HIGHLIGHTS FROM MAY 2010
Decisions to follow Christ for the month
215
Average number of homeless women & children housed nightly
42
Families served with free clothing, furniture, appliances & housewares
509
Avg. Attendance at Roosevelt Magnet School before school Bible study
65
Attendance in our Laramie Street Sunday School, weekly
32
Attendance at our RiverWest Bible Study
10
Avg. Attendance at Trewyn Middle School before school Bible study
21
Elderly Services home, hospital or nursing home visits
52
Formerly homeless women moving out successfully
1
Avg. Attendance at Harrison Primary School before school Bible study
18
Food baskets given away at our RiverWest Satellite Office
16
Number of people completing a discipleship course this month
0
Average attendance at the Lighthouse Diner
18
Avg. Attendance at Manual High School before school Bible study
9
Kids enrolled in after-school tutoring
50
Churches that have Adopted Blocks in 61605
18
Food baskets given away through our Garden Street Benevolence Center
418
Attendance at our South Side Manor Bible Study
7
College Club kids enrolled in college
8
Food baskets given away at our Harrison Homes Satellite Office
52
Attendance at our Harrison Homes Bible Studies (2)
24
Attendance in our Chapel services, Laramie Street, weekly
37
Volunteer hours, as a ministry
1,396
Attendance in our Chapel services, Garden Street, weekly
231
Attendance at our B’Nai B’Rith Bible Study
10
Pastoral care visits & counsels (non-elderly)
45
Attendance at our Hurlburt House Bible Study
6
Children enrolled in our Kings Kids Child Care
36
Hot meals to the poor
6,048
FINANCIALS FROM MAY 2010
Monthly revenue vs. budgeted
$200,720/$211,276
Monthly expenses vs. budgeted
$257,698/$272,607
Positive or Negative on the Month
- $56,978
Yearly revenue vs. budgeted
$1,115,650/$1,007,380
Yearly expenses vs. budgeted
$1,215,124/$1,272,959
Positive or Negative on the Year
- $99,474
How we’re doing versus budget
+ $166,105
The Lord reserves the right to not participate in a recession
Indicated decisions for Christ
The Holy Spirit is no respecter of persons and led a diverse group of folks across the line of faith in May. There were seven at our Annual Celebration Banquet, five at our before-school Bible Study and Prayer Meeting at Trewyn Middle School, three in Mission at Prayer, one in Kings Kids, one in the Culinary Arts Training School, 10 at our before-school Bible Study and Prayer Meeting at Roosevelt Magnet School, one at our Harrison Homes Satellite Office, four in the Breakout Youth Center, two at our before-school
Bible Study and Prayer Meeting at Harrison School, one on Adopt-a-block, two in External Ministries, eight at our Laramie Street chapel, three in Elderly Services, and an amazing 173 at the Benevolence Center. Praise to the Lord the Almighty and King of Creation!
We have a new discipleship and training program for adolescents, through our Breakout Youth Center. For years, we have been doing a training program at Camp Kearney, over three weeks, called the SMT program. In this program, we sow extra into young adults, training up future counselors. We are now planning to do this for our Day Camp too. Our teen leadership group is on its way this summer. We have selected 10 teens to be a part of this group. Each teen will be assigned a mentor that will spend 2-4 hours a week here on site with them learning a new skill.
Fish week at the Culinary Arts Training School of South Side Mission was in May and the Lord showed up. And even though it's been more than 2,000 years since the Lord caused a tax coin to be found in a finny friend's mouth or nets to be filled to overflowing by disbelieving disciples, Jesus is still doing miraculous things with fish. First, Chef Chris received a donation of a whole lot of crab boil mix recently, which he put aside for just the right opportunity. Well, on Monday, an anonymous donor showed up with three large styrofoam coolers full of live and large Louisiana crawfish. CATS students boiled up the mix of seasoning, potatoes, corn on the cob, onions and finally crawfish in big pots and as they say on the bayou--voila! Second, thanks to our generous friends at Dixon's we received a great donation of sashimi-grade yellowfin tuna, which the Culinary Arts Training School turned into sushi, complete with Wasabi vinegar sauce! The students rolled the tuna in sesame seeds before lightly searing it in sesame oil. And like all of our Culinary Arts Training School entrees, these were fed to poor people who come for our gourmet soup kitchen--the Lighthouse Diner. It may be a far cry and two millenia removed from the two fish that Jesus stretched to feed a multitude, but our Lord still likes to surprise people with blessings from the sea.
In our ongoing efforts to expand our ability to grow our own fresh vegetables, we have doubled our vegetable garden at the Benevolence Center. It is amazing how the Lord has provided. He provided all the plants we needed all through donations. He provided many truckloads of compost, a tiller, and fertilizer at no cost. At the time of this writing, we had mustard greens, collard greens, herbs, and onions ready to pick already. Many of the people we serve are picking their own from our garden!
We Care Jesus Ministries on Western Avenue is a small, but vital South Side ministry. We partner with them as often as we can. Sadly, much of their building burned in May. We have offered them our facilities to use for ministry while they are rebuilding.
