DayBreak desires to see the children and families of Lincoln Heights know Christ and glorify God with their lives. We seek to share the gospel with this community while nurturing children and strengthening families so that youth will become selfless adult leaders in their community. We do this through consistent and sustainable programs such as the after school program, mentoring, summer program, and weekly parent prayer breakfast. In addition, we create large outreach opportunities to share Christ’s love in both word and deed to the community with events such as a back-to-school carnival, thanksgiving outreach, and an annual Christmas celebration.
DayBreak Programs
Each school year, about 20 children in grades 1st – 5th enroll in our After School Program. This program partners with both parents and teachers to enrich the academic lives of our students and help them progress in reading and math. The After School Program meets a specific need in Lincoln Heights because students in this community typically lack opportunities and exposure to academic enrichment, character development, and cultural experiences that will help them become successful, well-rounded students. Through this program, children will participate in engaging activities and new experiences that can lead them to discover that learning is fun and rewarding. Not only that, but children are daily challenged with God’s Word through a Bible lesson that is grounded in the truth of the gospel.
After our regular homework time and Bible lesson, we have a family dinner, then an Extracurricular and Academic Enrichment hour, finishing up with reading partners. The enrichment hour allows us to provide the children with fun extracurricular activities and academic enrichment that exposes them to new things, from the arts to athletics, all designed to create an environment in which learning is engaging and fun.
At Summer Camp, our students and many additional children from the community participate in a wide range of activities that are designed to prevent the loss of skills in reading and math that typically occurs during the summer. Children are able to experience fun and interactive learning methods in a supportive, character enriching environment designed to encourage growth both in academics and character. After a summer spent at camp our hope is to send children back to school at or above their current grade level.
Our mentoring program is where the biggest impact is made. In the community of Lincoln Heights there is a huge need of additional assets necessary to become disciples of Christ, leaders in their community, and scholars at school. Therefore, mentoring is designed to impact both the students being mentored and the student’s family. Mentors build intentional and caring Biblical relationships with the child and family serving as a resource and friend. DayBreak mentors are paired one-on-one with a student to develop a long-term, on-going relationship consisting of spiritual enrichment, teaching, and encouragement. The goal of the DayBreak mentoring program is to pair each child residing in Lincoln Heights with a disciple of Christ who will empower and support them to become positive contributors to their community, excited learners in their school, and active participants in a church.
Partnering with parents is crucial to our mission. Parent outreach consists of building intentional relationships, providing parent workshops, and hosting a weekly parent breakfast. By investing in the parents, we hope to educate and empower them to grow as leaders in their communities and families for the glory of God.
DayBreak Events
Outreach Events allow us to meet specific needs in Lincoln Heights as well as to provide a unique opportunity to bring the community together in order to strengthen relationships and share the gospel. Through these events, community members are exposed to healthy community values emphasizing the importance of giving to others, holiday traditions, and educational preparedness. Not only do our outreach events serve the needs of the community in these ways, but they also allow DayBreak to build trust by strengthening its ties to and exposure in the community.
DayBreak’s Annual Back to School Carnival usually takes place the week before students go back to school. This event provides fun games, rides, food, music, a raffle, and most importantly the gospel. At our Carnival, we give away backpacks full of school supplies for elementary through high school students. This provides a huge need for Lincoln Heights families.
What better way to serve the community during Thanksgiving than a full turkey dinner delivered straight to your door? Well that is just what we do every year the week before Thanksgiving through Turkey Outreach. Volunteers flood the streets of Lincoln Heights blessing hundreds of families with food for their tables as well as food for their souls. Volunteer groups are able to enter each home and share the love of Christ with these families.
The entire community is invited every year to participate in our Christmas Celebration. Many families in Lincoln Heights do not have established Christmas traditions, nor are they able to give gifts to their loved ones. Through this event we are able to build up the excitement and anticipation of the birth of Jesus Christ through giving a complete gospel presentation, sing carols, enjoy a Christmas play (performed by DayBreak students), and provide a Christmas Store where donated items are sold at a tenth of the cost.
With so many different types of programs currently happening at DayBreak anyone can volunteer. Please consider the commitment you would like to make and contact us to get involved today! Trust us, God will bless you more than you can ever imagine!
DayBreak Partners
DayBreak is a ministry of McLean Bible Church. In addition, we work with other local churches and organizations to accomplish the goals of the organization. Some of those other churches and organizations we partner with include the following:
Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC
Living Faith Baptist Church, Washington, DC
Zion Church, Landover, Maryland
Revolution DC Church, Washington, DC
Cornerstone School
FairChance
Washington Parks and People