Who is DayBreak?
DayBreak is an inner city ministry serving the community Lincoln Heights in northeast Washington, DC.
Our Vision
"To transform families by equipping and empowering individuals to live as fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ."
Our Mission
"To develop fully functioning inner city children and youth through Christian outreach, discipleship and education."
Beginnings
DayBreak started in the fall of 2001. MBC Times reporter Anne Lee documented the early starts of the ministry in her article, "DayBreak: Bringing Rays of Hope to a DC Community" which was found in the May/June 2003 edition.
"The Mighty hand of God is moving in a small but growing ministry called DayBreak. A dedicated group of young adults from the Gathering are ministering to the youth in Lincoln Heights, Washington, DC impacting them with the life of Christ. Lincoln Heights is a community characterized by drugs, poverty, and crime. Within a very short period of time, the DayBreak Ministry has experienced tremendous growth and vision. The passion for this ministry was started in the heart of a Pennsylvania native named Julia Harper.
Having grown up as a part of a youth group in downtown Pittsburgh, Julia Harper is no stranger to the hardships and challenges of life in the inner city. As a college student, she was led to join a ministry team that targeted the homeless and drug addicted. Through this ministry experience, Julia felt God developing a calling for inner city ministry within her.
After graduating with a degree in teaching, Julia was eager to dive into the education field, but opportunities were few and far between in Pittsburgh. This led her a few hundred miles south to Prince George's County, MD, and area that was seeking teachers. Julia was offered a position and was required to begin in one and a half weeks time.
Once at MBC, Julia joined the Gathering, leading various service projects. However, it was not until she met Dale Sutherland, a DC police officer familiar with the Lincoln Heights area, that Julia was introduced to the people who would become foremost in her heart. Dale recognized a need for God's love in this community and shared this need with Julia. Julia partnered with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) and recruited fellow Gathering members to go into the community to pass out Wonder Books about the Gospel message. While there, she encountered many children with little to do and a desire to be loved. With this burden, Julia went to Gathering Pastor, Denny Henderson. No funds were available at the time but he told Julia to plan and they would make things happen.
Unbeknownst to the Gathering, Pat Maloy and Rebecca Stamps - two women in leadership at the Lincoln Heights Resident Council - had a growing desire to share the love of God with the hurting and lost in their community. A fateful phone call to the Gathering opened the door and resulted in the combining of resources and efforts. Armed with 500 bags of much needed school supplies, DayBreak held its first outreach in September 2001. Three hundred children showed up, attracted to the enthusiasm, energy, and love expressed by the volunteers.
After this first outreach, individuals began to step up to commit themselves to the ministry. CEF continued in partnership with DayBreak by training and providing resources. As Julia Harper and Dion Woolfolk, a Fairfax County middle school teacher, took the reins as leaders, the vision for DayBreak began to materialize. "Our heart is not to walk in and walk out. Our heart is to walk side by side, "says Julia. By touching the lives of children who may seem to be the least likely to have the power to change their circumstances, DayBreak knew that Christ could transform this community.
DayBreak continued to hold outreaches at different locations until one day in summer 2002, a house in the neighborhood became available. Through the aid of the Resident Council and the DC Housing Authority, DayBreak was given this house free of charge.
The house was in need of some loving repairs, and the volunteers took on the task of scrubbing, painting and repairing. Generous individuals donated assorted furniture, supplies, and school materials. The result was a cozy pastel two story house with an eclectic décor. The children and volunteers alike added their own personal touches. Today, student-made masterpieces decorate the downstairs family room.
Now that DayBreak had found a home, the leaders began to plan for consistent outreaches to expand their ministry opportunities. They began with outreaches once a month and have since increased them to twice monthly, on the first and third Saturdays of each month. For curriculum, they started with the fundamentals. They have tackled many of the major events and characters of the Bible. Each Saturday outreach is packed with drama, arts and crafts, games, praise, prayer, and love.
An after school program was started in November 2002. The three hour time together begins with family circle, where volunteers and children sit as a family to discuss what is happening in their lives. It is a time for building relationships. This is followed by rotations to the homework room, arts and crafts room, and Bible room. The evening ends with dinner made by children and volunteers.
DayBreak's continued hope is to empower the children and families of Lincoln Heights with the transforming love of Christ. Julia describes this ministry as one where "God is pouring His love into the precious children of Lincoln Heights, and as His vessels, we are abundantly blessed in the process."
Since Then...
- Julia left her teaching job in Prince George's County in June 2003. She became the full time director of DayBreak Ministries.
- The mentoring program was birthed in July 2003. Several boys and girls in the Lincoln Heights community are being blessed through a one-on-one relationship where they have spiritual discipleship and a trusted adult to walk with them through life's everyday circumstances.
- We partnered with Adventures in Missions (AIM) in 2004 and 2005 as a host for high school and college age mission trips each summer. The AIM teams came for a week and to help us further the Gospel in Lincoln Heights through work projects in the community, facilitating Vacation Bible School with the children, and various other ministry opportunities.
- In fall of 2004, Sarah Napier joined the staff as the After School Coordinator, allowing the after school program to increase from two to five days a week, and DayBreak to expand the age group that we serve from 4th through 6th graders to 1st through 10th graders.
- A basketball ministry that desires to impact boys in particular was founded in early 2005 with open gyms. In 2006, the ministry successfully formed two teams that play in a Washington, DC league: an 11- to 12-year-old team, and a 13- to 14-year-old team.
- The staff expanded once again in the summer of 2005 when Heather Farro joined the team as the Associate Director. Heather supports the Saturday and Mentoring teams, plans large events, and assists in overseeing various strategic initiatives.
- Saturday VBS Outreaches continue to impact many children twice a month. Various small groups and ministries at the church have partnered with us to more effectively serve the community.
- DayBreak continues to seek partnerships with the local community by building relationships with the police, schools, other nonprofit programs, the Housing Authority, and Resident Council.