Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64of success, because we have been called by God,” Gregory says. And Jill Rust, marketing director at Haven of Rest Rescue Mission in Bristol, Tennessee, says, “I measure success by the lives that we transform: Having people come to the mission at their weakest and transforming their life through Scripture, and helping them build a stable foundation to be on their own again.” New Direction U nlike government shelters, rescue missions are in a unique position to turn people in a new direction for the rest of their lives. “We’re less and less sat- isfied with just feeding, clothing, and sheltering. Yes, people come to us in crisis, but we are determined to make that ‘crisis phase’ as short as possi- ble,” says Rochester, New York’s Open Door Mission Executive Director Mike Hennessy. “We also created what we call our First Step Program. If you’ll work with us on a simple first step toward a more stable living situation, we’ll give you a 14-day pass versus a daily bed assignment. And now that you don’t have to worry about shelter for the next two weeks, what’s the next step you can take? We found that when men haven’t scored a ‘win’ in a while, they forgot what one feels like. After scoring a couple ‘wins’, they start taking steps on their own, and the ‘restoration phase’ begins naturally,” Mike explains. “Success means we’re Ī WWW.AGRM.ORG MARCH/APRIL 2017 47 Tough Love Continuing the good fight—and praying for opportunities to fight more From Rich Schaus, executive director of Gospel Rescue Mission, Inc., Muskogee, Oklahoma: When we try to define success by what our guests do or accomplish, it can be very disappointing. Sure, there are several folks who will go on to establish a stable life that includes church, work, and a home. But they are so few that if that is the only standard of success we have, I might get discouraged. Marshall was one who has been in and out of our mission, and others in the area, for years. To him, love was communicated when I found a hard- to-find bike part for him. Arthur just needs someone to believe in him. Jimmy wants someone to accept him for who he is right now. Debbie just wants someone to listen to her side of the story. Every person is different. The success of the mission is if we showed love to these men and women with all of the excellence that we could. Love might look like a tough con- versation or a meal. Every person that walks through our door at Gospel Rescue Mission in Muskogee needs us to love them. My hope is that they stick around long enough for me to figure out how they hear love. I can’t control what they do, but I can control what I do. I must choose to love them when they are at their worst and when they are at their best. I must choose to love them when they are angry or disruptive or irrational. That is success. I pray that I pull that off more.