Reverend Karen Wilson
TWJ Urban Initiatives, Chair
Church of God in Christ Urban Initiative
“Building healthy individuals, families and communities for a successful future”
DEPARTMENTS
• Education
• Economic Development
• Crime Reduction
• Family Life
• Financial Literacy
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VISION & MISSION
The vision of COGIC Urban Initiatives is to build healthy individuals, families and communities for a successful future.
The Message Behind the Vision
COGIC Urban Initiatives is the vision of Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake birthed out of his deep concern about poor academic achievement, financial disenfranchisement, high unemployment, soaring crime levels, the desperate state of the black man and the breakdown of the family that plagues our cities, small and large, urban and rural.
COGIC Urban Initiatives will assist our 12,000 churches within the United States by making available to them programs and strategies that address:
Education (Access, Excellence and Equity)
Economic Development (Job Training and Job Creation)
Crime Prevention (Reduction, Prevention and Rehabilitation)
Family Life (Developing Healthy Men, Women and Children)
Financial Literacy (Earning, Saving, Investing, and Spending Wisely)
Attacking the problem from these interrelated perspectives simultaneously will maximize the likelihood of success.
COGIC Urban Initiatives will provide all churches, regardless of size or location, with encouragement, inspiration, information, consultation and programs to achieve real and measurable change.
The bishop’s goal is to have one program for each initiative in place at each church. That’s 60,000 programs.
MISSION
The Mission of COGIC Urban Initiatives is to empower the local church to implement programs that address Education, Economic Development, Crime, Family and Financial Literacy. Those programs will result in measurable improvement in the quality of life for individuals, families and communities served by the Church of God in Christ. We will do this by identifying and replicating best practices from our churches as well as external resources, and making them easily available to all churches utilizing technology and other resources.
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EDUCATION
The Mission of the Education Initiative:
Our mission is to identify and make available programs that focus on giving individuals equal to access to an excellent education. In the long term, we will witness visible transformation within families and communities as men, women and children as empowered with the ultimate prerequisite to success—a good education.
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Mission of the Economic Development Initiative:
Our mission is to identify and make available programs that result in new jobs being created, and provide job training. In the long term, we will witness visible transformation within families and communities as individuals are given the means and the tools to achieve a living wage.
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CRIME REDUCTION
The Mission of the Crime Reduction Initiative:
To identify and make available programs that reduce crime and lower recidivism rates for past offenders. In the long term, we will witness visible transformation within families and communities as individuals learn to successfully navigate positive, alternate routes to securing food, shelter, clothing, inclusion and acceptance.
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FAMILY LIFE
The Mission of the Family Life Initiative:
To identify and make available programs that focus on improving the quality of life within the nuclear family. In the long term, we will witness visible transformation within families and communities as men, women and children are given the tools to achieve a thriving, productive, wholesome, spiritual family environment.
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FINANCIAL LITERACY
The Mission of the Financial Literacy Initiative:
To identify and make available programs that result in enlightened individuals who Earn, Save, Invest and Spend Wisely. In the long term, we will witness visible transformation within families and communities as individuals learn to develop and execute sound long term financial plans focused on creating, growing and managing wealth.
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