As part of the Community’s Endowment response to a moment of opportunity to make progress towards racial equity in the Holland/Zeeland community, the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) designated $25,000 of their 2020 funding for youth racial equity efforts. They received an overwhelmingly positive response to their request for proposals, which prompted them to commit an additional $25,000 of their 2021 funding and seek additional matching funds from the CFHZ Board of Trustees.
Maple Avenue Ministries was one of seven local organizations to receive funding from the YAC. Reverend Doctor Denise Kingdom-Grier has served as Lead Pastor at Maple Avenue Ministries for 12 years, leading a multi-ethnic, multi-generational community of worshippers who are committed to cultivating a sense of togetherness with one another, with their neighbors, and with the community as a whole. Pastor Denise’s role with Maple Avenue Ministries includes developing partnerships and pursuing innovative ways for the church and the community to work together to help the city flourish, often by elevating the voices of those who have been marginalized in public discourse.
She explained, “Maple Avenue Ministries recognized the need to embrace the changing racial and cultural dynamics of the neighborhood and committed to change with it. Our greatest challenge is also our greatest success: our commitment to be together wholeheartedly with our differences in backgrounds, worship styles, family dynamics, and aspirations.”
Pastor Denise describes youth development as being part of the DNA of Maple Avenue Ministries. The church demonstrates their commitment to raise up the next generation by offering education, literature, and opportunities for local youth. This array of youth-centered programs evolved from a single summer program called MAC Rec, a parking lot program that offered a safe place for children of all ages to play during the summer months. “We recognized there was a void. The church was offering faith development, and the schools were providing education, but no one was nurturing and preparing youth to recognize and respond to issues of social justice,” said Pastor Denise.
She shared that 50 of the youth who originally participated in MAC Rec are now teachers, pastors, and leaders in their communities. YAC grant funding will support four youth-led projects at Maple Avenue Ministries. The first is a project to resource transracial adoptive families with black and brown children by providing education and support. The second includes a culturally appropriate backpack including band aids, crayons, stickers, and books that reflect the color of Black and Brown children. Funds will also be used to build upon Maple Avenue Ministries’ Freedom Fighter for Justice middle school student initiative, which seeks to encourage racial equity and will expand to include young men (it was initially available to young women) and partner churches. A project to help educate and train young adults to perform first-person narratives of Black people for community and educational events like MLK Day, Juneteenth, and Black History Month will also receive a portion of the YAC grant funding.
As the only Black, female pastor in our community, Pastor Denise feels a strong sense of responsibility to help local youth leverage their gifts for the good of the local community, with a particular focus on racial equity.
“WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR OUR LONGSTANDING PARTNERSHIP WITH CFHZ AND THE YAC. THEIR LISTENING EAR HAS BEEN A SOUNDING BOARD FOR IDEAS AND THEIR REACH ACROSS SECTORS HAS CONNECTED US TO ORGANIZATIONS AND PHILANTHROPISTS THAT CARE DEEPLY ABOUT THE THINGS WE ARE ENGAGED IN.”
– REV. DR. DENISE KINGDOM GRIER
This article originally appeared in the CFHZ Spring 2021 Newsletter.