changing lives.

ONE PERSON, ONE FAMILY,
ONE BLOCK AT A TIME.

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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 25 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 2,282 students and 750 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

Rev. Dr. Ed Glover and his wife Tammy have passionately followed their calling to minister to the least, the last, and the lost in Pittsburgh’s urban North Side community for over 30 years. Together they founded Urban Impact in 1995, after serving for almost a decade in youth ministry at Allegheny Center Alliance Church.

Rev. Glover is a leader, a visionary, an evangelist, and a motivational speaker.  In 2011, Pastor Ed received the prestigious Restoring Places Award at the Epoch Missions Gala in Atlanta, GA. In 2014, Urban Impact was also 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.

Pastor Ed also founded Global Impact USA six years prior to Urban Impact’s inception. Global Impact was an annual, one-day missions event that gave students the charge to respond to the call of God in their lives and put it into practice. For the next 24 years, he incited over 55,000 kids from 19 cities to participate in the Global Impact mission. As a result, this produced over 1,000 pastors and missionaries to serve around the world.

Today, Rev. Glover is a highly respected and sought-after speaker. He is regularly scheduled to speak at churches both locally and nationally. He currently serves as Associate Preacher and Director of Urban Missions at Christ Church at Grove Farm in Sewickley, PA.

Ed graduated from Lambuth University in Tennessee, and received his Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, NY. In 2001, Ed received an honorary doctorate from Toccoa Falls College for his work in the urban setting. In 2003, both Ed and Tammy were recipients of the Alumni of the Year Award for both the Alliance Theological Seminary and Nyack College.

Ed and Tammy continue to live on the North Side. They have four children, three daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren.

Pastor Ed Glover, Founder and President

Tom Kreider, Chairman of the Board

Sara Van Kirk Glover, Chief Operating Officer

Peter Ward, Director of Development

Clark Logan, Director of Business

Luke Schriefer, Sr. Director of Athletics and Support Raising

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

Our goal is to create and grow generational change for the Kingdom of God. Whether Urban Impact students are plugged in to Performing Arts, Athletics, Education, or Options, they receive a holistic and Gospel-centered ministry that helps to discover who they are in Christ rather than merely what culture tells them they are.

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

After two and a half decades, so much has changed. And yet, we have never strayed from the mission of impacting lives by following Christ’s model of holistic ministry. Join us as we celebrate the past and continue to serve the community and develop responsible followers of Christ.

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.