How To Do A Mercy Ministry In Your Church

Across the Street Mission Fields

My name is Don McAfee. My wife Fran and I coordinate the Vineyard Church Mercy Ministry in Wheeling, West Virginia. I am a Social Worker. I am licensed to practice in the states of Ohio and West Virginia and Fran, my bride of 35 years, is a certified teacher in the state of West Virginia. I have spent the past 20 years working with the needy.

I have something to share with you that may help you minister to the needy in your area. Did you know that food stamps cannot be used to purchase toilet paper, shampoo, toothpaste, laundry soap, dish soap, bath soap or any other hygiene item? It is against the law to use food stamps for anything but food. That is why we established Free Stores and that is why they work so well. We provide the populations of some of our local HUD complexes with basic hygiene items. We do it in a fair and un-intrusive manner that maintains a level playing field for all who live in these communities. In doing so, we open the door for all kinds of ministries. Free Stores provide services that slowly but surely break down the barriers of oppression. We have been operating Free Stores since 1992. Free Store concepts can be used anywhere but we have found that Free Stores work best in HUD Housing Communities. We currently operate five Free Stores in HUD communities. There is a high percentage of the residential population living in these communities who are dependent on food stamps.

We simply provide a safe, nurturing environment in which they have the opportunity to start trusting. When trust is established, people begin to participate with us in prayer. They begin to pray for their communities and each other. They start hanging out with us because they see the love of Jesus in our teams. They ask questions. They ask us for personal prayer. They start to reveal their personal wounds and chains of oppression. At that point, we have the opportunity to be part of God's restoration and reconciliation process in the lives of the individuals we serve. Once trust is established, we have a multitude of servant evangelism opportunities for the entire church.

We once had the opportunity to paint a playground in what was at that time Wheeling's most dangerous neighborhood. The city of Wheeling had given up on this playground. They said that they had repaired and painted the playground many times. It would only last about two weeks before someone destroyed it again. We had individuals from 13 different residential families who volunteered to help us paint that playground. We scheduled a Saturday morning to paint and all 13 volunteers met us at the playground. The city of Wheeling, Grounds and Parks Division, provided the paint and paintbrushes and we painted the whole thing. That playground was never again vandalized because the people who lived in that community would not allow it. They took ownership of it and they protected it. One of the older gentlemen who lived there daily volunteered to pick up any trash and he kept that playground spotless. The children used it every day until the playground and the community were torn down for a Hope VI Project. We watched the character of that same community change from a war zone to a neighborhood where people talked to each other. We were part of the reason for a 17% drop in crime in that community in a one-year period. God was restoring and reconciling his people and we got to be part of his work. It was amazing to watch.

Isaiah 58:1-12 is our road map. I believe God has instructed me to present this opportunity to you. Any church can do what we have been doing. We are hoping to give away what God has given us. Should you be interested, I will be happy to provide additional information. We may be reached at: www.wheelingvineyard.com or beemcafee2@frontier.net.

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