Your hands and feet!

I have been in the process of meeting with many churches, organizations, and individuals to share the mission and vision of the Mid-South Love Home.  I have never had anyone tell me that they do not like what we are doing, nor anyone say that they don't believe in what we are doing.  Most everyone I have shared with or who has read this blog, seen the "pass it on" segment, etc. has been excited about what God is doing through the ministry of the Love Home.  Many want to be involved somehow in this ministry.  That is exciting to me!!  We all have been given different gifts and talents and God calls us to use those for His Glory and to further His Kingdom.  Therefore, I have something I want to share with you.

One church I met with last week gave me a "Local Partnership Form" to complete.  This church is very excited about coming alongside us in ministry.  I just finished typing the responses to this form and I decided to share them on this blog.  Why?  Because I had to pray through the answers to these questions and I believe that God showed me lots of different ways that people can be involved in this ministry.  So, if you desire to read it, here it is!!  If you desire to share it with your church or anyone else, please feel free to do so!  If it is too wordy, scroll down to the list of ways you and/or a group of you could get involved!

Partner’s Name:  Mid-South Love Home/Brad and Paige Kimberlin

THE MISSION:  The MSLH is a family-style, God-centered residential ministry whose mission is to offer help, hope, love, and a support system to pregnant teens and young women facing an unknown future.  We are located in Olive Branch, MS just a couple of hundred feet from the Tennessee/Mississippi state line.  God has called us to be a 24/7 ministry to these young women to help them experience the love of Christ in a very tangible way!  Many pro-life ministries encourage young women to not abort their baby and are very successful at that!  It is wonderful!  However, what next?  Many of these young women have nowhere to turn for the next nine months.  They have very little or no support system.  Many are kicked out of their home for the decision they made to carry the baby.  We are called to come in and be a practical pro-life ministry, helping in the day to day life of a young woman who has chosen to carry her baby, sometimes despite very unfavorable conditions.

THE VISION:  We have partnered with many local ministries who are in the areas where they will come in contact with teens and young women who have found themselves in unexpected or crisis pregnancy situations.  These ministries, as well as everyone who knows about the Love Home, are our hands to reach out and let these women know about us.  Once we have found a young woman in need of our help, she is able to immediately move into our home.  We accept only a pregnant woman (no dependent children) and there is a screening process that she must go through and rules/guidelines that she must agree to follow.  She is able to stay with us for whatever amount of time she needs up to six weeks after delivery.  During her stay at the Mid-South Love Home, we will help her write a future story.  We want to know what her goals are so we can set up practical steps to either reach those goals or to help get her on the road to reaching those goals.  We desire to take the pressure off of her about where she will live, what she will eat, and what she will wear.  With these basic needs met, we believe she will have a better chance of having a healthy pregnancy and baby, and a better opportunity to figure out what is next for her.  With needed transportation and a structured environment, she will also be able to faithfully attend her prenatal doctor’s visits. 

Many of these young women will need to find a place to go after their stay at the MSLH.  The vision God has given us is to build a village of maternity homes and mom/baby homes so these young women could continue to stay in a safe and structured environment for up to two years after the baby is born.  With this setup, we would be able to stay in close contact with the young women post delivery and have more time to invest in helping her develop a solid foundation. 

THE VALUES:  Our first desire is to see each woman come into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  As we love on her and practically provide for her, we pray that she sees Jesus in us.  Next, we know that God has called us, at this point in the ministry, to intervene during the pregnancy months and possibly a month or so after the baby is born.  Our desire is to help mom and baby make it to a safe and healthy delivery.  Finally, we know that God has organized this ministry to be 24/7.  We will not be helping a whole lot of young women at once, but we will be going VERY deep with the few that are entrusted to us at a time.  The opportunity we have to live life with these young women is priceless.  They get to see and experience traditional family.  They see it all...the good, bad, and ugly.  They have the opportunity to watch conflict resolution.  We are developing a bond with these young women that we pray will last for the rest of our lives.  We are not “done” with them once they move out.  We will continue to be a support system and mentors to them for as long as they will allow!

FINANCE-ABILITY:  The MSLH is an independent ministry and the desire is for me, Paige (the house mother), to become a full-time, on-the-ground, missionary.  We are required to raise all of our own support.  We are not a government agency accepting assistance. 

This ministry was birthed in August 2013.  We currently have one church who supports us monthly and one who gave us a one-time gift for 2014.  We have received other means of support, such as donated items, hostesses of our baby showers, etc., from approximately six other local churches.  One church has come to do manual labor to help prepare the house for ministry and another is planning to come in the spring to help with other “handy-man” projects.  We have developed a business board for the MSLH and our support-raising efforts for 2014 are in full-force.

We definitely need financial partners, but there are MANY other ways to get involved in this ministry. 

1.      Drivers to help us take girls to school, doctor’s appointments, work, etc. 

2.      Volunteers who will invest in these young women by spending time with them, either teaching a craft, cooking, eating out, hanging out, etc.  We need Godly women to pour into these younger women! 

3.      Respite help.  We need women who would be willing to either stay at the Love Home while my family and I have time alone together or travel, or who would be willing to have a girl or two stay at their home for a brief period. 

4.      People to come to baby showers and love on these girls that way. 

5.      We have various, and sometimes random, needs that arise and we need to have ways to put those needs out to local churches.  We have used facebook and other online services that churches around town have in place. 

6.      Talented people who would be willing to search for and help write grants for companies and organizations, etc. who offer grant money for ministries such as the Love Home.  (not government grants)

7.      People who will help brainstorm (and even organize) other fundraising opportunities.  We have been given the idea of doing a “Custom ink.com” shirt for the Love Home.  I need help designing the shirt and organizing that effort, as well as doing publicity for it!

8.      People who will help by going to Wal-mart, Target, Kroger, etc. to talk to them about donating damaged goods or other items that they can give away to ministries such as ours.

9.      People who would contact consignment shops (maternity, non-maternity, and baby) to see if they will donate items that do not sell that they need to get rid of.

10.  Groups to host “drives” when we are in need of consumable items such as paper products and personal hygiene products.

11.  Handy-man workers who would be able to donate their time and services to help with the maintenance and upkeep of the home.

12.  People who would be willing to pay for things such as Driver’s Education, GED testing, etc. for the young women as these types of needs arise.

13.  Families who would adopt the MSLH for Christmas and/or birthdays to help us provide gifts.

14.  People who could help put together display boards and other promotional type materials to help share the ministry and vision of the Love Home.

15.  Prayer warriors who would be willing to come to the home once a month or more to pray over it and to pray for specific needs!

16.  People who would be willing to prepare meals (or provide restaurant gift cards) for the Love Home once a week or so to help relieve that pressure from me periodically. 

17.  People who would be willing to come do a spring clean (or a Fall clean, Winter clean, Summer clean!) at the home.

18.  People who will help with the pool and yard in the spring/summer/fall.

19.  Other specialized help...such as siding repair, termite damage repair, exterior painting, etc. on the physical home.  We worked hard on the inside last summer but the outside needs some TLC.  We do still have a need for new flooring upstairs in the girls’ living areas.

GO-ABILITY:  This ministry is such a practical ministry.  It is just simply doing life with some young women who need love and a support system.  As you can tell from the list above, we have a huge variety of ways that people can get involved individually or as groups.  We are practically and physically being the Hands and Feet of Jesus and since His body is HUGE, we want as many hands and feet as possible!

This ministry is year-round so the need for various teams to come help is year-round.  Depending on the assistance provided, some seasons will be needier than others.  Because of the size of our yard and the fact that we have a pool, spring and summer time projects will be a big need!