Community News
2022 is almost here!
2022 Promises to be very exciting for PRM. Here's how you can help!
2022 is almost here!
2022 Promises to be very exciting for PRM. Here's how you can help!
DID YOU HEAR about the special announcement we made at our TASTE OF PEORIA – HOPE-RISING 2021? If you haven’t, we believe it’s the dawning of a whole new season of grace. It’s an opportunity to increase participation and success for our renewal efforts.
Many of you are aware of our current enterprise venture at Victory Acres, where we have partnered with Caterpillar over many years to recycle their wood waste into pallets and much. It’s a vital part of our ministry because it serves as a built-in opportunity for work readiness training for our students. Yet, it also provides enough financial support to cover most of our administration and fundraising costs – making your donated dollars go further. We believe God is leading us to do more in this area, much more. With our partnership with Caterpillar, we generate around 20,000 cubic yards of mulch each year. Most of that mulch sells to a third-party vendor who colors it and sells it to retailers such as the ones you may have shopped at to buy mulch.
We want to change that.
On The Horizon
Beginning spring 2022, we plan to enter the local mulch business, coloring, supplying, and even installing mulch for both residential and commercial customers. We also plan to start a new venture next fall called Pallet Creations, which will take some of the good pieces of wood that end up in mulch and create unique décor and functional items for sale much like you would see at big-box craft stores.
With a goal of securing living wage employment for our students, these new enterprise ventures will provide training in the areas of:
- Supply chain management
- Marketing and sales
- Woodworking and carpentry skills
- Team building and leading
- Maintaining work vehicles and equipment
- Customer sales and service.
We believe these new enterprise ventures will significantly enhance our mission to create pathways out of poverty through Jesus with our neighbors in need. Their success means more opportunities for work readiness and training that will lead to living-wage employment while at the same time generating additional support for the ministry.
Join Us
We want to invite you to be a part of this, join with us in loving our neighbors and creating pathways out of poverty through Jesus – specifically within these new enterprise ventures. We certainly believe these ventures will generate ongoing income and support for the ministry, but as with any startup venture, it takes investment and capital to get them going. So, would you consider joining us on the ground floor and becoming an investor in these new enterprise ventures? To begin these ventures, we need two essential things:
The first and foremost is prayer. This enterprise venture is a huge undertaking, and we are so dependent on our Father to provide exemplary leadership and staff. We also need His wisdom in making this dream a reality. Would you consider committing to be a prayer investor for these new ventures over the next 12 months?
Second, we need some capital investors. We estimate that these new ventures will require around $600K in startup costs. Those costs would include the trucks, tools, and equipment needed for the mulch venture, along with the building improvements and equipment for the Pallet Creations venture.
We trust you know how much we appreciate your ongoing support of our daily ministry needs, and to be honest, we need that to continue. Still, we’re asking you to consider if God might be leading you to invest in the future of your neighbors and your community. To be a part of providing an opportunity for them to flourish through a whole person, Biblical and relational approach to “get a job” with either a small, medium, or significant investment in these ventures. Through your support of these new ventures, we can create even more pathways out of poverty through Jesus with our neighbors. Together, we can end the cycle of poverty for many.
Will you join us?
Dan Wolf
Development Director
What's the Meaning of All This?
As we are starting to near the Christmas season this year, I find myself pondering the genuine meaning of this season. I am wondering what transformation is in store when we live into the spiritual truth of this season: “Unto us, a child is born.”
In the Gospel stories, the writers remind us that joy can come in unexpected places and small packages when things seem darkest. Can you imagine what would happen if we opened ourselves to the possibility that Christmas is not an event that occurs only in December or 2,000 years ago in Palestine? Christmas happens as we open to the possibility of hope, when we live in the understanding of peace, and when we give love.
At our core, the disciples said, “We are one in God’s love.” It’s a view of unconditional love that defines Christ quite well. How could our lives be different if we lived out the truth of that very Love that Christ himself showers each of us with every day of our lives?
Complete your End of Year Giving!
If you still have end-of-year giving to complete, click here to give today!
Remember, all your donations are tax deductible, but you have to have them in by December 31 for them to qualify for your 2021 tax return.
As Christians, God calls us to love Him and others. One of those ways we express love is by our generosity. But what does generosity from a Biblical standpoint mean? A lot of times, how we view things is not exactly what the Bible says. The majority of the time, when we hear that word, we automatically think “money.” It’s true generously giving our money is certainly something God calls us to do, and we can see that plainly in scripture. But you don’t have to be rich to be generous.
