St.
Cedar Lake, IN 46303
The post 2018 Life-on-Life Training Retreat appeared first on GRIP.
Demtria & Anna at Summer SLAM Bowling Event
It’s hard to miss the painful headlines that continue to flood Chicago this summer—72 shot, 13 dead—Bloody Chicago—and the list goes on. But we want to show you a different perspective of Chicago—one that often doesn’t make the headlines. Watch the video above to see how our students and mentors have been walking Life-on-Life together this summer!
GRIP Bubble Ball Event
Become a part of this work to build more Life-on-Life relationships!
The post Summer of Life-on-Life 2018 appeared first on GRIP.
2019 GRIP Fundraising Gala
April 27,2019
2019 GRIP FUNDRAISING GALA
The annual GRIP Fundraising Gala is taking place on Saturday, April 27, 2019. It will be an incredible evening filled with stories of hope, exciting entertainment, great auction items, and fun ways to support our growing organization. Join us as we continue the work of breaking the fatherless cycle!
Please come prepared to partner with us as we celebrate the transformation happening in the lives of fatherless teens all across the city and around the country. Registration is opening soon, so be the first to secure your space. This will be truly be a night to remember!
WHEN & WHERE
Saturday, April 27th
SILENT & LIVE AUCTIONS
You will have the chance to win amazing spa and sports packages, and vacation getaways that will make you the envy of the room!
ELEGANCE
Enjoy an evening at Chicago’s amazing riverside venue, the Swissotel. Come prepared for red carpet service, complete with an excellent meal, impeccable service and a press wall only rivaled by the Oscars.
VISION CASTING
Journey with us as we celebrate growth and life transformation! We invite you to share in the joy of what’s currently happening and looking ahead to the future as you join us for Made For More–GRIP Fundraising Gala!
REGISTER
Join us for GRIP’s Fundraising Gala and partner with us as we celebrate the continued work of breaking the fatherless cycle.
The post 2019 GRIP Fundraising Gala appeared first on GRIP.
Each of our programs and initiatives is created with Life-on-Life in mind. Our volunteer mentors connect with teens in Chicago public schools through our GRIP The School Initiative, but it doesn’t stop there. Each of our mentors is trained to do Life-on-Life with their student outside the walls of the school, showing them what it means to be a man or woman of God.
Watch the video above to see the stories of two of our mentor/student Life-on-Life relationships, Ito and Mesha.
The post Life-on-Life Through GRIP The School & Future Steps appeared first on GRIP.
Each of our programs and initiatives is created to build Christ-centered, Life-on-Life relationships. Moving beyond a once per week program to modeling what it means to be a man or woman of God while in our homes, running errands, playing ball, joining them for a family cookout, or studying the Bible together.
Watch the video above to see how we connect teens with adult Christian mentors!
The post GRIP’s Life-on-Life Model appeared first on GRIP.
We’re excited to announce that our new Streetlights mobile app has surpassed our goal! Within the first month the number of app downloads has doubled the industry standard. To date we’ve seen more than 12,000 app downloads! Thousands of people now have the ability to stream the audio Bible, experience truth in high quality devotional videos, and engage teaching materials on-the-go, at home, or in small groups. This allows for Scripture to get into the hands of more youth and young adults, regardless of their literacy level. Download it now for free on iPhone and Android devices at streetlightsbible.com.
The post Streetlights: Going Mobile in 2017 appeared first on GRIP.
Growing up without her father in the home, Iris has the odds stacked against her. In fact, 71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. By God’s grace, Iris is being raised by her mother and grandmother, but she still misses sitting down to dinner with both her father and mother to talk about her day, or how school is going. In the midst of this challenge, Iris is grateful to have met her GRIP mentor, Alexis, 2 years ago, and Iris is on a path to overcoming the odds.
And, this is no exaggeration. Alexis remembers, “When she would text me late at night with frustrations or problems she was having at school or at home, I knew our friendship was going deeper and turning into a Life-on-Life relationship.”
