What does it look like to serve the city?
By July 2006, Josh Wilson (Mission: St. Louis founder and Executive Director) had worked with inner-city kids and had seen first hand the effects of poverty. He had seen need. But he also had a vision of a restored St. Louis. He started several conversations with his church, The Journey. At The Journey, he pursued an internship that eventually started a mercy ministry designed to connect The Journey members/attenders with residents in at-risk neighborhoods. This ministry was involved in any activity designed to serve the poor, from soup kitchens to women’s shelters and everything in between.
After a three month flurry of unfocused activity, Josh realized that we were doing harm rather than good. Volunteers did not have personal relationships with any of the people they were serving. Everyone involved was burned out. We didn’t know those whom we were serving, and we didn’t know what Mission: St. Louis was or where we were going. It was time for a change.
The turning point came in the form of a project - a school supply drive for Adams Elementary School located in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood. The day we delivered supplies, we were met with a gratitude and hospitality that left an impression. So began a relationship between Mission: St. Louis, Adams Elementary, and the surrounding neighborhood. We stopped haphazardly working all over the city and narrowed our focus, guided our volunteers, and put all our resources into one specific community. We needed a place where we had a relationships that could be built up, where we could really get to know the people and their needs, and where we could work toward true community development. For us, that became Forest Park Southeast.
Since our start in Forest Park Southeast, we have grown to include other neighborhoods, churches, organizations, and programs. As we grow, we continually realize just how much we are changed and taught by the neighbors with whom we have relationships. Through sharing their lives, struggles, and successes, the residents we serve give more to us than we could ever dream of giving back to them. We are an organization committed to transforming the city of St. Louis through relationships. Until genuine relationships are developed, any effort risks failure. Community members must be engaged in Mission: St. Louis’s work in order for our efforts to be sustainable and helpful. We are constantly on the lookout for others to join us in this mission: people willing to serve, churches willing to connect with neighborhoods, and corporations and organizations willing to sponsor our work. Join us in transforming the city.
©2012 Mission St. Louis
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