NCC Celebrates 30th Anniversary

Second Presbyterian Church Foundation Supports NCC Ministry Goals

The mission of the Neighborhood Christian Center, Inc. is to provide compassionate, Christ-centered ministry to the practical and spiritual needs of the city’s poor.

Matthew 25:35-36 says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

The NCC has been striving to meet these needs since its doors were opened 30 years ago in 1979.

Ministry Partners

The Second Presbyterian Church Foundation has faithfully supported the Neighborhood Christian Center for many years. Since 2001, Donor Advised funds have been directed to the Neighborhood Christian Center totaling $1,550,358. These resources have been used for general operations and building funds and for smaller projects such as Christmas baskets. The Foundation has also provided a grant for a scholarship fund and a grant to implement TRUTH Seekers, an after-school Bible Study for ages 5-18. T.R.U.T.H. stands for Teens Reaching Understanding Through Him. The Bible study focuses on prevention of “at-risk” behaviors in children in the Orange Mound and Raleigh neighborhoods in Memphis.

Compassionate Leadership

Dr. JoeAnne Ballard was chosen by local churches and agencies in 1979 to lead this new urban neighborhood center initiative. Ministering to the underprivileged is very close to Dr. Ballard’s heart. She was born in rural Mississippi to an impoverished family whom did not show her love. At the age of three months she and her siblings went to live with a great aunt and uncle. She went from being unwanted child to being a wanted child. Dr. Ballard learned love and compassion for others through watching her foster father raise over 45 foster children.

She moved to Memphis after college to start her first job, which was to begin a Sunday School program in hopes of reopening a church. Each month half of her salary went to helping others. She married Monroe Ballard and together they have spent their lives ministering to needy children. Since 1968, the Ballards have raised 75 foster children along with their own four children.

Dr. Ballard’s philosophy of ministry is: “How do you present Christ to a hungry man? How do you share the words of Jesus with a woman who can’t pay her utility bill? How do you give hope to a troubled teenager who only sees a future of poverty and shame?” These basic needs must be met before spiritual ministry can begin.

Since 1979, the NCC has grown greatly and now offers programs and services in almost every zip code of Memphis. The 30th anniversary for the Neighborhood Christian Center is coming in 2009. The new motto for the NCC is, “Changing a generation…one life at a time.” The NCC is encouraging the community to get involved and support the NCC in its mission to provide compassionate, Christ-centered ministry by building healthier families, stronger communities, and meeting the practical and spiritual needs of the poor and people from all walks of life.

The Second Presbyterian Church Foundation is proud to support the work of Dr. Ballard and the many who minister through the NCC.