Breakout Prayer Topic: By The Hand Club Staff Session Leaders: Jamie Morris-Benoit, Assistant Site Director Altgeld Gardens and Latoya Pinson, Austin

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1 Breakout Prayer Topic: By The Hand Club Kindergarten 8 th Grade Session Leaders: Osen Imoukhuede, Site Director Altgeld Gardens and Sarah James, Senior Director of Program Operations Challenge: In this session we will focus on some of the challenges that our K 8th grade students face. A majority of our students struggle with low reading proficiency and comprehension skills which often leads to poor academic performance. There is also the need for more enrichment opportunities outside the typical classroom environment in diverse fields such as music, art, science and sports. Our students also lack access to positive role models, mentors and peer relationships who can model how to develop and maintain healthy social, emotional, relational and spiritual behavior. Reading and Comprehension Skills: Pray that our students will be committed to consistent use of our blended learning programs which will lead to improvement in their reading proficiency and ultimately improve their overall academic performance. Engagement and Retention of Middle School Students: Please pray that we will continue to create programming that is relevant to our middle school students and that we maintain relationships with students over the summer months between middle and high school when students tend to drop out of club activities. Relationship Building with Schools: Pray that doors and minds will be open so that the principals and teachers at the schools our students attend realize the potential and value in partnering with By The Hand Club. Conflict Resolution: Please pray that our students will embrace positive methods for resolving conflict instead of relying on unhealthy methods with negative consequences. More Enrichment Opportunities: Pray for more connections with community partners in diverse fields of music, art, science, sports and more. Our prayer is that our community partners will be excited about working with By The Hand to provide more enrichment opportunities for our students. Positive Role Models: Our students need role models who will encourage them to dream outside the box and see the wealth of opportunities available to them. Pray for more positive role models/relationships for our students and also for more mentorship opportunities. Improved Social Skills: Please pray that our students will see improvements in their ability to interact effectively with their peers and also with others. Pray that our students will experience significant increase in their self-confidence and self-esteem. Moving Everest: Pray that we would continue to improve the new school/after-school model to achieve optimum results for students mind body and soul. That we would have an excellent relationship with the school leadership and teachers. For new students and staff for the upcoming school year. That God will allow us to open another school/after-school every four years.

2 Breakout Prayer Topic: By The Hand Club High School and College Session Leaders: Rebecca Bognet, Director of Club For College Kids and Anwar Smith, Managing Director of Operations Challenge: Our challenge is that too many of our high school and college students lack vision and persistence. The temptations of the streets (gangs, drugs, pre-marital sex, etc.) pose a clear challenge for our high school students. Our high school students attend schools that spend more time policing and managing classrooms than teaching. They have challenges at home that make focusing in school very difficult. Our college students face many challenges as they navigate complex personal issues (employment, housing, pre-marital sex, family, etc.) resulting in not being fully prepared academically and socially for the rigors of college. Strength: That our students can stand against the trials and temptations of this world. Vision: That our students develop vision for their future. Goals: That they practice setting, meeting and evaluating progress on short-term/longterm goals. Academics: That our students are focused and prepared for and persistent with their course work. Home: That our students parents/guardians accept Jesus Christ as Lord and that they raise their children in the fear of the Lord. That parents/guardians provide a safe, loving, drug-free, Christ-centered home environment. Salvation: That our unsaved students accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, find good church homes and are discipled so that the enemy doesn t hamper their Christian impact on the world. Discipleship: For God to bless each of our students with a discipler who will be intentional in walking closely with the student, teaching them to observe all of God s commands and helping them develop into mature Christians who will then effectively disciple others. Purity: That our students develop God s perspective on the gift and responsibility of marriage. That His perspective guides them in making godly choices (pure thoughts and words, maintaining godly company/friendship, modesty in dress, abstinence until marriage). Intrinsic Motivation: For our students to acknowledge external rewards, but also develop a deep motivation that comes from within. That they not be too focused on money, praise or other incentives that will only fade away. For our students to gain joy and a sense of satisfaction in completing a task/meeting their goals. Persistence: That our students gain hope and patience. That they stay the course even when faced with challenges, delays and criticism.

3 Breakout Prayer Topic: By The Hand Club Staff Session Leaders: Jamie Morris-Benoit, Assistant Site Director Altgeld Gardens and Latoya Pinson, Austin Team Leader Challenge: This is a challenging job because of the spiritual, emotional and physical demands placed on each staff member. Our staff constantly pour out their lives to meet the needs of each student and therefore need to be built up and poured into on a regular basis. Work/Life Balance: Praying that staff would maintain a healthy work and life balance, being sensitive to and putting action to what they need physically, emotionally and relationally. Making sure they take time for family, friends, recreation, hobbies and rest. Staff Families: Praying for staff families, especially spouses and children. Praying that they would be supportive but also long-suffering and patient when By The Hand Club can be a little demanding on family time. Health: Praying that staff would take care of themselves, that they would be fully healthy for the work they need to do. Provision: That God would continue to provide for their every need. Purpose: Praying that they would passionately pursue their purpose with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. Wisdom: For difficult situations and with students who struggle in school, with their families, emotions, etc. Encouragement: That staff would have peace and joy in knowing that God is using them even if they don t see and feel it. Encouragement from God, staff, and students. Noticing the moments when God allows us to see growth in our students. Creativity: Praying that staff would be creative and innovative in the classroom, and creative in how they can encourage one another and their students. Spiritual Restoration: That staff would take time to read their Bible, pray, worship and spend time with the Lord. That God would renew their spirits daily. Spiritual Attack: That God would protect staff from the attacks of the enemy or help them hold firm in the midst.

