ON THE ROCK

The Houston Levee Community Center (HLCC) was conceived out of Calvary Church of the Nazarene under the leadership of Pastor Lynn Holmes. After moving to the Cordova area, the church was continuously challenged to address the needs of the surrounding community. Calvary's first effort to serve the community was through an Easter Extravaganza event. Families were invited to participate in carnival activities and a large Easter Egg Hunt. This event united the neighborhood and gave families an opportunity to get to know their extended neighbors. The church continued its outreach by developing a Make A Difference program (MAD), which offered community support to LEAH House and Boys and Girls of Greater Memphis. While these programs and service projects were making an impact, they simply were not enough, and the church went into several prayer and fasting periods for answers.

In 2012, the vision was clear to Pastor Lynn that the church should create a community center. A community needs assessment was conducted at the 2014 Extravaganza to gauge the types of support programs desired in the community, and the results were overwhelmingly in support of a place where children and families could participate in academic enrichment, sports, life skills and cultural experiences. Thus, Houston Levee Community Center was born out of the heart of Calvary Church’s aspiration to support and encourage families in the Cordova Community on a daily basis.

Pastor Lynn and the Calvary congregation knew that God's favor was truly upon their outreach effort when the building adjacent to the church became available for sale. The property was purchased within a short period and internal leadership was put in place. Through a major gift from Mike West Construction, renovations were completed, and Houston Levee Community Center officially opened its doors on October 31, 2016.

Since that time, the Center has impacted families and youth all across Cordova and surrounding areas. Outreach efforts have included full-day youth summer camps, a Father-Daughter Dance, Fall Fest, a Youth Basketball League, Open Court Adult and Teen Basketball, and a Christmas Promise Dinner for local families in need. The Center has also offered adult classes in areas such as Christian Counseling, Anger Management, Addiction Recovery, and Diabetes Awareness. As a privately owned community center, we could not accomplish our goals without the incredible support of local community partners. The Lord has allowed HLCC to lead the way in uniting the Cordova community and we are honored to serve Him.