Youth Volunteering & Internships
Every semester and summer we offer Internships and volunteer opportunities for teenagers and college students. Our interns and volunteers gain hands-on experience in ministry and community development by shadowing and assisting staff members. Interns and volunteers learn leadership, ministry, community development, and social justice principles through trainings, through seeing them in action, and through participating in them at ECM. We hope to equip and inspire young people to a life of missional living and to help raise up the next generation of ministry leaders.
Priority for Internships is given to youth from our immediate community, Albuquerque’s “International District”. However, we do reserve a spot or two each semester for youth from outside of our neighborhood who demonstrate an interest in ministry and social justice. We generally ask that teens who have not been involved at ECM in the past volunteer for a semester first before applying for an Internship.
Interns receive a small stipend at the end of their terms, but are not paid an hourly wage. Donors can sponsor an Intern by donating part or the entire stipend.
For more information contact Becky Johnson: beckstra11@gmail.com or 505-266-3590
“Learn to Earn”
“Learn to Earn” is an academic-mentoring program for children from our neighborhood ages 3-12 (3 and 4 year-olds must be enrolled in pre-school in order to participate). We track the students' academic progress, work closely with their schools and teachers, and connect them to free tutoring or other beneficial services in the community. We check in with our students weekly – as well as their teachers – and have implemented an incentives system; the kids earn prizes for homework, attendance, and behavior at school. “Learn to Earn” also sponsors a summer reading program.
Through this program, we are building strong relationships with our local schools as we together support the education of our community's children. Our staff, interns, and volunteers who manage the incentives system and help families navigate available services also serve as consistent, caring role models for the kids.
We always welcome donations of items to use as prizes, such as children's books, coloring books, markers, crayons, pencils, notebooks/journals, games, puzzles, little Lego sets, balls, etc. We also help recruit volunteers to tutor at our students' schools.
For more information, contact Becky Johnson or Ruben Duran: 505-266-3590
*Once our students become teenagers, they are generally accepted into our Internship program, which also monitors academics.
Youth Bible Study
Tuesdays 4:30-5:30 for youth in middle-school and high school.
Youth Activities
Occasionally we take youth from our community to conferences, retreats, college campus visits, etc, or host fun events.
Computer Lab
We have computers with Internet service available for youth from our community to use after school for homework purposes. Kids 12 and under must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
Childcare
We provide occasional childcare for young children while their parents are participating in a class or program at the ministry.
Partner Ministries
We share many mutual students with the following organizations and partner on various activities:
“JUNTOS”
“Juntos” is a weekly discipleship program for youth from Kindergarten through 8th grade in our community. High schoolers may serve as small-group leaders. Juntos also sponsors an annual week-long day camp in the summer.
“Escuela Luz del Mundo” (Light of the World School) is a nearby low-cost Christian middle school (6th-8th grades).
La Mesa Presbyterian, located just a few blocks away, sponsors an Arts/Music program twice a week after school for elementary students and a discipleship program once a week.