There was even a season last year when Iris’ grade in her first period class was declining because she kept oversleeping. So, Alexis started serving as her wake-up call, “I would call her early in the morning to make sure she was up and getting on the bus in time for class.” Alexis celebrates, “Now she’s improved her grade and gets to class on time without me calling her!”
Iris is grateful for the enormous impact Alexis has had on her life, “At one point I was scared to talk about God or hang with new people, but now all of that has changed. Alexis has taught me that there’s more to life than trying to fitt in or be something that I’m not.”
As a sophomore in high school with dreams of college, Iris is on her way to being an anomaly—among the small minority of youth who come from a fatherless home and don’t dropout of high school. Even more than that, the hopes Alexis has for Iris go straight to the heart. “I hope that I can be there for her graduation and help send her to to college. Most importantly, I hope that Iris sees herself as a daughter of God, and calls Jesus her personal Lord and Savior,” Alexis shares.
Become a part of this work to build more Life-on-Life relationships!
The post Wake-Up Call: Alexis & Iris appeared first on GRIP.
2019 BANK OF AMERICA CHICAGO MARATHON
Fulfill your lifelong goal of running the Chicago Marathon and run for GRIP! You have the opportunity to multiply the impact of each stride by running and fundraising with GRIP Outreach For Youth! With every step you take & every dollar you raise, you can help us do the important work of breaking the fatherless cycle.
Here are some ways you can be a part of Team GRIP and break the cycle of fatherlessness:
1) Run With GRIP! Looking for a Christ-centered ministry to support while you train for and run the 2019 Chicago Marathon? We’ve got just the team for you. The GRIP Runners Club is an amazing team that will train and fundraise together and spur one another on to 26.2 miles! What are you waiting for? Join the GRIP Runners Club!
2) Support a runner. You don’t have to run to be a part of the team. As runners sign up with the GRIP Runners Club, profiles will be listed on our site and you can sponsor those individuals. Feel free to check in weekly to see what new runners we have! See the runners below, and click to give to them.
3) Make a general donation. If you’re not sure which runner to support, simply make a general marathon donation to help defend the cause of the fatherless.
WHEN
Marathon – Sunday, October 13th, 2019 – 8:00am
GRIP CHEER TENT – MILE 14
Charity Block Party
Adams St. & Laflin St.
2018 GRIP RUNNERS
PAST GRIP RUNNERS
Emily Brown
Adam Chappell
Joy Chiang
Randy Cleveland
David Daniels
Jason Fredstrom
Josh Heikkila
Aadam Keeley
David Kelley
Chris Kojak
Esther Lee
Jeannie Letasz
Sammie Muzikowski
Onajh Porter
Rosalie Shyu
Kaley Simon
Mario Vega
Reimi Woo
Andrew Robertson
Brooke Roskam
Christina Trina
Gary Leung
Joe Canady
Josh Walberg
Karale Williams
Lauren Jackson
Melissa Andrews
Scott Rister
Susana Lopez
The post 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon appeared first on GRIP.
When Anari first walked through the doors of SLAM as an energetic 13-year-old, little did she know that was where she would meet her GRIP mentor, Sammie. And God would then use Sammie to change the trajectory of Anari’s high-school career and potentially her entire life!
“I remember the first time she walked into SLAM, she was super excited to be here!” GRIP mentor, Sammie reminisces. “She loves the games, and she loves participating and asking questions. We started hanging out outside of SLAM too, which really grew our relationship.” Anari says, “When me and Sammie hang out we just like to talk about school, boys, the Bible and things that will help me in my life.”
Anari was an exceptional student, and she found herself not being challenged at her school and experienced relational crises with her peers. Sammie walked with her through these struggles, and after working with Anari’s mother and grandmother, Sammie got Anari transferred to a new school. She’s now provided with a healthier learning environment and a better future as she hopes to attend college and dreams of being business partners with Sammie one day!
