Dating back to 1825, rescue missions have offered food, shelter and spiritual assistance to the homeless and needy. They typically offer a wide range of services such as emergency food and shelter, youth and family services, alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs, education and job-training programs and assistance to the elderly, poor and at-risk youth.

Their scope is quite impressive: The 277 primarily North American rescue missions that comprise the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions involve more than 9,000 full-time workers and 300,000 volunteers.

For many Christians, these missions evoke images of hearty volunteers working with grizzled, skid-row alcoholics. Yet nearly 70% of those served by rescue missions today are under 45 years old, 73% are local community residents, and 40% are women and children.

Just as rescue mission clientele has changed and rescue mission sophisticationhas grown, the relationship between churches and rescue missions has changed. Today, while some churches continue to send volunteers and monthly donations to a nearby rescue mission, others -- especially larger churches -- are developing a sense of shared mission at new, unprecedented levels.

Transforming Los Angeles One Block at a Time
The Dream Center in downtown Los Angeles, a ministry of Angelus Temple, is one example.

"In the 12 years we've been here, we've seen crime drop 17%," says Kelli Carter, the Dream Center's Director of Outreach, regarding the Rampart District of Los Angeles. Kelli runs the church's Adopt-a-Block Program -- a ministry that mobilizes up to 500 people weekly to serve the communities that surround the Dream Center.

As the church's members go out, according to Kelli, "we ask people what they need and then we do our best to fill those needs" whether it's providing diapers, cleaning up yards, taking out the trash, painting or cleaning houses. As a result, when provided with transportation to the Dream Center church services, around 600 people from these neighborhoods climb into buses each week to take advantage of the offer. In addition to working with such traditional rescue missions as Union Rescue Mission and the Los Angeles Mission, the Dream Center also runs

adult and teen residential programs in their own building. The Dream Center also recently partnered with a local department store to provide 1,800 backpacks during a back-to-school event. The local fire department, police department and city councilmen were all involved in the event.

Fewer Missions, But Larger Reach
Phil Rydman, Director of Communications for the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions notes that while the number of rescue missions in the United States has declined over the course of the last quarter century, the reach of those remaining has "grown dramatically."

Twenty-five years ago, the typical rescue mission was a mom-and-pop organization, staffed by caring people who were doing the best job they could. "Today we have missions that house hundreds, even thousands, of people every night," Phil comments. "We have missions whose budgets have grown to over $10 million annually."

While the needs of people on the street have grown, so has the number of services offered by approximately 500 rescue missions across North America, many partnering with churches like Dream Center to bring rescue mission work into needy communities.

In 2005, the 300 rescue missions associated with AGRM served more than 37 million meals and provided over 14 million beds. They distributed over 26 million articles of clothing and counseled 1.5 million individuals. These missions also provided services such as dental and eye care, after-school programs for nearly a quarter of a million children and served 46,500 kids in a day camp.

The networking and vision that allows the Dream Center to pull together corporate sponsorship along with the participation of other civil entities is becoming more common in this ministry space. Phil Rydman reports, "Missions have gotten more sophisticated in their fund raising efforts and in getting the word out about what they do. It used to be that the rescue mission was the best kept secret in town."

Helping Church People Make a Difference
The big change that's hitting some North American churches involved in this kind of work is that Christians in these churches are venturing beyond the comfortable confines of their safe church buildings into communities where they previously would have locked their car doors. As these believers reach new neighborhoods, they find that they are stretching themselves spiritually and receiving more than they give.

Phil Rydman comments on this phenomenon, "I think that the church is full of people who are hungry to have their life make a difference. They're saying, 'Give me something to do that is significant.' Rescue missions are a place where people can connect with people and see their lives changed dramatically." Kelli Carter concurs, estimating that fully 80% of the 2,000 regular attenders of the Dream Center are involved in one of the church's outreaches. "People are tired of sitting in their pews and getting fed all the time," Kelli explains. "They want to help and they want to do something to better the life of someone else."

The experience of Jim and Beth Govea and their involvement with the people of Nickerson Gardens, one of the largest public housing projects in Los Angeles, illustrates the change from getting involved in this kind of ministry.

"We went to Nickerson Gardens and were blown away," Jim Govea says. "We went door-to-door, stopped and talked to people, serving people. I thought to myself, 'This is what the church is supposed to do.' I thought we were going out to bless them, but they blessed us!

"Adopt-a-Block is so much more than going out and serving people in the projects, Skid Row, etc. . . . it's about what God wants to do in all of us for His glory and purpose."

Additional Resources:

What Does it Take to Start a Rescue Mission?

Compassion Over Cathedrals

Stephen Shields is the founder of faithmaps.org, a freelance writer and consultant. Stephen is also a manager with USA Today, formerly a bi-vocational pastor and a frequent contributor to Next-Wave. Stephen currently serves on the Leadership Development Team of Grace Community Church in Columbia, MD, and with his wife, Beth, co-leads KatrinaGrace, Grace's outreach to Katrina survivors in Louisiana. Stephen received a M.Div. from Grace Theological Seminary and lives with his wife and three daughters in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. He can be contacted at sshields@faithmaps.org and blogs at emergesque.