Unit
Settled in the Allegheny Plateau, a deep valley where three rivers meet, Johnstown is home to a University of Pittsburgh campus and is a center for the coal, iron and steel industries. With around 30,000 residents and around 250,000 people in the metropolitan area, Johnstown provides an urban environment with a small-town feel. The house itself is located in a racially mixed, residential neighborhood near one of the city’s rivers.
Church
The Johnstown unit has the unique opportunity to partner with eight local congregations in the surrounding area. The unit worships, plays, serves and prays with all of congregations at different times during the year, but calls Crossroads Community Church as home church. Crossroads is a diverse community focused on learning God’s word together, serving together, and playing together. Here in Johnstown, participants experience a wide variety of worship styles and the communities of believers here make Service Adventure a priority in their lives. What a gift it is to connect with urban, suburban, and rural congregations all within one local region.
Service
Most of Johnstown’s service assignments are intentionally part-time in order to allow participants to experience different job atmospheres in the hope that it can help them make future career choices. Placements include agencies that provide child care, elder care, assistance for disabled persons, and work with the homeless. One unusual placement is with Bottle Works, a cultural arts program.