Anari shares, “I appreciate Sammie because if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be going to the school I go to now. If she wasn’t in my life, I would still be in a bad environment at school, and I wouldn’t have someone in my life to be there for me when my mom isn’t able to be available all the time. Sammie is like another mom to me! With my mom living so far away, she is also grateful for Sammie’s presence in my life.”
Anari and Sammie represent just one of over 114 Life-on-Life relationships taking place between our youth and volunteer mentors in SLAM! Support our youth below.
Become a part of this work to build more Life-on-Life relationships!
The post Advocating For Change: Anari & Sammie appeared first on GRIP.
2019 Life-on-Life Open
GRIP Golf Fundraiser
2019 Life-on-Life Open
GRIP Golf Fundraiser
Please join us for our 4th Annual Life-on-Life Golf Fundraiser! We’re excited to announce that the event will be a 4-person, 18-hole scramble at the Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. We expect a fun and competitive event. Purchase as an individual ($250) or as a foursome ($1000). Details are as follows…
Format: 18-hole, 4-person Scramble
Sponsorship: If your company is interested in being a sponsor at the event, please contact lauren@gripyouth.com with the subject line “Golf sponsor.”
Schedule of the Day TBA
WHEN
Friday, August 23, 2019
WHERE
Cog Hill Golf & Country Club
12294 Archer Avenue
Lemont, IL
CONTACT
Lauren Jackson
GRIP Outreach For Youth
312-563-5630
lauren@gripyouth.com
SPONSOR
We’d love to have you partner with us in sponsoring the Life-on-Life Open!
Contact Lauren Jackson for more details
lauren@gripyouth.com
GIVE NOW
If you are unable to golf, or you’d like to support a golfer, you can help us reach our goal by giving a donation of any size. Just click the red button below that says “GIVE” and under “Choose your designation” select “Golf.” Then you will have successfully made your donation to GRIP Outreach For Youth.
The post 2019 Life-on-Life Open: GRIP Golf Fundraiser appeared first on GRIP.
Lauren and Fern – SLAM 2015
Five years ago a 14-year-old girl named Fern walked through the doors of SLAM and met her Life-on-Life mentor, Lauren. At the time, Fern was struggling with anger and self-doubt, but after walking with Lauren for 5 years, Fern is now walking confidently into adulthood with a full-ride scholarship to college, and she has a job opportunity at Lou Malnati’s pizzeria. However, most importantly, last year she made a decision to confess Jesus as Lord over her life and is now walking in new life!
Fern is grateful for Lauren walking with her the entire way through her struggles and successes. Fern shares, “Lauren is like a big sister to me. Well actually, she’s blood now!” Lauren remembers, “When I first met Fern she had a lot of doubt. There were a lot of questions, and she still has questions, and we grow together, but last year when she made a proclamation of her faith and trusting Jesus, since then it just pours out of her.”
Fern interviewing with Marianos as Lauren watches
And when it comes to making decisions for her future, Fern has matured over the years, showing more confidence and actively pursuing opportunities.
When GRIP’s Future Steps program offered a job training opportunity, she immediately took action and has now completed all 4 training workshops, which included mock interviews, and sessions such as Keys to Being a Successful Employee, Work Ethic and Attitude in a Restaurant, Customer Service & Teamwork in a Restaurant, and Professionalism and Interview Skills. Now Fern is well on her way to competing for a job at Lou Malnati’s pizzeria through Future Steps and learning how to maintain a consistent job.
“I appreciate Tobi and the Future Steps program,” Fern says, “because they encourage me in my strengths, but they also tell me where I need help. Before the job training I used to fidget and stutter a lot in job interviews, but when I went to Future Steps with Tobi, I was like ‘Oh, I can do this’ and I just feel a lot more confident.”
Lauren and Fern – SLAM 2019
Even after all the challenges and growth Fern has experienced over the last 5 years, she knows this is just the beginning. Lauren shares, “I always tell Fern that there’s something really special about her and that she’s gonna do something really amazing for the Kingdom!”