[from Associate Executive Director, Youth Ministries, Sheree Lyles’ report]
Recently, in a Girls Club, we did an exercise in which the girls invited Jesus to a party. Here are excerpts from their invitations to Jesus:
Dear Jesus,
I want to yield myself to you in any way you want me to.
Dear Jesus,
I just want you to know that I Love You with all of my heart. I want to invite you into my heart. I would like to invite you to a party of mine. We will have a blast having you as my special guest. Love
You!
Dear Jesus
You are invited to a party because you are special to me. My special gift you will be receiving all of my days will be my heart.
Vagabond Tours in May did its annual Culinary Tour of Peoria and visited noteworthy Peoria restaurants. This year, they made the Culinary Arts Training School of South Side Mission one of their stops. It’s nice for Chef Chris and his students to get that feather in their cap!
Noted Christian industrialist RG LeTourneau was a very cool footnote in an old binder I dusted off at the Mission recently. The binder contained Board minutes from the 1940s.
RG spent a few years in Peoria, innovating in the field of earth-moving equipment. In the process, he became very successful. Believing that one cannot outgive God, RG decided to keep 10% and give 90%. His enterprises were very successful from his industrial processes to beginning the Christian Businessmen's Committee (CBMC). The Lord honored him in life and after, when LeTourneau Christian University was founded. His factory eventually sold out and became WABCO and then Komatsu. As it turns out, to no one's surprise and to my total joy, RG was a major donor to South Side Mission in 1945. Thanks RG for investing some of that 90% here. Incidentally, there's a statue of RG LeTourneau in Glen Oak Park, over by the tennis courts!
We have two new Adoptablock churches; Bethel United Methodist and Cross
Roads United Methodist.
[from Associate Executive Director, Connections, Sean Allen’s report]
On Memorial Day, my family and I had just finished dinner at my mother-in-law’s house in North Peoria when we heard a slight knock at the door. My mother-in-law immediately jumped up to see who it was. When she returned, she said there was a lady crying in distress who needed to use the phone. The lady was far from home and had no ride. When my mother-in-law went back to the door, the lady then mentioned that she lived on the south side… to which my mother-in-law responded, “Well, my son-in-law actually works at South Side Mission!” Surprised, the lady asked the name… and when my mother-in-law said “Sean Allen,” the lady said “Oh my!” and broke down crying even harder. Of course, hearing the mention of my name, I had hurried to the door… and standing right there on my mother-in-law’s door-step was Grandma Victoria! (Victoria just happens to be on my Adopt-A-Block, and she and her grandchildren are the only guests who have joined us each and every week on our Northwoods bus!)
Anyway, I hugged Victoria, prayed with her, and took her home… encouraging and affirming God’s love for her the entire way! And although I still wonder, “What are the chances?” I realize it was a 1-in-1 chance because God had orchestrated the whole thing!!! Grandma Victoria shared with me that she was praying for a hedge of protection as she walked alone and that she had asked God to send her help! And then there I was! A modern day miracle! By the way, I was so exhausted from a long weekend of ball games and hot sun that I had jokingly asked my wife if there was any way we could just skip dinner and relax at home! Obviously, God needed me and I’m so glad I was right where I was supposed to be! “God, you are AWESOME!”
[from Chef Chris Franzoni’s monthly report]
We had one recommitment in the culinary school this month. Marvin was a student in our program and arrived one morning very distraught. I sat with him and he broke and shared that he was wracked with guilt over the fact that he felt he had dishonored his mother over the years with his attitude and actions. He was worried that their relationship had been permanently damaged. He could not get past the guilt. When asked he shared that he accepted Christ when he was 9. I asked if he fully understood what that meant at the time and he was unsure. Pastor Craig happened to stop by and with his help Marvin is now sure of his future. His mother was very proud of her son on graduation day.
[from Director over External Ministries, Minister Bessie Rush’s report]
At RiverWest a former crack addict, who gave her heart to the Lord was starting over from scratch. Because of her addiction she was alienated from her family and feeling alone. We have prayed and cried with her many days as she shared her burdens with us in her quest for continued sobriety. At the food pantry we became her extended family and support system. We made referral to community resource for her and she recently finished a computer class and her self esteem is soaring! God touched the heart of her estranged family and after seeing that she has changed her life, her family recently sent her a round trip ticket to come and visit with the family! This time her tears are tears of joy! Psalm 30:5 “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”
[from Director of the New Promise Center shelter and Chaplain Rev. Linda Butler’s report]
Pam Therell is the former NPC resident who had gone on to nursing school and graduated who was featured in the Journal Star article that got picked up by the Associated press nationwide. The latest chapter in her story is that she passed her board test and is newly employed at a nursing facility in Pekin. She has relocated from subsidize housing to general rental. In all ways she is self sufficient, but quick to give the credit to God.
Thanks for reading this report and Praise the Lord for all He is doing here! Please pray for concerns, rejoice with us for victories and support us as you feel led.
In Christ,
Phil Newton, Executive Director
This photo, from our Benevolence Center chapel illustrates that Jesus stands at the door and knocks, wanting to come into our hearts and lives.
