Ministry Spotlight - Union Mission Ministries

Union Missions Ministries, based in Norfolk, VA, is dedicated to reaching "the least, the last, and the lost" in their community.

Tell me about your ministry.

Well, we were started in 1892 by a group of Methodist businessmen.

We now have nine original ministries in three cities, including men's and women's shelters, a children's home, and substance abuse rehab.

Which ones seem to be most productive?

I'm not sure what you mean by productive.

To us, productive is saving souls. And our shelters are doing a great job of that.

We have huge numbers of people coming to us every day, because of the economic downturn.

How are you funded?

We've never received any federal funding.

We're able to do what we do with only church and personal donations.

As we look around at the other organizations like us who have accepted federal money, we frequently hear that they're constrained because of their funding.

We've been able to do everything God has called us to do.

What have you seen as the fruit of your ministry?

People come to our ministry from all over the region, and from all walks of life.

As in most homeless shelters, you would see your typical drug and alcohol addictions.

We have a lot of mentally impaired.

The first thing they do is meet with a case worker, who assesses their case and helps them understand how to get back on track with their lives.

We help people with housing. We have GED and literacy classes. We have parenting classes.

What does it look like when people get a plan for their lives?

We treat people as individuals. It's not like we have one plan and everyone fits into that mold.

When someone comes to us and they're trying to support a family on a fast-food job, they can't do it. You can't support a family like that.

But they don't have an education to get a better job.

So we help the acquire the skills that they need to get a better source of income.

Can you measure your success?

I don't know that we can. We can look at how we've taken care of a person's physical needs.

And the most important thing to us is a relationship with the Lord.

If someone leaves us with a relationship with Jesus, we consider that a success.

Every week someone accepts the Lord. We just finished a six-week summer camp for kids from the inner city.

We had  a record number of 570 kids this year, and of those, sixty accepted the Lord.

I don't know that I can give you a number or a percentage, but people come to me all the time saying, "I don't know where I would be without you."

To me, that qualifies as a success.