You can impact more youth like Fern by giving today.
Become a part of this work to build more Life-on-Life relationships!
The post Taking Future Steps: Fern & Lauren appeared first on GRIP.
We’re grateful for volunteer mentors who are committed to deep Life-on-Life relationships with students! Rosalie, is just one of those mentors who is also running the Chicago Marathon for GRIP. While we’ve already connected an army of mentors with students this year, we are still in need of 30 mentors to build Life-on-Life relationships with youth! Will you join us?
Become a part of this work to build more Life-on-Life relationships!
The post GRIP on NBC Chicago appeared first on GRIP.
2020 BANK OF AMERICA CHICAGO MARATHON
GRIP on NBC Chicago
Interested in running the 2020 Chicago Marathon? You have the opportunity to multiply the impact of each stride by running with GRIP Outreach For Youth! With every step you take & every dollar you raise, you can help us do the important work of investing in the lives of Chicago’s youth.
Here are some ways you can be a part of Team GRIP and invest in Chicago youth:
1) Run With GRIP! We want you to put on your running shoes and train for the race you’ve always wanted to run – the 2020 Chicago Marathon. The GRIP Runners Club is an amazing team that trains together and spurs one another on to 26.2 miles! We’ll sign you up with CARA to ensure the best training and long distrance preparation. What are you waiting for? Join the GRIP Runners Club!
2) Support a runner. You don’t have to run to be a part of the team. As runners sign up with the GRIP Runners Club, profiles will be listed on our site and you can sponsor those individuals. Feel free to check in weekly to see what new runners we have! See the runners below, and click to give to them.
3) Make a general donation. If you’re not sure which runner to support, simply make a general marathon donation to help transform lives through Life-on-Life relationships.
WHEN
Marathon – Sunday, October 11th, 2019 – 8:00am
GRIP CHEER TENT – MILE 14
Charity Block Party
Adams St. & Laflin St.
2020 GRIP RUNNERS
You could be the first!
PAST GRIP RUNNERS
Emily Alvarado Dohm
Melissa Andrews
Marcos Avila
Amy Betts
Amy Bezold
Nicole Brandt
Michael Bruns
Josh Burns
Emily Brown
Joe Canady
Adam Chappell
Joy Chiang
Randy Cleveland
David Daniels
Mike Disher
Jason Fredstrom
Josh Heikkila
Lauren Jackson
Aadam Keeley
David Kelley
Justin Klinefelter
Chris Kojak
Esther Lee
Jeannie Letasz
Gary Leung
Susana Lopez
Sammie Muzikowski
Onajh Porter
Robyn Shapiro
Rosalie Shyu
Kaley Simon
Karen Steffans
Scott Rister
Andrew Robertson
Brooke Roskam
Christina Trina
Mario Vega
Elvin Velez
Josh Walberg
Jesse White
Karale Williams
Reimi Woo
The post 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon appeared first on GRIP.
Once you have viewed the entire training video, please complete this questionnaire so we can confirm you have done so.
As we pursue building Christ-centered, Life-on-Life relationships with youth, we must remain prayerful and Spirit-led especially as it regards sharing the gospel. We need to be able to fluently present the gospel which is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. Join our GRIP The School program director, Shawn Procter, as he creatively diagrams the gospel while identifying barriers and sharing pointers on gospel fluency in this 101 training.
The post Gospel Fluency 101 Training: Shawn Procter appeared first on GRIP.
When Anari first walked through the doors of SLAM as an energetic 13-year-old, little did she know that was where she would meet her GRIP mentor, Sammie. And God would then use Sammie to change the trajectory of Anari’s high-school career and potentially her entire life!
“I remember the first time she walked into SLAM, she was super excited to be here!” GRIP mentor, Sammie reminisces. “She loves the games, and she loves participating and asking questions. We started hanging out outside of SLAM too, which really grew our relationship.” Anari says, “When me and Sammie hang out we just like to talk about school, boys, the Bible and things that will help me in my life.”
