Inner Hope Youth Ministries
Within the Vancouver area, hundreds of teens are in need of a supportive home environment. Many are categorized as homeless or struggling to find safe, stable, substance-free places to stay.
The breakdown in the home environment or family unit is due to many reasons, including addiction, abuse, neglect, mental illness or multi-generational poverty. Many youth have one or more parents who are deceased, in a correctional facility or struggling with drug or alcohol addiction. Lacking direction and guidance in the home, a majority of these youth find themselves repeating these cycles from an early age.
The current trend and government initiative to meet the physical housing needs of youth is to dispense funding for these youth to live on their own, instead of placing them in foster care or group homes. This is related both to high costs for services and youth refusing to stay in government placements. In many cases, funding teenagers to live independently has not proven successful, but has rather created situations in which youth are being evicted from apartments, dropping out of school and becoming further addicted, perpetuating the cycles of poverty, addiction, abuse and dependency on the welfare system. However, this also creates partnership opportunities to properly provide for young people who desperately need a home. While the government has attempted to recognize the physical housing need, this cannot be separated from the emotional need for a home – a place of belonging.
Inner Hope Youth Ministries was established as a response to the sixteen youth who chose to reside with Carla and Jenny prior to Inner Hope’s existence. Our goal is to provide housing and support for youth living without places to stay or in places lacking the stability for functional living with the mentoring, programs and opportunities needed to break the cycles of addiction and social dependency.
Canada
“Provide hope to at-risk youth by living out Christ’s love in their everyday lives”
◦House – provide a safe, stable, drug and alcohol free home for youth needing housing
◦Support – fill in various adult support gaps for community youth
◦Teach (Life skills) – equip youth to break the cycles of poverty, addiction, welfare and abuse
◦Disciple – introduce youth to a relationship with their Creator and provide ongoing discipleship
1.We believe the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21)
2.We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1, 26a, Matthew 28:19-20, John 10:30)
3.We believe that Jesus Christ is God in flesh (John 10:30-38, John 14:6-7). We believe in:
◦His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23-25, Luke 1:34-35)
◦His sinless life (Hebrews 4:14-15, Hebrews 7:26-27)
◦His miracles (John 2:11)
◦His substitutionary and atoning death (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 2:9)
◦His resurrection (John 11:25-26, 1 Corinthians 15:4)
◦His ascension to Heaven with God the Father (Mark 16:19, Acts 1:9)
◦His personal return in power and glory (Acts 1:11, Revelation 21:1-5a)
4.We believe in the absolute necessity of spiritual renewal by the Holy Spirit for salvation because of the sinfulness of human nature, that all are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Christ, and that only by God’s grace and through faith alone are we saved. (John 3:16-18, John 5:24, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:8-9, Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5, 1 John 5:11-13)
5.We believe God will judge the living and the dead; those that are saved to eternity with God and those that are lost to eternal punishment (John 5:28-29)
6.We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Galatians 3:26-28)
7.We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit; it is by the Holy Spirit living in us that the Christian receives God’s power and is enabled to live a Godly life (Acts 1:8, Romans 8:13&14, Romans 8:26, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Ephesians 4:30)
8.We believe God created the heavens and the earth and that we have been entrusted by God to manage its resources. (Genesis 1:1, 28-30, Genesis 2:15)
9.We believe all people are created in God’s image and loved by God, therefore all people have equal value and believers are called to witness against injustice and exercise social responsibility (Genesis 1:27, Isaiah 58: 6-7, Micah 6:8, Matthew 25:31-46, Galatians 3:28)
