From the Fall of 2018 through the Spring 2019, a group of us (some of the Diaconate team plus David Ellis) from ACC attended City to City’s City Lab: The Biblical Calling to Engage in Community Renewal. After the initial bi-monthly trainings, there have been ongoing training gatherings 2-3 times per year up to the present. Al Santino, City to City Community Engagement Director, has been a great mentor and resource to ACC through Covid and up to the present. He was responsible for the $10,000 grant we received to expand our ESL ministry as well as coaching the Diaconate on ways we can engage with our community for the common good

In October 2022, Al gathered 3 LIC/Astoria churches to discuss forming a church collaboration (ACC, Hope Astoria Church and Expansion Church NYC.) We decided to start off with prayer and discussion. We invited a handful of churches in this region and met in November 2022 for prayer, resource and event sharing and discussions on what a collaboration could look like. We now meet monthly to partner on community engagement events, prayer walks, and advocacy work on a local level in our city. We have decided on a name - J.U.M.P. - Justice, Unity, & Mission Partnership of Western Queens. We held a workshop in June 2023 and invited a larger number of people from the three churches.

Our first event as a church partnership was the Winter Clothing Drive and the Fall Festival on October 28th 2023 with Expansion Church NYC. About 20 volunteers from Expansion Church, 12 volunteers from ACC and a group from Hope Astoria Church helped pull off that event. ACC donated 20+ bags of winter clothing. Six hundred and fifty people received clothes, toys, games and food as well as an invitation to attend church at Expansion NYC. Their church is 75% new migrants to the City and is growing! They are working on a philosophy of ministry that is Gospel centered and reciprocal with shared leadership. 

Our very own Annette Scattoni, Deaconess and ESL Teacher, has been teaching 2 ESL classes at Expansion Church NYC! Both classes are filled with migrants desperate to learn English. Praise God that he has equipped Annette for teaching!

Be on the lookout for future events and other ways you can participate in this church collaboration.