Anari was an exceptional student, and she found herself not being challenged at her school and experienced relational crises with her peers. Sammie walked with her through these struggles, and after working with Anari’s mother and grandmother, Sammie got Anari transferred to a new school. She’s now provided with a healthier learning environment and a better future as she hopes to attend college and dreams of being business partners with Sammie one day!
Anari shares, “I appreciate Sammie because if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be going to the school I go to now. If she wasn’t in my life, I would still be in a bad environment at school, and I wouldn’t have someone in my life to be there for me when my mom isn’t able to be available all the time. Sammie is like another mom to me! With my mom living so far away, she is also grateful for Sammie’s presence in my life.”
Anari and Sammie represent just one of over 114 Life-on-Life relationships taking place between our youth and volunteer mentors in SLAM! Support our youth below.
Become a part of this work to build more Life-on-Life relationships!
The post Life-on-Life: Tyler & Elijah appeared first on GRIP.
When Anari first walked through the doors of SLAM as an energetic 13-year-old, little did she know that was where she would meet her GRIP mentor, Sammie. And God would then use Sammie to change the trajectory of Anari’s high-school career and potentially her entire life!
“I remember the first time she walked into SLAM, she was super excited to be here!” GRIP mentor, Sammie reminisces. “She loves the games, and she loves participating and asking questions. We started hanging out outside of SLAM too, which really grew our relationship.” Anari says, “When me and Sammie hang out we just like to talk about school, boys, the Bible and things that will help me in my life.”
Anari was an exceptional student, and she found herself not being challenged at her school and experienced relational crises with her peers. Sammie walked with her through these struggles, and after working with Anari’s mother and grandmother, Sammie got Anari transferred to a new school. She’s now provided with a healthier learning environment and a better future as she hopes to attend college and dreams of being business partners with Sammie one day!
Anari shares, “I appreciate Sammie because if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be going to the school I go to now. If she wasn’t in my life, I would still be in a bad environment at school, and I wouldn’t have someone in my life to be there for me when my mom isn’t able to be available all the time. Sammie is like another mom to me! With my mom living so far away, she is also grateful for Sammie’s presence in my life.”
Anari and Sammie represent just one of over 114 Life-on-Life relationships taking place between our youth and volunteer mentors in SLAM! Support our youth below.
Become a part of this work to build more Life-on-Life relationships!
The post Life-on-Life: Imani & Kelsey appeared first on GRIP.
When Anari first walked through the doors of SLAM as an energetic 13-year-old, little did she know that was where she would meet her GRIP mentor, Sammie. And God would then use Sammie to change the trajectory of Anari’s high-school career and potentially her entire life!
“I remember the first time she walked into SLAM, she was super excited to be here!” GRIP mentor, Sammie reminisces. “She loves the games, and she loves participating and asking questions. We started hanging out outside of SLAM too, which really grew our relationship.” Anari says, “When me and Sammie hang out we just like to talk about school, boys, the Bible and things that will help me in my life.”
Anari was an exceptional student, and she found herself not being challenged at her school and experienced relational crises with her peers. Sammie walked with her through these struggles, and after working with Anari’s mother and grandmother, Sammie got Anari transferred to a new school. She’s now provided with a healthier learning environment and a better future as she hopes to attend college and dreams of being business partners with Sammie one day!
Anari shares, “I appreciate Sammie because if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be going to the school I go to now. If she wasn’t in my life, I would still be in a bad environment at school, and I wouldn’t have someone in my life to be there for me when my mom isn’t able to be available all the time. Sammie is like another mom to me! With my mom living so far away, she is also grateful for Sammie’s presence in my life.”
Anari and Sammie represent just one of over 114 Life-on-Life relationships taking place between our youth and volunteer mentors in SLAM! Support our youth below.
Become a part of this work to build more Life-on-Life relationships!
The post Life-on-Life: Seniya & TaShea appeared first on GRIP.
