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Since 1995, the Association of Gospel Rescue
Missions' Expansion Ministry has been defined as a ministry that has been
in operation and planning for less than 5 years. However, this does not
begin to touch on what Expansion means! Throughout North America,
men and women have committed themselves to reaching out to the "Least,
Last and Lost." This is happening in cities, towns and rural areas where
there has not been a focused Gospel outreach to those in this
group.
Hopefully, as you read these stories and view
these pictures, you will be challenged to pray for and encourage the
individuals, couples and ministries that are represented.
LITTLE
ROCK, AR - God has most certainly blessed this ministry the past year. Over
80,000 meals were provided and over 16,200 beds were made available for
the homeless. We have been pushed beyond our limits for space in our 3,300
square foot building. In answer to prayer, and a lot of leg work, God has
provided a way for the purchase of another building (without mortgage)
just 3 blocks from our present location. This building has 49,700 square
feet of space and, except for a good cleaning, was ready to move into and
begin operations. This new facility will be our Men's Division of the
Compassion Center, while our other building will be the Women's Division.
After two nights in the new building, we went from 50 to 90 beds filled.
It has the capacity to hold 400.
COLORADO
SPRINGS, CO - "Liza's Place
Colorado Springs Gospel Home, doing business as "Liza's Place,"
is a transitional housing program for women who are coming off the
streets or out of incarceration. It was founded in September 2002
to meet the needs of a Christian program for single women in Colorado
Springs. We work with probation, parole, churches, community and
human services to help women get on their feet. We increased our
beds to 10. Our prayer request is that we can raise enogh funds
to have a paid staff, which will allow us to institute the Genesis
Process in our ladies' program. This will also allow the women to
sit under God's Word for the first three months of their stay before
finding employment.
LEXINGTON,
KY - In the second full year of operations, God
has continued to bless the Lexington Rescue Mission with gifts that
have allowed us to move forward in serving the poor and broken in
our community. Mission revenue more than doubled the prior year's
revenue which has allowed us to serve nearly 19,000 meals and distribute
1200 articles of clothing. Since March, we have averaged 11.4 men
 per night
in our men's Life Renewal Program.The men' s Life Renewal Program
was launched last March. This three phase men's residency program
has seen lives transformed since its inception. Men are learning
that with God's grace and strength they can overcome addiction,
set life goals and give each area of their lives fulyl over to Jesus.
In November, the
program celebrated its first three graduates. One of these graduates is
now a resident supervisor for the program. On February 1, 2004, the
mission leased a 12 unit apartment building, opening up low cost, drug and
alcohol free apartments. The men in the third phase of the Life Renewal
Program along with program graduates and other men from the community now
have the opportunity to live in a safe place and practice living their
life of recovery.
In January
of 2004, the mission purchased a 4,800 square foot property in north
Lexington. This former nursing home will become the mission's outreach
center and will effectively allow us to double the number of men
participating in our men's recovery and and discipleship program.
OCEANSIDE, CA - During the past two years, the City of
Oceanside waived the zoning and allowed the churches to house 20 people
per night during the cold weather. With only two churches and Bread of
Life opening their doors to the needy, we decided to lobby the city to
increase the numbers to 50 per night. The Lord prepared the way and the
vote was unanimous by the City Council. The city also purchased 50
sleeping mats and blankets for us.
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In
December of 2003, we began our second year of providing overnight
shelter. We now have volunteers from nearly 30 local churches coming
to bring and serve meals. The Sunday chapel service has grown from a
handful to a packed house. Each week, a differenct pastor brings the
message and the music.
Our
mailing list has grown to about 500 and the response to the
newsletter and the website has been very positive.If you would like our latest newsletter, please
email Bread of Life
Rescue Mission your full name and address. Thank you again for
your prayers and support. We can't do this
alone. |
COLUMBUS,
NE - What a blessing to have opened the doors to the Columbus Rescue
Mission as of March 13th, 2003. We have had our share of growing pains,
and they have been good for us. On March 24, 2004, we almost reached the
city-imposed capacity of 25 with 22 guests.Last year, most of God's money
went into remodeling so we could open. This year, we face the need for
additional staff. Our prayer is that God will call His person to serve Him
here.
