Mission Waco offers Christian hope to poor, marginalized_71204

Posted: 7/09/04

Mission Waco offers Christian hope to poor, marginalized

By Janelle Bagci

BGCT Summer Intern

WACO–Mission Waco–founded nine years ago in the abandoned remains of a pornography theater and four bars–has become a light in the darkness for the many underprivileged people living in Waco.

Mission Waco offers hope to poor, marginalized and unchurched people, said Executive Director Jimmy Dorrell. Programs for youth, adults and the elderly address social and educational needs hindering people from being self-sufficient.

It's a holistic program that deals with the root causes and development issues of life, Dorrell said. Mission Waco's main focuses are being compassionately relationship based, mobilizing middle-class Christians and fighting social injustice.

“We at Mission Waco are some of the only healthy role models these guys have ever seen,” Treatment Programs Director Pam Stelk said.

Dorrell believes middle-class Christians have withdrawn from inner cities and retreated to the suburbs because they think it is the best for their children and families, but the majority of needy people are in the inner cities.

Mission Waco wants to take people where they are and stretch them by helping them apply Christian values in relating to the poor, he explained.

“To follow Jesus is to risk. A crisis of faith is where development happens,” Dorrell said.

Baylor University enables Mission Waco to more easily mobilize middle-class Christians, he noted. Through volunteer opportunities, students with high income and Christian backgrounds are opening their eyes to the plight of the poor.

Waco ranked 19 in the nation for cities containing people below the poverty line in 1990. “That means 20 percent of the kids are below the poverty line,” Dorrell said. “Many people can only work 29 hours a week because the company doesn't want to pay for benefits. That means they're making $10,080 per year, which is $7,000 below the poverty level. …

“As a middle-class white guy, I would have said the legal justice system is fair. Now I see it's not.

“We've been called to move in and work among the people.”

From that call, Mission Waco has launched 15 programs designed to bring hope and empowerment to the poor.

Children's programs for 6- to 11-year-olds during the school year include after-school tutoring and King's Club–a Saturday morning Bible class and play time in eight low-income neighborhoods. During the summer, kids attend various camps.

In the youth program, which includes students from 6th through 12th grade, activities range from art, cooking and dance to discussions on abstinence and hygiene. During the school year, there is an after-school development program. Young people can attend camps and programs throughout the summer.

The program has “brought the youth off the streets,” Youth Program Director Nikkea Fisher said.

Most participants in the youth program are low-income and do not have a father living at home, Fisher said. Some have been abused verbally, physically or sexually. Mission Waco provides a support system for spiritual, social and educational growth.

“All of them have progressed in some way, whether in school or spiritually or just respect,” Fisher noted.

Mission Waco's “M-Powerment” program educates teens and adults who lack the skills needed to get or keep a job. Within six weeks, the program provides reading, math and computer skills and appearance and attitude training.

Adults can take GED and job skill classes through the program. A computer lab is open Monday through Friday and provides free Internet access for job searches and self-paced tutorials for a variety of computer programs.

Attitude is a common deterrent to companies looking to hire. With “a lot of people that don't have experience working … they're going to have an attitude because that's the only way they know how to communicate,” said Carlton Willis, director of the M-Powerment program,.

“I always ask them, 'What is going on in your life that is preventing you from getting and keeping a job?'”

All graduates of the program have obtained jobs, and more than two dozen have gone to college, Willis said.

M-Powerment also trains low-income senior adults with interview and re-certification skills. McLennan and Hill counties allow 49 job openings for low-income seniors. Seniors apply for the jobs and go through a training process to learn the trade. Soon after, they are able to become permanent workers.

In addition to general assistance for the under-educated, Mission Waco offers specialized programs to address more specific needs.

Manna House, a Christian-based residential treatment facility for men struggling with alcohol or drug abuse, provides a safe and structured program to eliminate chemical dependency. Counselors address all known issues, not just alcohol or drug abuse. “Chemical dependency is just a symptom of what's wrong,” Stelk said. “I've been doing this for 20 years, and this is the most healthy and holistic program I've ever been a part of.”

The program is more structured than other Waco rehabilitation facilities, with benchmarks to strive for and rules to follow.

“Our guys embrace them because they know rules keep them safe, clean and sober,” Stelk continued. “Last time I checked, we have 11 times the success rate of the national average.”

From Manna House, graduates of the program apply for transitional housing and eventually housing at the ARK, a safe, affordable apartment-style housing unit designed to facilitate Christian community.

Most Manna House men know where to find community and a good meal. Although it is not limited to Mission Waco's participants, Friday Morning Breakfast provides people with a free breakfast and entertainment.

At First Lutheran Church, a few people congregate at 6:30 a.m. for Bible study and prayer time before breakfast to the sound of two men playing accordions. Many more seeking solace from their hunger stream in at 7 a.m.

Local churches sponsor meals consisting of eggs, biscuits, orange juice and fruit.

People meet from different races, cultures, and economic statuses. There are lots of “different races and we come together as one,” said Jackie Adams, a regular participant in Friday breakfast. “Oh, I love it, it starts my weekend off right. I love it. I love the Bible study part. That's my food.”

“I used to donate plasma,” Adams continued, describing how she found out about Friday Morning Breakfast. She told the man drawing her blood: “I need some fuel.”

“He said, 'You need to get you some food.' And then he told me about Friday morning breakfast. I said, 'Where's that at? ' He told me where to come, and I've been coming ever since. … When I miss, I feel a sense of loss.”

In addition to Mission Waco's numerous programs for children, youth, adults, senior citizens and people dealing with specific needs, yearly mission trips take volunteers to Mexico City, Haiti and India.

A weekly women's program is available for spiritual and social community.

The Clothesline, a Mission Waco clothing store, sells gently worn name-brand clothing. “I get a lot of my clothes from the Clothesline, they have a some really great stuff,” Stelk said. The Clothesline receives donations of clothes and uses profits to help support Mission Waco substance abuse recovery programs.

Mission Waco's Poverty Simulation also gives participants the opportunity to experience poverty for a weekend.

For more information about Mission Waco, call (254) 753-4900.

“These are the representation of the least of these,” Dorrell said of the people whose lives Mission Waco touches. “And we are privileged and blessed to be able to serve.”