SAN ANTONIO – Pastor Ed Ackerman is a bit of a celebrity on the West Side. The kids who come to see him at Agora Ministries hang on his every word. He and his wife Claudine are loved and embraced in this community.
They turned a rundown, gutted building on San Fernando Street into Agora Ministries. It’s an alternative to the streets; a place to get food and comfort. It’s a safe haven for kids in our most disadvantaged area.
“The zip code that we work in is in one of the poorest in the nation,” confirms Ackerman.
No one knows that better than 18-year-old Angell Velasquez.
“Everybody knows me here,” explains Angell. “They don't know what I have done, but they know their kids are in good hands.”
What she has done is turn her life around. Angell was in a gang, and she was getting into fights. The child of a single mom, her older sister was a dope addict and prostitute.
She originally came to Agora Ministries for a boy, but while she was there it hit her.
“If I am going to be coming here, then I want to impact other students, other people,” said Angell. “If I don't change the way I am living, then what's the point of even coming?”
Six years later Angell is about to start her freshman year of college, and the Ackerman's are giving her a scholarship.
“They believed in me and that is what I needed,” she said.
“Her life has changed and if we haven't done anything else, seeing her life change is worth what we do,” said Claudine.
What the Ackerman's do is give. Every year they hold Easter egg hunts; they give away 1,500 backpacks full of school supplies at the beginning of each school year; take the kids on field trips -- all just to try to change just one life. They even bring kids in from churches all over the country for what they Ackerman's call "Street Camps."
The teens spread out in the West Side and try to get the kids in the neighborhood to come to agora. They provide entertainment with spiritual messages to encourage them to stay off the streets. Bringing in the street campers is a great influence on the kids who come to see them, but it's not an easy thing for Pastor Ed to pull off.
“Housing alone is costing me $3,000 a week,” said Pastor Ed.
I interviewed Pastor Ed back in March when I heard his old 1987 school bus he used to help get the kids to and from Agora Ministries had finally given out. He desperately needed to find a way and some money to get new transportation.
Two weeks ago his prayers were answered.
“Since our last story that you did for us, we were able to get a new bus,” said Pastor Ed. “It's new to us. It's a 1995 diesel and it runs really well!”
But the need is much greater than it was just a few months ago. Ed has been battling pancreatic cancer since thanksgiving, putting a strain on him and the finances for everything he does for the kids. But they can't stop when the need is so great.
“That's what it's all about,” cries Claudine. “They are just… they have no hope. They have no hope.”
Of course, Pastor Ed needs donations, but they also need volunteers to help with the kids. if you would like to be an angel to the Ackermans and Agora Ministries or if you know someone who really needs an angel, please email me at ElsaRamon@woaitv.com.
