Site Mission:

Our mission is to provide redemptive, healing services that bring meaningful change to the lives of children and families. Grounded by scripture and the tradition of the church, we seek to bring the wholeness of God's love to persons through Christ.

About the Site:

Criminal Background Check - Required 

In addition to the basic programs, we have a Community Services Department that recruits and trains foster parents and those who desire to foster to adopt as well as counseling for families in crisis. We also have district offices across North Georgia in Gainesville, Dalton, Rome and Augusta that facilitate the same programs as our Decatur campus.

The ConEd I student will primarily be developing relationships with the students and families through several activities that include: Mission program for the group care program, tutoring/reading/game playing in the intake facility, child care for the families in short term housing.

A Student's Perspective:

Katherine says:

"The United Methodist Children’s Home provides students with a variety of ministry opportunities including Chapel service planning, Bible Study and Small Group leadership. There are certainly other sites I could have chosen that would have been more comfortable for me but in the end I may not have learned as much elsewhere. This experience has helped me to discover gifts that I may not have identified otherwise and narrow down the area of ministry that I feel called to.

The UMCH is very close to campus so it is convenient for Con Ed. I usually met one or more of my fellow Candler students at Presidents Park Apartments and we would ride there and back together. This gave us the opportunity to share our recent observations and experiences at the UMCH. It was helpful to have this preparation and debriefing time with one or two other students.

I enjoy working with young people, leading small groups and Bible studies, and worshipping with the youth on Sundays. I have also been exposed to the poor ways most of the youth at the UMCH have been treated in their lives, and the structural inequalities that pervade child welfare systems. I have come to know about the inconsistent assistance that is offered to young people from state agencies. Besides the larger systemic issues, I also get frustrated when the young people make decisions I would not agree with. While facing my own experience of the site, however, this ministry is most centrally about the young people in the care of the UMCH. It is about sharing the love of God with them, being a stable presence in their lives, and letting go when their time has come to move on."