Every Tuesday evening from 6:00 to 7:30pm, the AIM Community Center comes alive with the energy of kids from our surrounding neighborhood and volunteers and staff who care deeply for them.
This is ThriveKids, Atlanta Inner-City Ministry's weekly afterschool program for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade, and it exists for one simple reason: to help kids know God and grow into strong, Christian adults.
Each week follows a rhythm kids can count on: dinner together provided by generous supporters, a small-group lesson, and a reinforcement activity that brings the lesson to life. Kids are split into three small groups, each led by a Group Leader and a team of consistent volunteers, so every child is known by name week after week.
Built on four pillars
The whole program is built around four pillars: Identity Development, Moral Development, Social Development, and Faith Foundations. It's not just about keeping kids busy for ninety minutes. It's about helping them understand who they are, how to treat others well, and how to know and follow God.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 22:37-39
That verse shapes everything from the lessons to the small group conversations to the way volunteers show up for kids each week.
A semester of 18 sessions
The curriculum for our first semester is spread across 18 sessions running August 4 through December 15. Each month centers on a theme tied back to one of the four pillars. August kicks things off with “Masterpiece, made by God,” anchored in Identity Development and the truth that every child is fearfully and wonderfully made.
To help kids stay engaged and build good habits, ThriveKids uses an incentive system called ThrivePoints. Kids earn points for participation and for living out the character themes each week, and those points build toward redemption dates throughout the semester on August 25, September 29, October 27, November 17, and December 15.
For the families we serve, ThriveKids is more than an afterschool program. It's a place where kids are loved, known, and pointed toward Jesus every single week. Our prayer is that the identity, character, and faith formed in these small groups on Tuesday nights become the foundation these kids carry into adulthood.
Want to get involved with ThriveKids? Reach out to Atlanta Inner-City Ministry to learn how you can serve as a volunteer or support the program this semester.
