This ministry serves youth who are ages 12-24 with the purpose of providing opportunity for young people to be nurtured in a healthy community.  In order to reach these young people, Kwanzaa had to let go of some of the traditional concepts and models of youth development.  Many of the young adults are caught up in the street culture and leaders must appeal to their interest and involve them in the decision making process in order to reach them. 

The Nia Imani leaders focused on a group of young men who were caught up in the gang culture.  In this street outreach initiative, Kwanzaa asked them “what can we do for you?”  and “what can you do for the community through the church?”  They suggested that the church create a sound studio where they could create music and CD’s around their life experiences.  They were thinking that they could do something like “gangster rap.”  Nia Imani leaders negotiated that the young people would give the community some of their creative gifts in a positive message which must be developed in dialogues with the Kwanzaa community and professional leaders.  The  young people agreed and worked with the church leaders to develop topics for their creative efforts such as domestic abuse, teen pregnancy, responsible sexuality, violence, date rape, etc. 

They began working on domestic violence in January 2004.  Community professionals made presentations on abusive relationships and their impact on family as well as community  life.  Adults and children from the community came to meetings of the group and shared their stories of abuse in families.  The group went on a retreat and they shared their stories of being abused by parents or others in the family and how they just drifted into being abusive to their girlfriends. 

One young man had to take his four siblings and live on the streets at the age of eleven because of his mother’s abuse and attempt to kill them.  Today, at the age of eighteen, he is the father of six children with six different girls.  He is in his own cycle of abuse. This young man and his peers are the young people we reach through the Studio Club.  At Kwanzaa, there are no "throw away" people.

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2100 Emerson Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN  55411  Phone: 612-287-8152 | Fax: 612-522-5462