4 Breakout Prayer Topic: Violence Among Youth Session Leaders: Sarah James, Senior Director of Program Operations and Anwar Smith, Managing Director of Operations Challenge: Today the violence surrounding our youth seems endless. Our students often walk to school in fear while parents are afraid to let their child go outside to the neighborhood playground. Safety: For our By The Hand Club kids going to and from school, home and By The Hand Club. Pray against rocks and bottles that often get thrown at our buses as they pass through the various gang lines. Pray that our staff will have the wisdom to mentor our students to stay away from gangs that so easily try to pull our students towards them. Conflict Resolution: Pray that our staff will have the wisdom to counsel our students on how to resolve their conflicts in a healthy way instead of fighting. Gangs: Pray for God s presence to be magnified in our students lives so greatly that His love will mean much more than the gang life. Parents: Pray for our parents as they work hard to keep their kids away from negative influences. Jobs: Pray for jobs to open up for our teens. Many teens need money to take care of themselves and their family. However, jobs are hard for teenagers to find. They see other ways to make money like dealing drugs, robbing people, stealing and hustling for money. Law Enforcement: Pray for the safety of our law enforcement in Chicago and that they are able to use wisdom and restraint, when necessary, when dealing with the community. Faith: For By The Hand Club to continue to faithfully serve in these tough neighborhoods, unafraid and unwilling to give up on young people that others may have given up on.

5 Breakout Prayer Topic: Education in Chicago Session Leaders: Michele Hoekstra, Senior Director of Learning and Martha Metcalfe, Senior Reading Specialist Challenge: In this session, we will focus on the challenges our students encounter in education. These challenges arise from their current educational settings and experiences, and impact their future education and perspective toward learning throughout the rest of their lives. Achievement Gap: Most of our students attend under-resourced schools. Students come to us behind several years in reading. They often need a lot of individual attention, yet are learning in overcrowded classrooms. Pray we would productively use time after school to bridge the achievement gap for our students. Student Trauma and Stress: Many of our students experience stressful and even traumatic situations and need professional support during and after school. Pray for our partnership with Cornerstone Counseling to address student mental health needs. Also, may God give wisdom and insight to our staff as they support students and families in these difficult circumstances. Student Motivation: Some students lack motivation to work hard and do well in school. Pray we would empower students to tap into their unique gifts and realize their potential in life through college and career. Partnerships With Local Schools: We partner with neighborhood schools at each of our sites. Pray for positive relationships with principals and teachers. May we be a resource, support, and blessing to the schools in our communities. Chicago Public Schools (CPS): The current teachers contract negotiations may fail and result in a teachers strike. This means most schools would be closed. Please pray CPS finds a workable solution that can benefit teachers and students. If a strike occurs, pray students would have places to go during the day to receive support, including By The Hand Club. Lifelong Learning: Some students struggle with intrinsic enjoyment of learning and reading, and may only see education as a means to an end. Pray for By The Hand Club to cultivate a love for learning and a culture of reading through rich resources, effective teaching methods, creative curriculum, field trips and enrichment activities. Summer Programming: Research shows there is a statistical loss of learning over the summer, especially for at-risk children. Please pray our summer program would keep students engaged in learning over the summer.

6 Breakout Prayer Topic: Expanding By The Hand Club s Mission Session Leaders: Susannah Schwarcz, Senior Director of Fund Development and Donnita Travis, Executive Director Challenge: By The Hand Club is serving 1,180 children today at five clubs in four of Chicago s most under-resourced neighborhoods. But, our streets are violent, schools are failing, families are broken, neighborhoods are faltering and our kids are perishing physically, educationally and spiritually. God is calling us to take more kids by the hand. At our newest location, By The Hand Club Moving Everest (ME), we will add 90 more students a new grade each year for the next seven years until we reach capacity of 810 students. Also, God willing, we will open another school/after-school every four years (2019, 2023, 2027). Wisdom: For God to go before us and lead us to grow according to His perfect will. That we would not get ahead of Him or lag behind. Political Environment: For favor with Chicago Public Schools, parents, churches, businesses, politicians and parents to open additional charter schools and protection from teacher union attacks. Infrastructure: We would have the physical assets and systems for support functions in place to grow. This includes everything from IT, Facilities and Finance, and related policies and procedures. People: We would have the staff and volunteers to serve more kids effectively. That God would allow us to develop our people better to fulfill their roles at By The Hand Club and that He would allow us to raise up people at every level of the organization for growth and succession. That our board of directors would remain godly, wise and committed as they lead the organization. Funding: For our operating revenue to continue to grow at a healthy 10% or more rate. That the Spring Benefit on April 28 would bring glory to God and be a huge financial success. For God to provide strategic growth funding to meet the operating and capital needs beyond our normal projected 10% operating growth. Specially, we need approximately $9 million in strategic growth funds to cover our 10-year projected growth in kids and capital. Cost structure Creativity and wisdom on how to be an excellent steward of the money that God provides. The ability to maximize use of financial resources and reduce our cost per child while increasing quality, expanding services and improving results of programming. For God to help us achieve our ultimate objective of serving more children with whatever funding He provides.

7 God-sized Vision: We see God s word flow through every By The Hand Club student to his or her home, school and neighborhood transforming Chicago