Kids

Welcome to the team, Innocent!

Welcome to the team, Innocent!

by Patrique Harris, Youth Ministry Director



2024 has gotten off to a great start here at Mission Adelante! In January, Innocent Jean Marie joined our team as the newest Ministry Apprentice! In his new role, he will support Carla Flores and Mikya Wright in the Children’s Ministry, and me in the Youth Ministry. For context, Mission Adelante’s Ministry Apprenticeship is a one to two-year mentor-guided training program for emerging ministry leaders like Innocent. As a full-time staff member, Innocent will explore his calling with practical ministry leadership experience. We hope that this apprenticeship experience will equip Innocent whether he decides to pursue ministry further or for any career path he opts to pursue. 

Mission Adelante’s 2021 Summer Interns (from left to right – Shae, Edna, Innocent, Mikya, and Flori)

Personally, Innocent’s presence on our team has been further confirmation of the way God is moving in our ministry. I met Innocent almost three years ago when I first moved to Kansas City for the Youth Ministry Director role. Our incredible apprentice at the time, Ranjana, had a heart for refugees in our neighborhood from African countries and had developed a close relationship with several families, including Innocent’s family. 

Ranjana, Innocent, and Mikya performing a traditional Nepali dance during the 2021 Summer Internship.

Innocent’s family is of Congolese descent but due to civil wars, were forced to flee to Uganda. Innocent was born and raised in a refugee camp in Uganda and his family was ultimately resettled in the United States in 2017. After some time, Ranjana befriended the family and as she got to know Innocent she became committed to his growth and encouraged him to be a part of Mission Adelante’s Summer Internship in 2021. Her persistence is the reason we crossed paths with Innocent. Innocent ultimately jumped on board and was part of the first summer internship group I managed. Innocent thrived that summer. His jovial demeanor captivated kids and his confidence grew immensely! Ranjana’s influence empowered Innocent to use his gifts to serve others, and as God would have it, Innocent is now paying it forward by investing in kids and teens, just as Ranjana did for him!

Innocent and his guitar students at Arts Community

We are so thrilled to have Innocent on the team. You can catch him mentoring youngsters in Adelante Arts Community, Leaders-in-Training, Adelante Youth Club, Leadership Training Project, and even Latino Church! Join me in welcoming him to the team. Feel free to send a note of encouragement to his email – innocentj@missionadelante.org.

Be part of our programs!

We are so excited for everything that is happening in our programs and we are grateful for all our volunteers who make everything possible. Would you consider partnering with us next trimester?

How can you help?

  • Pray for our program participants would create an impact in our community and grow with their walk with the Lord.

  • Volunteer – Come to our Observation Nights. For more information visit: http://www.missionadelante.org/serve

  • Donate to join us in building a multicultural community of disciples making disciples.

Arts Camp 2023

Arts Camp 2023

by Carla Flores, Kids Ministry Director


Arts Camp 2023 was so much fun this year! It couldn’t have happened without the help of so many great volunteers, all our friends at Christ Community Downtown Campus, our super helpful staff, and Mikya Wright, our new apprentice. Each person played a key role in the success of another year’s arts camp. Thank you to each and every one of you! Here is a quick rundown of my highlights day by day: 


Day 1: Our first day of Arts Camp was chaotic and crazy but so much fun! Over 70 kids walked through our doors bright and early, had breakfast with their new friends, and settled into their first day of classes. Since it was Juneteenth, our friends at The Hope Center stopped by and taught our students about the meaning and history behind this special day. Many of our students had prior knowledge about Juneteenth but for many it was a first time learning experience. Thank you Hope Center for stopping by and sharing with us! For lunch, Leah and Zach Boal, donated over 20 pizzas for us to enjoy on our first day. They were a tasty way to kick off a great, fun week. Thank you both for the delicious lunch! 

Day 2: Our second day at Arts Camp was more settled as the kids knew the routine and schedule for the day. Mikya was doing a great job of leading the volunteers and ensuring all our students were having fun but also staying safe. The Mission Adelante building was booming with noise from our music classes, fragrant smells from our candle making and cooking class, and sticky messes from arts and crafts class making pinatas! Brad Gregory, a long time friend and volunteer, joined us to teach the students about jazz and woodwind instruments. The crowd of over 70 students and 30 volunteers cheered him on as he played a wide range of instruments. Thank you Brad for an amazing lesson filled with fun and great music! 