Jerry was one of our
overnight guests whom we like to call 'John the Baptist.' Hel looked like
he had just come out of the wilderness! He recently checked out of the
Rescue Mission with $2000 in his bank account, a full-time job, a 1978
Mercury Marquee, his own apartment and a newfound faith in Jesus. He
received all of this while in our care. Jerry is truly a new
creation.
We are also serving
two county jails and continue to be be blessed with many inmates making
commitments of faith.
PROVIDENCE,
RI - Providence Rescue Mission is an expansion Mission
which was founded in the capital of Rhode Island by Executive Director,
Sean Carew with the cooperation of the Association of Gospel Rescue
Missions and the association's Northeast
District.
 In a recent article
in "Rescue" Magazine, Sean Carew wrote, "As the Executive Director
of the Providence Rescue Mission, I have seen the diverse needs
fo the poor and homeless...The reality is, if they [inner city kids]
are not reached during their youth, they very likely will become
part of those to whom we minister as adults. That is why we started
a Boy Scout troop at the mission over a year ago, and the results
have been exciting!
The longer we have
worked with the urban poor in our community, the more we came to realize
that these children are going through life without the kinds of
opportunities that other children have. Opportunities that give children
Biblical values and goals, good direction and the ability to be better
prepared to contribute to society in a positive way. The kind of qualities
you find in a Boy Scout. With these ideals in mind we reached out to
partner with a local Christian man named Pat Dochety, who has been
involved with scouting, for many years. We talked about what it would take
to bring scouting to the inner-city. We cam to the conclusion that with
the right partnership, it would not be difficult to achieve....Because of
our experiences in Providence, we recommend that other missions establish
scouting programs for inner-city kids. The formula we used called for an
established troop with lots of interest and resources, coupled with men
who will step forward to dedicate their time and leadership to the
program. Each week, I see these young men come to mission for their troop
meeting. In talking with them, you can see that the Lord has used the
mission and scouting to make a life-changing difference in each one of
them!"
Click here to
see the full RESCUE, June 2004 article (PDF format)
REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN - The biggest excitement of
the year has been acquiring a permanent home for Regina RESCUE Mission. We
are now settled into our new place, and still maintain a lease on the old
one, thereby expanding our programming to include a large men's low-income
housing unit and emergency shelter, and a large LifeChange Discipleship
Program. We encourage people with life-controlling problems to spend one
year with us, and our goal is to work with them to return them to society
having built stability into their lives to the degree that they are active
members in a local church and working or volunteering in the community. We
are able to house 26 men and 4 women with up to 2 children
each.
Other mission highlights this year included
beginning a Women's Auxiliary, being able to take in children with their
moms and having over 4500 mission partners! We have also started a drop-in
dayroom at the Shelter, where we want to share the Gospel, recruit for our
other programs, and provide for physical needs by offering a light meal
and free clothing to take home.
Men's facility in
Regina
NASHUA,
NH -
Southern New Hampshire Rescue Mission Executive
Director David Blacksmith says, "In terms of things that are tangible,
securing a facility was number one on our list. Facilities that would
serve well as a Rescue Mission in the Nashua area are slim..and most just
plain unaffordable. God's provision of this site is just awesome...
Another highlight is not as tangible, but equally exciting - relationships
with the community. We were not sure how the community would respond to
us. however, we/ve been welcomed, especially from the Christian community.
It's been more, 'We've been praying for something like this for years!'
All with voices filled with energy and excitement. We've gained almost 800
donors, and there's a list of at least 150 people we can call on to serve
at most any time. The phone rings daily with individuals and groups that
are looking for ways to serve."
Brooksville,
FL - Executive Director
Bruce Gimbel shares, "Jericho Road Ministries' opened
in October 2000 to provide an in-house recovery program to men,
women and families. As a
Christian program, we believe a personal relationship to Jesus Christ
is essential to complete and lasting recovery from life's troubles.
Our staff provides mentoring and educational classes to further
the clients development and restoration to life and spiritual health.
Current services include Emergency Shelter services and long-term
assistance in one of our local homes.
Overnight lodging is
provided for men, women and children at our shelter or a local motel.
Three nights or longer stays are permitted without a program commitment. A
nine month recovery program is offered to men wanting to address life
issues that have kept them on the streets and without personal direction.
Plans are underway to construct a permanent shelter for women and
families.
- For more information about AGRM's Expansion
Program, contact Gary
Meek, Expansion Director
- Learn about the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, a
rescue mission established through the Expansion Program.
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