Andrew Mann (Pastor/Executive Director)
Born and raised in Poplar Bluff, MO, Andrew always had a fascination with New York City. Entering college, Andrew attended New York University. Over the course of that year, Andrew became involved with East 7th Baptist Church/Graffiti Community Ministries. Transferring to Wheaton College, he graduated with a Bachelors of Music Education degree in December 2004. Despite the change of venue from New York to Chicago, during his collegiate years, Andrew plugged into ministry with Betty Cherry and the ARMS ministry of Armitage Baptist Church. Over those three and a half years, Andrew helped to develop and lead a Bible study with boys from the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. These years of ministry were formational for his sense of calling and philosophy towards meeting the needs of urban children. In February of 2005, Andrew joined the staff of East 7th Baptist Church/Graffiti Community ministries to assist with youth programs and begin preparing for the new ministry plant of Graffiti 2 Community Ministries. In August of 2005, Andrew moved to Mott Haven and currently oversees the mission, vision, strategy and implementation of Graffiti 2 Community Ministries.
Ashley Emmert (Director of Children’s Ministries)
Ashley was born in San Antonio, TX and moved to Georgetown, TX when she was 8. Her first experience with New York City was the summer after she graduated from high school in 2004. She went on a mission trip with First Baptist Church Georgetown to work with Graffiti Community Ministries/East 7th Baptist Church in Manhattan. Through the partnership between First Baptist Church Georgetown and Graffiti Community Ministries, Ashley kept in touch with Graffiti. Ashley went to college at Baylor University in Waco, TX to get a degree in Child and Family Studies. As part of her degree requirements, she needed a practicum working with children and families in some capacity. Ashley decided that she wanted to do her practicum in New York and served as a summer missionary with Graffiti 2 Community Ministries in the Bronx. Within the first few days working with Graffiti 2, Ashley began to feel that God was calling her to come back to Graffiti 2 after she finished school. Throughout the course of that summer, God continued to confirm that calling. Ashley had to leave at the end of the summer to finish one more year of school, but still came to visit during Christmas and Easter. Upon graduating from Baylor University in May of 2008, Ashley moved to New York to serve full time with Graffiti 2 Community Ministries. Ashley Emmert joins Graffiti 2 as the Director of Women’s Ministry and Child/Youth Development. Her addition will allow Graffiti 2 to expand its programs and potential for ministry to the women and teenage girls of Mott Haven.
Josh Johnson (Associate Pastor/Director of Youth and Recreation)
Born and raised in Princeton, WV, Josh served as an Associate Pastor working with college, high school, and middle school students. The passion of the ministry was to be on mission for Christ. In May 2010, while serving at this ministry Josh lead a collegiate mission team to the South Bronx to work with Graffiti 2 Community Ministries. After serving in the community for a week, Josh fell in love with the neighborhood and the people who live there. This only fueled the calling God had already placed in Josh’s life for missions. After 6 years of serving in ministry, Josh now knew God was not only calling him into a new ministry, but into a new direction altogether. In June of 2010, Josh and his family moved to the South Bronx to begin serving full-time. Josh Johnson joins Graffiti 2 as Director of Youth and Recreation.
Kerri Johnson (Office Manager)
Kerri was born in Princeton, West Virginia where she met and married her High School sweet heart, Josh. Although Kerri had visited New York City once as a child, she didn’t fall in love with the city until a trip to work with Graffiti 2 in 2010. While dealing with a call to missions, Mott Haven and Graffiti 2 stayed with her daily. Her role as a mother, pastor’s wife and church secretary continued and plans were made for a second and third trip to Graffiti 2. Kerri prayed that God would “speak loudly” about the calling in her life. What a blessing to discover that when she finally heard God screaming that His will for her and her family was the desires of her heart. In June of 2011 Kerri and Josh along with their 2 children, Paige and Noah moved from their hometown in Princeton, West Virginia to Mott Haven in the Bronx. Kerri is a MSC (Mission Service Corp) Missionary through the North American Mission Board and serves as the Office Manager at Graffiti 2. She also helps with ESL (English as a Second Language) classes, Parent Coordinating, G.S.A.L.T and TNT (Tuesday Nights Together).
