Ministry By the Numbers - June 2009

The Altar Call at the South Side Mission RiverWest Housing Project outreach picnic on 6/28/09. Many came to faith!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM JUNE 2009

Decisions to follow Christ for the month
551

Average number of homeless women & children housed nightly
53

Families served with free clothing, furniture, appliances & housewares
476

Attendance in our Sunday School, weekly
44

Attendance at our RiverWest Bible Study
24

Elderly Services home, hospital or nursing home visits
67

Formerly homeless women moving out successfully
6

Food baskets given away at our RiverWest Satellite Office
25

Average attendance at the Lighthouse Diner
23

Food baskets given away through our Garden Street Benevolence Center
449

Food baskets given away at our Harrison Homes Satellite Office
41

Attendance at our Harrison Homes Bible Study
12

Attendance in our Chapel services, Laramie Street, weekly
34

Attendance in our Chapel services, Garden Street, weekly
231

Number of churches involved with our Adoptablock program
15

Pastoral care visits & counsels (non-elderly)
50

Kids enrolled at Camp Kearney
206

Attendance at our South Side Manor Bible Study
10

Hot meals to the poor
9,130

FINANCIALS FROM JUNE 2009

Monthly revenue vs. budgeted
$167,543/$183,851

Monthly expenses vs. budgeted
$244,258/$247,859

Positive or Negative on the Month
-$76,716

Yearly revenue vs. budgeted
$1,160.626/$1,288,106

Yearly expenses vs. budgeted
$1,337,291/$1,422,241

Positive or Negative on the Year
- $176,665

Over or under budget on the year
- $42,530

Indicated decisions for Christ 551

The Holy Spirit continues his amazing winning streak on the south side of Peoria! This is one of those months when every department sees someone come to the Lord! At our RiverWest Satellite Office community outreach picnic 45 souls came to Christ! At our Harrison Homes Satellite Office, two more stamped their ticket to heaven paid in full! Eight attenders of our Mission at Prayer meetings stepped across the line of faith! One homeowner received free home repairs and Salvation through Jesus Christ in our Hope Builders program! One person came for lunch and left with Jesus at our Lighthouse Diner soup kitchen! Ten lonely souls found their Forever Friend in our Laramie Street chapel! Two homeless ladies made reservations for their Heavenly Home in the New Promise Center shelter! One person on our adopted blocks became adopted into the Lord’s family! Two senior citizens crossed the Finish Line before they crossed the finish line! Jesus loves the little children and 183 of them made a decision at Camp Kearney in June! Lastly, over 900 people came through the doors of our Benevolence Center in June with 296 of them raising their hand to ask Jesus into their hearts and lives. Hallelujah! May the Lord be with us as we attempt to disciple all we can get to.

Camp Kearney is off to a tremendous start in 2009. Most weeks, we are already full on paper. This is a huge step for us. We are seeing numbers at camp that are unprecedented in my nearly 7 years here. Camp Director Paul Mulholland and his staff have put together a great recruitment plan and it is paying off. He is a gem!

Did you know that we now have 5 clergy at South Side Mission that make pastoral care visits? Reverends Frank Winfrey, Howard Bedell, Craig Williams, Linda Butler, and Bessie Rush all do home and hospital visits with the hurting. Additionally, Robin Winfrey does home and hospital visits with the elderly. Together, the six of them conducted 117 different visits in June. Thank you God!

You may have seen news of a fire at South Side Mission this past month. It was a small fire, but it was arson. Because it was arson, it made the papers. Vandals burned the door of one of our storage sheds. Not long after the fire started, a neighbor noticed and called the fire department. Gratefully, the security was not breached and we lost nothing inside the shed.

External Ministries received a call from a precious senior in 61605, whose husband is in a nursing home. Her request was for a wheel chair ramp so that he could come home for weekend visits. Minister Bessie Rush was able to connect her to City of Peoria and assist with filling out her application to see if she qualifies for city services. With-out the ramp he could not come home! With-in a week she was notified that she was going to receive the wheel chair ramp! Then the windows of heaven open! Not only did she receive the ramp, she received new front stairs, new sidewalks, and Hope Builders also painted the outside of her house! She is so overwhelm with joy at how everything happen so quickly. Now this family can be together! How is that for family preservation!

[from Assistant Executive Director and Senior Pastor Frank Winfrey’s report]
The Lord allowed us to experience a beautiful visitation of his spirit even in the midst of tragedy. We lost a baby born prematurely in our shelter for the second time in six weeks. God met us in a powerful way. The ladies in the shelter rallied around this mom and loved on her and cried with her. The family was impressed by the support that she received. At the funeral we were able to involve the ladies in reading Scripture and reading a poem. Most all of them added a few words of their own. God ministered through so many and we were so pleased to see God moving and helping to heal as the body had each individual doing their part. God has built a family here. PTL.

[from Director of Elderly Services Robin Winfrey’s report]
I visited an elderly gentleman in the Harrison Homes who suffered two strokes in the past. The residual effect was extreme left sided weakness. His couch was completely kaput on the left side from him using the arm of the couch to lift himself up; he was literally sitting on the floor with a few inches of couch beneath him. I told Lewis I was going to pray we get a nice couch for his home to replace the broken one. He agreed to pray with me, his daughter was also there and said she would pray too. One Friday Dorothy called me at home from the BC and said she had a beautiful, sturdy couch with a matching chair delivered that afternoon and if I could get it moved early Monday morning my gentleman could have it. I got to the BC as early as I could that next Monday but someone had already seen it and begged Dorothy to give it to her for her dad. Dorothy told her if I hadn’t moved it before chapel was out the woman could have it. I arrived and quickly moved it leaving Dorothy dreading having to tell Cecilia that it was taken while she was in chapel. Lewis was thrilled to have the new couch. He was amazed how beautiful and like new it was. I was sweeping and cleaning the floor before bringing the new couch in. Lewis said let me call my son-in-law to come over and help bring in the couch. He had to leave a message on the cell phone and when he called back I saw the caller ID showed South Side Mission BC. Lewis’s daughter was there with her husband, the very same women begging for the couch from Dorothy!!! They came right over and said we wanted the couch but had no way to get it home. God saved it for Lewis and moved it into the house for him!

I got a call from a daughter of a resident at the Heartland apartments. Her mom was renting a bed from a rent-a-center type of place on a monthly basis. The bed wasn’t very nice and her mom couldn’t afford the monthly payments. She has already called the BC the day before and we had no beds. I told her that often there won’t be an item at the BC until we know about the need. Then the Lord miraculously supplies it. I told her I would stop back at the BC to see if the Lord had come through. So I later went to the BC and reminded Steve of the earlier call and explained the need. Steve said, “Mark just brought it in, Robin.” I looked and saw a magnificent queen size bed complete with headboard, Sealy posturpedic plush pillow top mattress- frame and all. I said, “Honestly Steve that is too nice, we could get a good price for that at the Mission Mart.” Steve said, “I know, I already told Mark that but he said the Lord had told Mark that the bed was to bless someone who needed a bed. So here’s your bed.” Then he yelled to Mark who was just getting back into the truck “you’re right God wanted to bless a senior!” Jehovah Jireh!

[from External Ministries Assistant Reverend Bessie Rush’s report]

A senior citizen, Annie Hously, 80 years old (who has health problems), only had lawn chairs to sit on in her living room. External Ministries was able to get her a nice sofa and a chair for her Harrison Homes apartment. She was so grateful that we help her!