Monthly Missions Update
March 2024
Volume 1, Issue 2
Hello Morning Star family,
As with our Global Partners last month, we wanted to start by sharing why we care so much about the Local Partners in our community. You may know their names, but might not know much about what they do, or how you can get involved. We hope this will help clear things up for you!
There are many dozens of great ministries, non-profits, and parachurch organizations that we could partner with. However, to make the best use of our time, communication, resources, and kingdom investment we have focused on 8 specific ministries in the Salem area. As you learn about these Local Partners you will see that they all have different areas of focus & expertise while there is also some overlap in the services provided. We have specifically chosen these 8 ministries because they cover a wide array of services and care for people with some of the greatest needs in our community to help them thrive and flourish as image bearers of God.
It can be overwhelming to look around and see all the need in the greater Salem area. Our hope is that as you read about these Local Partners that you begin to see more of how God is already at work all around us, and that you will be encouraged & inspired to roll up your sleeves and take a step of faith to help out wherever you can.
If you want to learn more about these partners click on the link to their specific website. We encourage you to have a conversation with your Life Group as well. Maybe one of these Local Partners would be a great way for you to serve the community in a missional way. My (Jared) Life Group is serving with Salem For Refugees and we love building friendships with the family we are partnered with.
Our Local Partners are:
Agape Families – Agape families is an Oregon-based non-profit that aims to provide hope and stability to families impacted by incarceration. We achieve this goal by hosting summer camps, mentorship programs, follow up events and more. We offer camps for kids specific to their geographic location, youth mentorship and follow-up programs, mentorship and support for individuals transitioning out of prison, inside prison programs for currently incarcerated parents or family members, and more.
We love partnering with Agape because of their care for families impacted by incarceration. Imagine being a kid whose parents are incarcerated. The stress, misplaced guilt thinking it’s their fault, the shame, and the sadness of not having your parents around would be so hard to bear. This ministry comes alongside these kids and provides fun activities and mentorship when they need it the most.
Volunteers can help at the summer camp. The greatest need at the Agape Youth Camp is for cabin leaders, those who are willing and able to spend the entirety of camp in a cabin supporting the campers.
Volunteers can become Mentors. Mentors are trained and screened adults who are excited to meet with kids for an hour a week and encourage them in their day to day lives, while showing them what it looks like to have positive role models and help them achieve success in their life.
Learn more at: https://agapefamiliesoregon.org
Hope Pregnancy Clinic – Hope Pregnancy Clinic exists to empower women who are unprepared for pregnancy to make healthy, life-affirming decisions, and to introduce them to Jesus.
We are here to walk alongside you and to provide anything you need so that you feel informed, empowered and supported.
Our professional medical staff and trained advocates are here to offer you free limited obstetrical care, options counseling, and a caring, confidential presence as you make your pregnancy decisions. You are not alone. Your story matters.
We love that Hope Pregnancy sees that all life is precious. Imagine feeling like you have no other option or place to turn and that the only thing you can do is have an abortion. Hope Pregnancy comes alongside women who are facing these types of difficult decisions and lovingly comes alongside them to provide the care they need to help them choose life for their precious child.
Volunteers can help as Mentors to meet with one or more patients for one hour a week in Hope’s Parenting Initiative. We are especially in need of mentors who are bilingual and/or who have availability during 4-7 pm. There are opportunities to help keep the clinic clean, and organize books in the library.
Learn more at: https://hopepregnancyclinic.org
Hope Station Community Services, Inc. – Hope Station offers a variety of resources to the needy families in the Salem community including: groceries, various household and bedding items, clothing, and classes for computer training and budgeting.
Many organizations assist individuals and families whose salaries are below the state poverty line. These families draw help from numerous local resources. Sadly, hundreds of hardworking people who earn just slightly above that line don’t have the same access to assistance. These are the people we want to help.
Additionally, our government system often enables people to remain on assistance rather than equip or encourage people to improve their lives. By asking our clients to pay a small monthly fee and volunteer just two hours of their time a month, we foster responsibility and a sense of ownership. Our desire is to provide a hand up, not a hand out.
We greatly appreciate Hope Station’s vision to see that those who are just above the poverty line are often forgotten, and still in need of things to help them thrive.
Volunteers help with sorting food items, stocking shelves, sorting & organizing clothes, driving trucks to pick up & drop off shipments, and more!
Learn more at: https://hopestationcsi.org/
Salem Angels – Salem Angels walks alongside children, youth and families in foster care community by offering consistent support through intentional giving, relationship building, and mentorship.