Jess Medlock (Facilities and Resource Manager)
Jess was raised in the small town of Cullman, Alabama and grew up attending Bellview Heights Baptist Church. In 1980 he accepted the call to preach and was ordained in 1991. He pastored a church in a neighboring county and later served two other churches as interim pastor. During those years, he was blessed with the opportunities to go on two mission trips. In 2001 he spent five weeks in Uganda, East Africa and he served for over a week in Sydney, Australia in the summer of 2005. But, it was shortly after a vacation in New York City in 2003 that he began to feel that God was calling him to full-time missions. After reading “A Church Called Graffiti” by Taylor Field, Jess was convinced that this was indeed God’s will for his life and moved to New York City in the fall of 2010. Not knowing anyone in the city, he began to send emails to several pastors in the area and received many cordial responses. There was one in particular, from the pastor of Graffiti 2 in the Bronx, that really touched Jess’ heart. Shortly after meeting with Andrew Mann, he knew instantly that this is where God wanted him to serve. Jess has served as Facilities and Resources Manager since the spring of 2011.
Denny Simon (Intern)
Denny was born in Brooklyn, raised in Long Island/Queens (quite literally on the border), attended high school in the Bronx (complete with a 2 hour commute each way), and went to NYU in Manhattan for his undergraduate career. He grew up in a Christian household and in a Christian church since he was a child, becoming Youth leader and Worship Leader in his early teens, yet felt a greater desire to “love God and love people” in ways outside of the four walls of a church. Entering college, he found himself active in Navigators Christian Fellowship, finding a calling in serving youth and children in difficult circumstances after going on mission trips to an orphanage in Morocco and working with shelters and community outreach programs in Skid Row of Los Angeles. It was during his sophomore year of college that he was asked to be a temporary worship leader on the first day of the new church plant called “Graffiti 2,” at least till a permanent leader could be found. 3 years and a degree in Religious Studies and Pre-Medicine later, he is still worship leader there, developing and training a worship band, while also using his year-off before medical school (God-willing!) to serve the Mott Haven community as an intern with G2 and living in the community.
“Proof” (Missionary Dog)
“Proof” is a canine assistance animal trained as a professional therapy dog. A highly trained animal, “Proof” serves as a de-escalation tool, reading incentive, and source of unconditional love for our children. Following, are a few of the numerous benefits from a program of this kind.
1. The reward of working with an animal that can give unconditional acceptance, regardless of academic grades, social abilities, or happenings with family or friends.
2. Physically and emotionally challenged students have an added form of therapy humans cannot provide.
3. Students learn appropriate behavior around animals and how to care and train them.
4. Students with special needs have more to talk to peers about when they are wanting to build positive social relationships.
5. Children who have difficulty reading benefit from reading out loud to Proof. No embarrassment is felt by the children for the difficulties they face when reading to Proof.
Proof was obtained through CARES, Inc. out of Concordia, Kansas and is a purebred Yellow Labrador Retriever. Beginning training at 7 weeks of age, Proof was raised and trained by inmates at the Huerfano County Correctional Facility in Colorado. Upon completion of training at 15 months of age, Proof met her new owner at a week long training session in Kansas. Over the course of that week, the new team learned how to work with each other. Upon conclusion of training both the dog and owner passed a public access test which allows access to all public facilities and travel (useful since Proof’s primary mode of transportation in New York is via subway).
Before leaving Kansas, Proof and her owner were browsing in a bookstore in a mall. Interrupted by an obviously disheveled woman on whom one could read her pain and struggle across the wrinkled lines of her face, Proof began wiggling her tail as is so characteristic of her. Abandoning any sense of public decorum, the lady gathered her dress, sat on the floor, and began sharing her affection with a willing canine companion. As Proof began licking the woman’s calloused and hardened hands, tears flowed from her eyes. No words needed to be said.
After five or six minutes, the lady arose like a phoenix from ashes, and began to walk away. Pausing for a brief moment, she turned and said, “That dog is PROOF that God exists.”
From her days in the Huerfano Correctional Facility, to her first week with her new owner, to walking the streets of Mott Haven, it is impossible to count the number of lives encouraged by the ministry that God has provided through Proof.