2023

Your 2024 Goals

It's Never Too Late to Set Your 2024 Goals

by Luis Magana, Partner Engagement Director

Have you considered that one-third (34%) of U.S. adult citizens planned to make New Year's resolutions or set a goal for 2024? If you're like me, you might enjoy processing ideas and plans for a while.

Perhaps you're still contemplating your goals for 2024, and what I found helpful is to reflect on what I have learned in 2023 and use it as a foundation for setting new goals. Allow me to open my heart and share with you my journey in 2023.

Often, people shy away from setting goals because they fear starting something they might not finish. However, goal-setting is a personal journey, and nobody should be supervising our individual aspirations.

The key question is how to set realistic goals and follow through. While there's no one-size-fits-all recipe, reflecting in what we learned in 2023 might help us to create a vision for this year. I think this has been instrumental for me to set my goals. 

Let me open my heart and share with you five things I learned in 2023:

  • Discipleship is not merely sharing a book but sharing life.

  • God's will is not always safe, but it's always the safest place to be.

  • We're not in a hurry - God's timing is never too early or too late.

  • Your political vote doesn't determine the strength of your relationship with Jesus, spending time with Him does.

  • God doesn't just want more of me; He wants all of me.

These lessons go beyond setting goals; they help create a vision of who I want to be in 2024. Whether your aspirations involve reading more, eating more healthy or spending more time with the Lord, be intentional in living your journey. 

What did you learn in 2023? What’s your motivation for 2024?

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.

2023 A Year of Challenges, Blessings, and Thankfulness

2023 A Year of Challenges, Blessings, and Thankfulness

by Mikya Wright, Children Ministry Apprentice


As we enter the new year, I am filled with such gratitude and appreciation for all of the people in my life. This previous year 2023 has probably been one of the craziest years in my life so far! Between graduating high school, moving out of my parents’ house, and starting a new job and college, there has been a lot of change in my life! With all of this change comes a lot of different emotions and experiences. I have been pushed and have grown in ways I was not expecting! While all of this change has mostly been positive, it is still sometimes hard.

I continually thank God for all of the people who have supported me this past year and still continue to do so! I am so grateful for all of my family and friends that have supported me through the transition from high school to all that adulthood brings. I could not be more thankful for this job here at Mission Adelante that has given me countless opportunities to grow and learn.

The opportunity to work with kids in my own community and lead programs that I once attended when I was little has been more amazing than I could ever imagine. I am especially grateful for my amazing supervisor and mentor, Carla Garcia, who leads me with such patience and grace and teaches me so much! And for mentors like Patrique Harris, Veronica Garcia and Kaytlynn Magaña, who I love doing life with! All of these ladies mean so much to me and have helped shape the woman I am today.

I am immensely grateful for all of the volunteers and program participants here at Mission Adelante! Without all of you this would not be possible, thank you for helping make our community a better place and spreading the love of God! As we enter this new year, I pray for guidance and safety for everyone from the Lord, and may He continue to bless you in 2024!

LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES?
JOIN US FOR VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION - JANUARY 13TH

Join our team of volunteers for the spring trimester and be part of "loving people from all places." Attend our volunteer orientation on January 13th, 2024 and find your place serving kids, youth, or adults in the immigrant community in KCK

For more information about volunteer opportunities visit https://www.missionadelante.org/orientation

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 volunteer Orientation. For more information visit: http://www.missionadelante.org/serve

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

Refugee Expansion Gets Real with Property Purchase and First Families in the Queue!

by Jarrett Meek, Founder/Pastor/Executive Director

Our plans to expand into refugee resettlement and acquire the adjacent properties are becoming a reality! We’re just a few days away from the end of 2023, and it is crunch time! We’ve seen tremendous generosity and support for our new refugee resettlement initiative and the acquisition of the adjacent properties to accommodate this expansion and our new programs. We’ve set a “God-sized” goal to raise $500,000 by year-end to purchase the properties with cash, and God has indeed responded. To date we have received $357,000 in committed funds— nearly enough to close with cash on the commercial property on January 5th. The closing for the residential house is scheduled for January 31st. We’re praying and still working on completing the $500,000 goal in order cover both closings and move into our renovation phase without debt. There are a few days left in 2023. This is our time! Would you consider making a year-end contribution, either before December 31st or by mid-January, to help us reach this goal? Gifts of any size are a big encouragement and help us towards our goal! Giving is easy at https://www.missionadelante.org/give

Our First Refugee Families are in the Queue!

Just before Christmas we received word about the first families we’ll be welcoming in 2024. Though we don’t have travel dates yet, we have received detailed information about each family and where they’re from, which has suddenly made this project seem very real! Here is a quick rundown of our first refugee families and countries of origin:

  • Family of 5 from Eritrea

  • Family of 3 from The Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Family of 4 from Sudan

  • Family of 2 from Nicaragua

If you’re interested in volunteering with our new refugee resettlement ministry, you may use the interest form on our website to let us know! https://www.missionadelante.org/refugees

LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES?
JOIN US FOR VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION - JANUARY 13TH

Join our team of volunteers for the spring trimester and be part of "loving people from all places." Attend our volunteer orientation on January 13th, 2024 and find your place serving kids, youth, or adults in the immigrant community in KCK

For more information about volunteer opportunities visit www.missionadelante.org/serve

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 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.