Day 3: Our third day of Arts Camp was crazier as we received 80 students, our biggest group of the week! The students began to wrap up their classes and begin preparing for their presentations. Caroline Meek and Rachel Warren stopped by and taught our students all about clay art. They currently work at Epic Arts Clay Studio and brought along many beuatiful pieces of clay art to share with the kids. It was an amazing time filled with learning and sharing all about clay! Thank you to both of you for dedicating your time to teaching the kids and inspiring them to continue on their artistic journeys. 

Day 4: Before we knew it a week had gone by and it was the last day of Arts Camp! The students arrived excited but nervous to present in front of all the campers and share all they had learned. They headed off to prepare for their big presentations and in the mean time I began grilling over 200 hotdogs for our potluck. While the students presented, I headed off to secretly welcome KC Wolf and prepare him for his big surprise entrance! The kids were so excited to see him as they ate lunch outside and enjoyed a big celebration after a long week of fun and learning. 

Overall, Arts Camp 2023 was an amazing experience for volunteers and campers alike! It couldn’t have been so great without the help of wonderful volunteers and donors. A special thanks to Mikya for her budding leadership which I had the pleasure of witnessing this past week and the amazing ways she loved and cared for each one of the campers. I can’t wait until next year’s camp!

LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES?
MISSION ADELANTE OBSERVATION NIGHTS ARE HERE : JULY 10 -13

Take a glimpse of what is going on at Mission Adelante and what we are doing in our different programs. This is a great opportunity to have the full experience of a Mission Adelante volunteer.

For more information visit: www.missionadelante.org/observe

Be part of our programs!

 We are so excited to start our summer programs and we are grateful for all our volunteers who make everything possible. Would you consider partnering with us this trimester?

How can you help?

  • Pray for our program participants would create an impact in our community and grow with their walk with the Lord.

  • Volunteer – Come to our volunteer Orientation. For more information visit: http://www.missionadelante.org/serve

  • Donate to join us in building a multicultural community of disciples making disciples.

SUMMER 2023

SUMMER 2023

by Carla Flores, Kids Ministry Director

The year is flying by and I can't believe it is already time to start thinking about Arts Camp 2023 and backpack week!
Last year, Ashley Delgado, our past apprentice, and I were blessed to host over 90 kids for an entire week during Arts Camp 2022. Volunteers from all over the metro area came together to help this awesome event come together. Amazing churches like Christ Community Downtown and Hillcrest Covenant supported us with supplies, volunteers, and food for our students to have breakfast and lunch.

This May, we will have Mikya Wright join us as a new apprentice and begin planning for this year’s camp! Together, we are hoping to reach our goal of hosting 100 kids from our community this summer. 

Every year as the school year is set to begin, we have the opportunity to provide backpacks filled with school supplies for our students. This helps them begin the new school year off on the right foot. Bible study groups, local churches, and generous people from all places gather to put these backpacks together for our kids. Our kids join us for the last week of summer program and are able to pick out an awesome backpack that same week! 

There are a few ways you can join in on this summer’s fun: 

  1. Join us for Arts Camp 2023! Anyone age 13 and up can join us as volunteers and help either lead/co-lead an arts class, set up classrooms, and prepare meals. Fill out this form if you're interested: https://missionadelante.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/126/responses/new 

  2. Help us prepare backpacks for this summer’s event! This is a great opportunity for a group to come together and support our community. We are in need of girls’ elementary backpacks, here’s a link to get started: http://www.missionadelante.org/serviceprojects/backpacks

  3. Join us in prayer! The summer is our busiest, most fun time at Mission Adelante. Youth from our community fill our building with life and vibrancy.
    Pray for our students to enjoy their time with us, grow in their faith and leadership skills, and make lifetime long friends. Pray for our leaders to be filled with energy to teach and guide our students, to stay healthy during such a busy time, and for God to continue working through them.

Be part of our programs!

 We are so excited to start this year and we are grateful for all our volunteers who make everything possible. Would you consider partnering with us this trimester?

How can you help?

  • Pray for our program participants would create an impact in our community and grow with their walk with the Lord.

  • Volunteer – Come to our volunteer Orientation. For more information visit: http://www.missionadelante.org/serve

  • Donate to join us in building a multicultural community of disciples making disciples.