We are inspired by Salem Angels care for families impacted by foster care and the depths they will go to walk with people in need.
Volunteers can help with the Love Box Program or Mentorship. The Love Box® program provides community and holistic support to fostering families, including caregivers, children experiencing foster care, and biological/adopted children. This wrap-around support empowers caregivers to continue to do the important and meaningful work of being foster parents.
Each Love Box® volunteer/group will be matched with a local foster family based on location and compatibility. When our families are matched with committed volunteers who show up monthly, parents feel supported, and children gain a greater sense of normalcy, relational permanency, and self-confidence.
Our Dare to Dream™ program matches mentors with youth to navigate life’s challenges together, providing advice, encouragement, and a supportive community.
Learn more at: https://www.salemangels.org
Salem For Refugees – Salem For Refugees started in 2016 as a dream to coordinate the various efforts in our community to care for refugees. As one of the 9 State Department funded refugee resettlement agencies, SFR receives cases directly through World Relief and brings long-term refugee resettlement directly to Salem, OR. SFR brings people & resources together to empower refugees to thrive. Since 2016 SFR has helped integrate over 600 refugees as valued, contributing members of our community.
SFR is happy to give tours of their facility to show Life Groups all the ways they are able to help our new neighbors. Please let Pastor Jared know if you are interested in getting a tour!
We are encouraged by SFR’s example of caring for the foreigner who has become a new neighbor in our community. Scripture shows us time and time again the importance of caring those the vulnerable. Imagine having to flee your home country because of war/famine/danger, leaving everything you know and everyone you love to come to a country you do not know, having to learn customs you do not understand, and a language that is new to you. Refugees go through a tumultuous process from their home country to their new country as they are in refugee camps, for an average of 10-20 years. We can show Christ’s love by being a good neighbor.
Volunteer as a Good Neighbor team. A team of people who walk alongside one refugee family (New Neighbors) to offer friendship, hospitality and community connection over the course of one year. For every New Neighbor to be met with friendship and community from the moment they arrive, which will empower them to thrive in the Salem community.
Volunteer as a Resource Team working around a specific resource area to provide services for refugee families in the areas of employment, housing, education, legal, etc.
Learn more at: https://www.salemforrefugees.org
Salem Free Clinics – Salem Free Clinics exists to provide quality, compassionate healthcare at no cost to the uninsured in our community as an expression of Christ’s love.
Did you know that approximately 38,000 people in Marion and Polk Counties do not have access to healthcare? Many working individuals earn too much to be eligible for Medicaid but cannot afford their own health insurance. A leading cause of homelessness in our country is medical debt. Salem Free Clinics helps people flourish by providing medical, dental & counseling services from current & retired medical professionals.
SFC is happy to give a tour to Life Groups to show you all the ways they help our community with healthcare related ways. Please contact Pastor Jared for details of getting signed up for a tour!
We are thankful for SFC’s tenacity to provide the best care for who would otherwise fall through the cracks and. end up homeless. The love shown to these people as they receive professional health care that is voluntarily donated to them is a practical way that we can all be encouraged to use our gifts for God’s glory.
Volunteers provide quality and compassionate medical, dental and mental health care for uninsured individuals. We are looking for volunteers who love people and are willing to generously use their administrative, medical, or interpreting professionalism to enrich our team.
Volunteers are needed to keep Bibles stocked & to pray with people who visit!
Learn more at: https://salemfreeclinics.org/new-volunteer/
Simonka Place – Simonka Place provides emergency shelter and meals for females to meet immediate needs in a trauma-informed environment. Often, even a few nights of supportive shelter and trauma-informed care are enough to help single women and mothers with children regroup and identify a safe place for themselves and their family.
We are humbled to be able to support Simonka and we are thrilled to hear the stories of lives being transformed as women are cared for with dignity and love.
Volunteers can help by serving a meal as well as other opportunities.
Learn more at: https://www.ugmsalem.org/volunteer
Union Gospel Mission – holistically approaches homelessness while working to help rewrite the futures of our unsheltered neighbors’ lives by providing for basic needs, teaching self-sufficiency, self-worth, and skills for independent living.
We are thankful for the time tested practical care the UGM offers to men in need. The leadership skills to help them see themselves as a reflection of Christ’s love is something we appreciate greatly!
Volunteers can help by serving a meal as well as other opportunities.
Learn more at: https://www.ugmsalem.org/
If you have any questions about our Local Partners or ways you can get involved please let us know!
For His Glory among all peoples,
Pastor Jared and Morning Star Missions Board