Our Model
Emerald Youth utilizes a neighborhood ministry model in our work with young people and their families across urban Knoxville.
Our desire is that we would engage young people comprehensively in three key areas: faith, learning, and health.
Youth development research is conclusive that in order to truly make a measurable impact, young people must be engaged holistically in all three areas.
Organizing our work by neighborhood means that our programming is structured by geography, rather than by program function. This ensures we are going deep with our young people and they have an opportunity to engage directly with Emerald Youth or with one of our partners in each of the three key areas.
It also allows us to build our programming around the key institutions that make up each neighborhood. Churches, schools, homes, community centers, and partnering organizations are all unique to each neighborhood, and our neighborhood work is built around those partnerships.
A detailed look at our neighborhood ministry model structure can be found here or by clicking the box above. For more information about our specific programs, please visit the following pages: