changing lives.
ONE PERSON, ONE FAMILY,
ONE BLOCK AT A TIME.
ABOUT US
Urban Impact was founded in 1995 by Pastor Ed and Tammy Glover after they felt a calling to reach youth in their neighborhood — the North Side of Pittsburgh. Over the past 30 years, we have grown to a staff of 45+ missionaries who all reside on the North Side and run programs in Athletics, Education, Performing Arts, and Options. This past year, we reached 2,250 students and 1,133 people gave their lives to Christ during our programs or events. We look forward to many more years serving our community.
Mission Statement: Our mission is to do our part in fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission on the North Side of Pittsburgh by following His model of holistic ministry by investing in the lives of at-risk children, youth, and their families in order to develop responsible followers of Christ.
Vision Statement: We desire to see lives holistically transformed in our community one person, one family, and one block at a time who, in turn, make a powerful impact locally and globally for Jesus Christ.
Pastor Glover founded Urban Impact Foundation in 1995 to help address the profound and unique challenges facing today’s urban communities, which he witnessed first-hand every day for over nine years as a resident of Pittsburgh’s North Side and pastor at Allegheny Center Alliance Church. During this time, Rev. Glover recognized that the trials of children and families in urban communities could only be effectively addressed through holistic development of the mind, body, and spirit through Christ– one person, one family, one block at a time. Thus, Urban Impact was born!
Rev. Dr. Ed Glover
Urban Impact has grown substantially from those early years, in both breadth and depth. Today Urban Impact’s holistic reach has grown far beyond that of the Pastor Ed and Tammy. In addition to the Glovers, 48 Urban Missionaries now live and minister in every one of the 18 Northside neighborhoods. More than 2,500 youth are involved annually in one of their more than 60 programs and 100% of Options youth graduate from high school.
Pastor Ed is a leader, a visionary, an evangelist, and a motivational speaker. In 2011, he received the prestigious “Restoring Places Award” at the Epoch Missions Gala in Atlanta, GA. In 2014, Urban Impact was awarded the inaugural “True Inspiration Award” for the northeast region from the Chick-fil-A Foundation for demonstrating “groundbreaking practices and visionary leadership” with innovative education.
Prior to Urban Impact’s inception, Pastor Ed founded Global Impact USA, an annual, one-day missions event that charged students to respond to the call of God in their lives and put it into practice. For the next 24 years, Pastor Ed invited over 55,000 kids from 19 cities to participate in the Global Impact mission. As a result, more than 1,000 pastors and missionaries were raised up to serve the Kingdom globally.
Today, Pastor Ed is a highly respected and sought-after speaker. He is regularly scheduled to speak at churches both locally and nationally. He is particularly passionate about challenging men to be the best godly leaders they can be in their families, workplaces, and communities. In 2013, he launched ManUp Pittsburgh, an annual conference that brings together local pastors, sports personalities, and keynote speakers from around the country to address the devastating impacts of fatherlessness among youth today. He currently serves as a Preaching Associate and Strategic Ministry Partner at Christ Church at Grove Farm in Sewickley, PA.
Pastor Ed graduated from Lambuth University in Tennessee and received his Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, NY. In 2001, Pastor Ed received an honorary doctorate from Toccoa Falls College for his work in urban settings. In 2003, Pastor Ed and Tammy were recipients of the “Alumni of the Year” Award from the Alliance Theological Seminary and Nyack College. In 2024, Pastor Ed received a second honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Waynesburg University.
Pastor Ed and Tammy continue to live on the North Side of Pittsburgh, where they enjoy spending time with their four grown children their spouses and their many grandchildren.
Pastor Ed Glover, Founder and President
Tom Kreider, Chairman of the Board
Sara Van Kirk Glover, Chief Strategy Officer
Peter Ward, Director of Capacity Campaign
Clark Logan, Chief Operations Officer
Luke Schriefer, Sr. Director of Development & Athletics
Mike Rue, Director of Options
Amanda Wagner, Sr. Director of Education and Options
Rachel Reeves, Director of Education
Eric Anderson, Director of Performing Arts
Tammy Glover, Sr. Director of Performing Arts & Training Center
Nathan Glover, Director of Training Center
Meet the missionaries who live and work on the North Side.
OUR IMPACT
Move the Slider to See How We’ve Grown from 1995 to today!
Flip sideways to view full map
Green, yellow, and red shading on the map indicates our current student population.
Yellow properties are Urban Impact owned or leased.
“It was 1995 and I (Pastor Ed) was living down the street from Allegheny Center Alliance Church working as the outreach pastor and launching Urban Impact. One day I walked out of my house and my car had been stolen for the third time.
I looked to God and said, ‘Am I making any kind of a difference here?’ He asked me ‘How do you eat an elephant?’ and I answered, ‘One bite at a time.’
And He took my mind and helped me to see that if we can help one person, then one family, then one block at a time, we CAN make a difference.”
Fast forward nearly 30 years and Urban Impact has a ministry site in 15 of the 18 North Side neighborhoods. Each point of interest represents an Urban Missionary home, ball field, school, church, or other program site where we operate as one mission in many locations. All these touchpoints increase our ability to reach the hearts of our students and their families.
TRANSFORMATION STORIES
Our students share their powerful stories of how Urban Impact changed the trajectory of their lives. We have the privilege of helping children and young adults come to know the full impact of Christ’s transformative power. Each day, we strive to help our students set higher goals and achieve them, all while they have the opportunity to hear the Gospel, learn to know that God loves them, and come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Watch and listen to some of our students’ stories of transformation and growth, and you can see for yourself how Christ is alive and at work in the lives of our students and staff.
2,282 YOUTH PARTICIPATE IN OUR PROGRAMS
In over two decades of serving the youth on the North Side of Pittsburgh, we’ve seen some tremendous changes come through our city. No matter what we face in the future, we are confident that Urban Impact will be unwaveringly dedicated to continuing our mission of changing lives one person, one family, one block at a time. We’ve served thousands of students so far, and we’re all the more eager to work with and minister to thousands more.
OVER TWO AND A HALF DECADES OF CHANGE
Urban Impact has been an integral part of people’s lives on an individual basis. See how some of our students, volunteers, and staff have been transformed by Urban Impact’s mission of loving and serving others around the North Side of Pittsburgh.
WHAT WE DO
Options
Performing Arts
Education
Athletics
Public Events
Training Center
Options
Performing Arts
Public Events
Education
Athletics
Training Center
REGISTER A STUDENT
WE BELIEVE IN EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
Urban Impact reaches youth on the North Side of Pittsburgh through programs in Athletics, Education, Performing Arts, and Options. However, our programs are about so much more than just increasing a student’s grade point average or developing artistic and athletic skills. These are tools used to connect with students so we can have holistic impact. We know that for each student to thrive, their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs must be met. We design each program to meet these needs by providing food at every program, creating a safe and loving atmosphere for student interactions, connecting students with mentors through bible studies, and presenting the gospel at every program.
GET INVOLVED
Become part of the Urban Impact story
Without our team of over 400 volunteers, our programs and events would not be possible. Are you ready to impact people with the love of Christ and become part of the Urban Impact story?
Our supporters are the backbone of our ministry. The donations we receive are put to work equipping our missionaries, providing for those in need, & giving students opportunities to grow in Christ.