Reporter-News Archives Sunday, March 30, 1997 New ministry will reach out to city's homeless By TANYA EISERER Staff Writer The Mission, an inner-city ministry aimed at reaching homeless and needly individuals, opens its doors today. Founded by members of Pioneer Drive Baptist Church, The Mission is located at 234 Fannin in the warehouse-like building that formerly housed Hope Church. "The Mission is about reaching out," said Mark Hewitt, who will pastor the mission. "If the people don't come to you, you've got to go to them. "This whole area is a mission field. People think that you've got to dress nice to go to church. But I believe Jesus would take them just as they are." Doug Underhill, Pioneer Drive's minister of missions, said the church has realized it must reach out and not just expect people will come to it. "There aren't that many people ministering to that particular group of people, especially the homeless," Underhill said. "They are the faceless members of society. We're trying to say that these people have value. They have worth." Pioneer Drive also has started ministries geared toward reaching individuals living in apartment complexes and nursing homes, he added. Hewitt expects about 75 people to attend the 10 a.m. service and lunch. Future services will be held at 10:30 and 6 p.m. on Sundays. The Mission is the realization of a dream for the 35-year-old Hewitt, who joined Pioneer Drive about eight years ago with his wife and two children. "When I went to Russia with our church about four years ago ... the Lord asked me why I couldn't do that back home. The more I prayed, the more he showed me that where I needed to be is on the streets. "As a believer, you've got to learn to get out of your comfort zone and get out among the people whether they smell like perfume or alcohol." Hewitt and Jim Sayre, owner of Express Medical Supply, co-founded Love and Care Ministries about two years ago to work with homeless and needy people. "The Lord has shown us through Love and Care that we've got to establish a relationship with them. We've got to become their friend," Sayre said. With the help of others, Hewitt and Sayre split up the city and deliver about 50 sack lunches to needy people every Sunday. "A lot of these people that we minister to do not feel comfortable in your standard church setting," Sayre said. "They don't have the social skills. They don't have the right clothes. We feel like there are a lot of needs that aren't being met out there." Hewitt began to pray about six months ago that the Lord would provide a building to minister to the ministry's "friends." "I wanted to have a building where we could bring these people to have a place to worship," said Hewitt, a West Texas Utilities employee. "He took me to a little church. The door opened; the door closed. He took me to another church. The door opened, and the door closed. Basically, I started praying that the Lord would provide us with a warehouse. He gradually showed us this building." Hewitt said he saw an advertisement for the building in the classified section of the Abilene Reporter-News. "The Lord truly led Mark Hewitt to the building," Sayre said. The building eventually will house a clothes closet, a food pantry and showers. Love and Care Ministries will have offices there. "They will be able to come in off the street, get a shower, get some clothes and some food and then go on their way," Hewitt said. Hewitt was able to gain approval from the church deacons to purchase the building, and Southern Baptist Missions agreed to finance it. The building cost $110,000. Pioneer Drive and Southern Baptist Missions each put up $5,000 for a down payment. "This was brought before the church. Somebody said, 'Well, why don't we try to take a donation and see how much we can raise?' " Sayre said. "Before the night was over, $17,000 had been raised. In a two-week period, we raised $40,000 from Pioneer Drive (members)." Underhill added, "People started standing in line to give money." The remainder was financed on a 15-year note through the Southern Baptist Missions. Underhill said the church intends to pay it back early. The church signed the final paperwork on the deal late last week, but it found out recently that the building was not up to city code. "We didn't know it didn't have a certificate of occupancy," Underhill said. "Our assumption was that you get the keys and you're ready to go." Only about one-third of the building - mainly the worship area - will be in use for the time being. The ministry has a temporary occupancy permit for that portion. The rest must undergo renovation during the next couple of months. Walls will need to be knocked out. Wiring will have to be brought up to code. Bathrooms will need to be installed for the showers, Underhill said. The clothes closet, the food pantry and the bathroom facilities will be opened for use after the renovations are completed. Hewitt and Sayre also plan to eventually raise funding to purchase another building and open up a shelter for the homeless in another part of town. "The ones that are here do a phenomenal job, but there's not enough of them," Hewitt said. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below: texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local Sports Texas Sports Copyright ©1997, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications