Every month Seed profiles ministries that seek to bring both Word and deed to the lost, hurting, poor and needy.  Today, read about one of Sojourn’s partner ministries: Jefferson Street Baptist Center, a homeless shelter in Louisville that has become increasingly gospel centered in their ministry to the 11,000 homeless in the city.

Ministry Profile:  Jefferson Street Baptist Center

According to Executive Director (and member in process at Sojourn) John Ferguson, “Jefferson Street Baptist Center exists to make the entire good news of Jesus Christ known to the homeless of Louisville – meeting physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs.” Community, Transformation, Christ – this is the vision of JSBC.  The vision is to see Louisville homeless enter into Christian Community, trust Jesus, and live a transformed life through the power of the Holy Spirit.  This vision comes alive through Jeff Street’s unconditional service and the emphasis they place on relationships that exist between God, guests, residents, staff and volunteers. JSBC has 3 primary programs that seek to minister to the needs of the homeless.

The Day Shelter is a service ministry open to men and women who are currently homeless. Through the Day Shelter JSBC provides service to over 200 homeless guests per day and nearly 60,000 individual visits per year. Their guests are provided a drug free, safe environment in which they may access a laundry room, showers, storage room, mail and phone services, or just enjoy some hot coffee and a light breakfast. Additionally, their guests may receive assistance with employment, housing, physical and mental health referrals, as well as help with disability and other applications. JSBC wants to help their guests to become more employable and to gain permanent housing.

Drawing from the successful New Life Program at Denver Rescue Mission, which has served as a model for mission education programs nationwide, Jefferson Street Baptist Center’s Fresh Start Program believes in “discipling people for life” in order to break the cycles of under-education, poverty and homelessness that flow from both societal and personal evils. The Fresh Start Program contains three foundational components: Life Skills, Education and Career Development.

Beginning with a Christian foundation, Life Skills classes include, but are not limited to: addictions education, conflict resolution, relational and family dynamics, stress and anger management, health education, personal finances and spiritual development.

The Education component is self-paced and equips students with basic academic skills and computer literacy.  Residents who lack a high school diploma can earn their GED.  Continuing education is also encouraged for Residents who have a GED or High School Diploma.

The Career Development component is an innovative multimedia, video-based, group counseling program designed to help unemployed, underemployed and economically disadvantaged adults and youth learn how to make and carry out important personal, career and educational decisions that will dramatically affect their future.

Hope for Louisville is a radical opportunity for young Christian men and women to serve the poor and the homeless. By living and working in an inner-city community and homeless shelter, HOPE Team Members effectively impact the lives of people by investing in intimate relationships, sharing the gospel, and giving consistent support to those most in need. Living out Christ’s command to “Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.”, HOPE is ideal for young men and women who have a passion for the gospel and compassion for their fellow man.

Watch the Hope for Louisville video

Financial Sponsorship

Under the leadership of John Ferguson, Jefferson Street Baptist Center is committed to being gospel centered in both Word and deed.  JSBC is no longer receiving several government grants that once supported this ministry. This means that JSBC relies more on the local church and individual givers for financial support than ever before.  If you would like to learn more about this ministry and how to support this kingdom work, visit jeffersonstreet.org or email john@jeffersonstreet.org.

Get Involved

There are many ways to volunteer at JSBC ranging from cooking meals for the men, providing job training, mentoring, teaching, and encouraging.  To learn more how your community group or church can get involved, email Darrel Johnson at djohnson@jeffersonstreet.org or visit jeffersonstreet.org and click Volunteer Now.

Can a community group really invite the poor into their group life?  Jesse Leightenheimer’s Community Group has experience this first hand.  His group – through its gospel-centered relationships, friendships, and mission focus – has welcomed a stranger and his family into their lives.   As a result, his group has become the home of a family who did not have one.  Once a stranger, this man is now a brother.  You will read about this group’s story here.

At the start of this round of community in August, I could tell right away that our community group would be strong in shepherding each other.  The people in our group have a tendency to naturally want to gospel each other.  The area that I knew the Lord would grow us was in being missionally minded.   It wasn’t that the group was reluctant to serve others; it was just that we weren’t sure how to step out. This growth came in the form of a challenge from Josh Thomas who has been serving faithfully as a Seed leader. He, for the past year, had been working with a man who needed people to help meet his needs physically due some disabilities, and relationally due to how him being a new believer.  Josh knew that this man and his family needed more than just one person speaking into their lives.  Josh challenged our group to come around him and his family and adopt them into our group.  Knowing the size of our group already and the challenges that come with that as well as not knowing what this relationship would look like, I was hesitant at first.  Thankfully, the Lord did not allow us to ignore this great gospel opportunity. Through the work of many people by God’s grace, this man and his family have seen a major shift in their lives, and our community group has been impacted greatly as well.  This man now desires to serve others instead of being served.  He is learning to lead in his family, and his family is being integrated into community in ways that we did not think possible even 6 weeks ago.  God has shown that he is powerful and his glory will go forward even when we are faithless and slow to act.  Our community has learned more and more what it means to be outwardly focused.  This is not happening through big events, but just through spending life together with this man and his family. So far we have done things like give him a card on his birthday, and then watch his children for him so that he and his wife could go out on a date.  In particular, when our community gave him a birthday card, this man responded by telling his wife that he felt like he had found a home.  The little things are the concrete ways that people will more and more be incorporated into community.  That is how the gospel is going to forward both with those already in community and those to whom our groups will reach.

Jesse Leightenheimer, Community Group leader and the contributor of this blog, can be reached at jleight@insightbb.com.  Deacon Josh Thomas can be reached at jtpeso700@gmail.com.