Building a vibrant, unified North Hill community, transformed through the love and hope of Jesus Christ

Why North Akron

We believe in North Akron. Since 1992, we've been working to transform North Hill and with your help, we cannot wait to see what transformations God brings in the years to come.

Our Community

Ours is a community rich in culture and diversity. This area has been a melting pot for decades: It was home to Italian, Croatian, Polish, and Irish immigrants in the beginning of the 20th century, followed by waves of African American and Hispanic families in the latter half of the century.
In the 21st century, the International Institute of Akron has resettled thousands of refugees and immigrants from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Dozens of languages are spoken in just a few square miles. What a picture of God’s Kingdom! (Revelation 7:9)
Unfortunately, our beautiful community is also a low-income, at-risk neighborhood, plagued by unemployment, crime, generational poverty, academic challenges, food insecurity, and broken families. Generations of struggle have created an atmosphere of conditioned hopelessness for many of our neighbors– but God provides hope for a better tomorrow!
Our once-troubled neighborhood is being transformed through the love and hope of Christ into a more vibrant and unified community. Urban Vision has been working for this goal since 1992, and we cannot wait to see what transformations God brings in the years to come.

OUR MISSION

To live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in North Hill by coming alongside children and their families as they become followers of Christ and leaders of the community

What’s happening at Urban Vision?

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We embrace the following ideals to carry out His work in North Akron

Proclaiming Jesus

We declare with our words and lives the hope found in Jesus Christ. He is our everything, and we invite all to come and see Jesus, for He is Alive!

Romans 1:16

Living in Community

Living in community is not optional for us. So, we love, listen, and learn with all our North Hill neighbors because we are family.

1 Thessalonians 2:8

Developing Leaders

We passionately commit to develop and empower our students to become world-changing, Spirit-filled ambassadors of God’s presence in North Hill as if our future depends on it, because it does.

2 Timothy 2:2

At Urban Vision, we strive to keep Christ the center of all we do, working towards revitalization while maintaining three Christian Community Development key principles:

Reconciliation with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ is at the heart of the Gospel. Urban Vision desires to see this type of reconciliation for every neighbor, in addition to building relationships across racial and economic barriers through reconciliation in our community. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21)
All Urban Vision staff and interns are residents and members of the North Hill and Elizabeth Park community, alongside the people we serve, out of a passion and commitment to bringing positive change to our community. Indigenous leadership allows us to better understand root issues and create shared solutions, while modeling and encouraging revitalization. (Matthew 5:13-14)
Urban Vision aspires to empower our neighbors to use the gifts God has given them, and to see those gifts used for the community. Our vision is to bring resources to our neighbors which allow them to take ownership of the long-term development and revitalization of their community. (Philippians 4:18-19)

How you can partner with us

Pray

We need continued prayer for hearts to be turned to Christ.

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Volunteer

Your volunteer service can make an impact in the lives of our North Akron families.

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Give now

Your gift supports the mission of spreading the Gospel and building future leaders in North Akron.

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