The Lake Region Conference of Seventh Day Adventists serves the Great Lakes states of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, as well as the city of Minneapolis, MN, and operates 100+ churches and five schools. The territory includes many urban centers such as Chicago, Detroit, Flint, Benton Harbor, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and South Bend. The Thriving Congregations Grant will be a tremendous support in servicing these urban communities through programs that target low-income families and at-risk youth. Constituent churches that share communities with local Adventist schools will partner with the schools to create community centers of hope and help to residents, using data gathered through needs-based/demographic assessments and relationship building. Programming will include, but will not be limited to, after-school programming, food pantries, health/financial/parenting seminars, trades-based training, and diaper programs. Through this partnership, we seek to bring light, hope, and healing to under-served communities by using the evangelical model of the early church: serving “the least of these.