Tent City Closed

For the past several years, visitors to downtown Youngstown have noticed an encampment popularly called "Tent City." Last year, some well-meaning advocates encouraged people to donate blankets, food, and clothing items to the people who were living along the railroad tracks near the Mahoning River.

Last week, city officials have begun to clear out these encampments. YPD Chief Lees cites good reasons for this in a recent interview that you can see here. There are many resources available to help people who experience homelessness. No one needs to live in a tent. The issue is that some individuals refuse help because the help offered comes with accountability.

The Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley provides emergency shelter so that no one will have to live in a tent. If someone really wants help, we are here, thanks to the generous support of faithful donors in the community.   

This is Who We Are

The Rescue Mission is a conservative, evangelical, Protestant ministry. We make this claim without apology or without trying to be deceptive. We believe in the priority of Scripture, the necessity of personal conversion, and the responsibility to proclaim the gospel. This is a story that we tell whenever we can.

At first glance, claiming to be Protestant may seem to put us at odds with other streams of Christianity. As was mentioned in the previous post, not all Protestants consider themselves to be evangelical. Likewise, not all who call themselves Christian consider themselves to be Protestant. The largest “denomination” within Christendom is represented by the Catholic Church, Roman and otherwise. From the different streams of Catholicism, the Mission has supporters, clients, volunteers, partner agencies, and even former Board members. So, while we are who we are, we appreciate the diverse contributions from other traditions.

The key is in maintaining our specific identity without alienating those who differ and without compromising our core convictions. I think we do a pretty good job of this. We invite you to come by and check us out.

 

Who Are You, Part Two

In the sidebar of this blog, you can find our well-worded and concise mission statement. This was developed more than 15 years ago to describe the essence of who and what we are as an organization. For many it is sufficient to say that the Rescue Mission is a faith-based organization. For others, it is helpful to know that we are a 501c3, non-profit; still others are encouraged to see us as a Protestant, non-denominational, evangelical, para-church ministry. Admittedly, these tags mean different things to different people. So, to encapsulate the essence of the Rescue Mission’s identity, we may be described in these ways:

We are a non-profit, tax exempt agency. This means that we do not manufacture a product. We sell nothing. We are structured to supply services, not products. As such, we are completely dependent upon outside support. We choose to limit that support to private donations. This means that we do not solicit or receive any government funding.

We are a faith based organization. We do not discriminate in the services we offer on the basis of religious affiliation, but we make no apology that we place great value on the spiritual component. Our worldview informs us that people are more than the physical entities with whom we interact; there is a deeper, spiritual part of humankind that cannot be ignored.

When it comes to our “faith base,” we are decidedly Christian. While we do not withhold services from those who identify themselves with other religions or no religious systems, we are not interested in creating an ecumenical atmosphere that appeals to all. Realizing that this may place us at odds with other faith traditions, we, nonetheless, will stay true to our Christian convictions. Likewise, there is no need to apologize for being labelled as “Christian.” Historically, Christians have been at the forefront of social change by promoting literacy, building hospitals, caring for orphans, etc. It is only recently that Christianity (and all religious belief, for that matter) has been viewed as harmful and dangerous, particularly by the “New Atheists.”

We stand in the stream of evangelical Protestantism. Protestantism is divided between evangelical and mainline. Evangelicals are more concerned with issues like personal conversion, a more literal understanding of Scripture, and the need to evangelize (see the distinction here). Mainline Protestants have a more “modernist” approach to things like Scripture, the need for personal conversion, and the claim that Jesus is the sole means of personal salvation.

This is part of the portrait of the Mission; this is part of who we are. There is more.

Who Are You?

In previous posts, we've put the spotlight on the Discipleship Academy, Family Services, and Food Services. Along with these aspects of our ministry, the Mission is an emergency shelter for homeless men; the Mission provides case management with a full time LSW who supervises social work interns from several universities, and the Mission engages in a robust collaboration with outside social service agencies.

The Mission is not a drug rehabilitation center, although daily we deal with individuals who are in various stages of recovery from addiction. The Mission is not a mental health facility, although we provide shelter for individuals with mental health issues. The Mission is not an employment agency, although a large part of our effort is directed to workforce development that is designed to send people into the marketplace as productive, reliable workers. The Mission is not a church, although we provide a Sunday morning service for those who have no access to weekly worship. The Mission is not a seminary, although we commit a major part of our resources to instructing people in the ways of Scripture and in leading people to become followers of Christ.

The Mission does all of this - but the question of identity is still important. Who or what are we? This question will be more completely addressed in subsequent posts.

Spotlight on Food Services

The Rescue Mission is more than a homeless shelter. As many know, we operate a full service meal program or "soup kitchen." We provide meals for our resident clients and for anyone from the general public who is in need of a hot, nutritious meal. The Mission has served 3 meals daily for most of its history.

 Even though we had a significant leak in the kitchen last week, our food service staff is still on track to serve an average of 631 meals each day, "rain" or shine. As you can tell by the graphic, the average number of meals served daily has increased significantly in the last 10 years.

We rely upon monetary donations, food drives and food donations, volunteer servers and preparers to help in this enormous endeavor. These come along side our 3 full time and one part time food service staff.

Here's how you can help:

• Donate! Call Lynn Wyant to learn the different ways to do this. 
• Volunteer to provide a meal
• Volunteer to prepare a meal
• Volunteer to serve a meal
• Pray for God to continue to preserve our failing infrastructure

Spotlight on Family Service

Many people do not realize that homelessness impacts, not only men, but women, women with children and entire families. In response to the growth of this segment of the homeless population, in 1988 the Rescue Mission opened a family service unit.

This week in Family Services, we have sheltered 27 children, 26 women, and 2 married couples. Imagine if you can, 27 children in a building with no playground, no place to enjoy outdoor activities now that school is out for the summer.

Our house is full with people, with noise, with laughter, and with the love of Christ. Please pray for us during this summer. We are in need of a new facility to more adequately meet the needs of the growing homeless population - especially woman and children. Contact the Mission to learn how you can help.

The Discipleship Academy

Today we turn the spotlight on the Discipleship Academy. The Academy is a program of intensive Bible study and service duties designed to achieve these outcomes in every individual in the Academy:

• Provide a solid foundation for life by introducing men to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Build upon this foundation by grounding the students in the truth of Scripture though doctrinal and expositional studies. Below are but a few of the courses offered:
• Apologetics
• Basic Bible Doctrine
• Church History
• Conflict Resolution
• Expository Teaching (teaching through books of the Bible)
• Goal setting and Action planning.
• Personal Finance
• History of Redemption
• Employment Seeking Skills.
• Equip men in the Academy to become godly fathers/husbands who are strong enough to face the challenges of a world that does not value holiness, Christ-likeness, integrity, and hard work.

You can partner with the Rescue Mission as we help the men in the Discipleship Academy work toward these outcomes.

Keep reading. We will spotlight different ministries in future posts.