WOW! This community is amazing!

When my family moved to the Evansville / Newburgh area in 2001, we had no idea that we were becoming a part of something so special. Not only were we moving into a house in a town, we were also joining a "family" which would come to mean so much to us as the years have gone by since then. In fact, for a few years (2006-2008), we actually moved away for a period of time, but were very eager to return when the opportunity presented itself (although we met some great people while we lived up in the Muncie / Yorktown area...so, the time definitely was not wasted).

Anyhow, what I've learned about the Evansville / Newburgh community is, once you're in, you're in! Not only do you become a part of the lifeblood of the neighborhood, but you also become a part of the peoples' lives that you're actually sharing life with.  The people here look out for each other. The people here pray for each other. When there's a need that one in the "family" faces, everyone pitches in, and to the best of his or her ability, helps meet that need. We've seen that played out time and time again when our co-residents have faced illness, injury, financial difficulties, unemployment, heartache, and even the death of a loved one. Our friends have helped pick up the pieces all around and have joined one another in hoping for and in expecting a better day for all involved.

To say the least, there was no way we could have ever fully understood the phrase that Hillary Clinton made famous a few years ago, "It takes a Village," until we stood in leadership of a prominent non-profit ministry which relies on the generosity, hard work, prayers, and support of the community in order for it to be successful. But WOW!!!  This community amazes me all the time when it jumps in, donates, volunteers, prays for, and in so many other ways "gets its hands dirty" by being a part of the great work the Evansville Rescue Mission does on a daily basis. I mean, I am seriously blown away when I see the (literally) thousands of people it takes each year to make this place operate, and then I know that there are RARELY times when we don't have enough people to pull something off. That, my dear friends, speaks volumes upon volumes about the kind of community we live in, and also, it says so much about the level to which this community loves and supports the ERM.  It really does "take a village."

I was recently approached a couple of times about ministry positions in other cities. In fact, the opportunity was there a couple of times for me to return to pastoral ministry, as well as to work at a different, and substantially larger Rescue Mission in a really great city. Now, for those of you who know me, you know how much I loved being a pastor. I LOVED IT!  However, it was pretty easy for us, at this point in our lives, to want to stay right here in this community because we love it so much. We love the people. We love the values. We love the leadership. We love the vision; and we love the opportunities that we have, right here in the Evansville / Newburgh area, to help make a difference in people's lives both inside and outside of the Mission. Plus, speaking of the Mission, it would be difficult to find a place, anywhere, which has the profound backing and support of the community like the ERM does. (Now, someday Tammy and I might want to live in a warmer climate, but right now...home really is where our heart is, and our hearts are right here!)

So, thank you to the wonderful people of this community for truly being a great big, extended family for my family...and also for the 150-200 or so guys who live at the Mission who have no other family members close by. You welcome them and us (with open arms) into your lives, into your churches, into your businesses, and into your hearts. You do the same for so many others, and so from the bottom of my heart, thanks for all you do to help make this wonderful city so much more than streets, houses, buildings, and businesses. Thanks for making it OUR HOME! 

Because they deserve the best!

I was talking to some friends this week who asked me why we got involved in the renovation and relocation project for the Evansville Rescue Mission. What was the main reason for the move?  What was the catalyst which got us heading in that direction? Well, there are lots and lots of reasons why this big change made and makes sense: The old building was getting a lot of age on it, and the maintenance costs were outrageous; We were really running out of space on the property both for the Men's Residence Center and for the Administrative offices; Our big on-site events were definitely outgrowing our property (like the Gobbler Gathering); and the community was ready to further develop MLK Blvd., and the property we occupied was a key part of the future plans.  Each one of those reasons was a key reason, and all by itself was enough of a reason for us to make the change. But at the end of the day, the Board and staff truly felt like our residents, clients, and guests deserve the very best facility we can provide for them, and the new property offers so many more opportunities for the Mission to do ministry. There's more indoor and outdoor property to utilize for programming and for residential living. The new location provides amazing exposure to the community. The building is much newer than our previous buildings, so maintenance costs should be much better. Since the building is better built than the old building, our utility costs should improve. The same goes for having everything under one roof. That will help!  But the overriding and overwhelming reason we decided to take on this massive project, really goes to the 96 year old heart of this Mission: We love people, and truly want to provide a great place to help meet their needs. For some of these precious residents, this is the nicest place they've ever lived. We're so happy to see them enjoying the space. My prayer is that the facility will be a tool to help us provide the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, spiritual development, and social interaction. So, I looked at my friend and said, "We did this because they deserve the very best we could offer." It's the truth. They do! There's no reason whatsoever to think that a Rescue Mission has to be some dark, dank, stinky, bug-infested, broken furniture filled, depressing facility. On the contrary! These folks are some of the kindest, friendliest, hard-working, well-meaning, God-fearing and God-loving people I've ever met. They deserve a warm, clean, cheery, attractive, comfortable, nice place to eat, sleep, and live while they're with us. For us to offer them any less would be a shame, but for us to be able to offer them this new facility is most certainly one of the highlights of my pastoral / ministerial career. It's been a privilege to work on this project for Jesus Christ, and for each person who will walk through those doors.  God bless each one who does!