I think that deserves repeating. You don’t have to be rich to be generous. It’s not about the amount you give; it’s about the willingness to provide as much as you can. There is more to it, though. I believe that generosity doesn’t just start with opening the pocketbook. But it begins with an open heart and a deep connection with God. Kindness in its most natural state is just giving. It’s giving of yourself, whether it’s your time, love, money, work, etc.
Cat Employee or Retiree? Complete your End of Year Giving!
If you still have end-of-year giving to complete, click here to give today! Remember, the Caterpillar Foundation will match all your financial gifts up to $10,000.
All your donations are tax deductible, but you have to have them in by December 31 for them to qualify for your 2021 tax return.
One of the attributes of God’s nature, one aspect of love, we could say, is its generosity or abundance. Jesus didn’t just feed the five thousand people in the crowd; he generously provided for them. The leftover food was sufficient to be gathered up and put to good use so that none of that blessing would be wasted.
You see, it is God’s nature that I am to put on during my time here on earth as a disciple of Jesus. (2 Peter 1:3-4) This generosity born of love can also become a part of our nature.
The joy of Christmas is that Christ’s birth happens all the time, every minute of every day. Suppose each of us will live into the invitational truth to live as followers of Jesus, living lives filled with joy, generosity, and love. We can and should be the light of this world.
Joy to the world, the Savior is here and has been here all along.
Dan Wolf, Development Director
We're so blessed you are helping us fight homelessness in Peoria!
Thank you for all your generous gifts to Peoria Rescue Ministries. As we enter the summer season, here are 3 things to remember over the next 3 months:
Help starts here.
Healing is possible.
Hope begins with you.
Help starts here. Many people in Service Area struggle with hunger. Unemployment. Homelessness. While they might come seeking only meals and shelter, they find so much more…
Healing is possible. Like you, we believe it’s never too late to start over. Your gift of $XX provides the essentials our guests need. More than that, you offer long-term guidance and faith-based programs that repair hearts and restore lives.
Hope begins with you. Your support lets everyone who comes through our doors know you’re cheering them on. You show them that the Mission cares, God loves them and there is hope for a better future.
Because you’re providing help… healing… and hope, Mission Name can be the safe haven our neighbors need this summer. Thank you!
With a grateful heart,
Jon Rocke,
Executive Director
Dear Abby
Barnabas Center Intern Abby Swartzendruber reflects on her experience providing mental health care to the community.
Each of our counselors at Barnabas Center have been blessed in their journey to have more experienced, effective, and Godly counselors pour into them and their development process as helpers. At some point in their careers, it becomes their privilege to “pay if forward” by helping to raise up the next generation of Christian counselors and social workers by inviting “Christian-counselors-in-training” to join them for internships or practicum experiences as part of their educational experience.
From January through July of this year, we are blessed to have Abby Swartzendruber joined the Barnabas Center team from Dordt University in Sioux City, Iowa. She is working toward her master’s degree in social work and becoming a licensed social worker. Earlier this year she married Seth Swartzentruber from Morton. Seth is currently serving as a resident intern at Newcastle Bible Church in Mackinaw.
Please pray for Seth and Abby as they move to Louisville in August where he will be taking his next step in ministry by getting his Masters of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
We asked Abby to share a little bit about her internship experience below.
What did you expect as an intern?
To be honest, I didn’t have too many expectations as an intern. My background with counseling and social work was primarily secular. As you can image, the world’s motivations behind serving others are vastly different than how Christ’s calls us as Christians to serve others. So, I was excited to grow in how to use faith as a foundation and driving factor in counseling. And I truly can’t put into words how much the Barnabas Center has taught me.
What things threw you for a loop?
Because I didn’t really set any expectations with my internship, I didn’t really get thrown off by much, so I hope you don’t mind me changing the question a little bit to “what things was I presently surprised with?”
I was blown away at the amount of support, encouragement, and love I got from the staff at the Barnabas Center. The staff not only poured into me as an intern but personally as well. When I began seeing clients for the first time, they showered me with prayer, advice, and helpful resources. If I ever felt stuck with a client, each of them left the door wide open for me to come process things through. Each one of the counselors have such a passion for doing God’s kingdom work for His glory. Their example in that was invaluable.
I’m so thankful the Barnabas Center took me on as an intern. I praise God for the role the Barnabas Center has had in not only shaping me professionally but personally.
Such a blessing!
You are incredible! Thank you for your gifts to Peoria Rescue Ministries during the month of August.
It’s humbling to see how you’ve given to help struggling men, women and children this summer. Because of your compassion, hurting people in our community can enjoy nourishing meals and safe shelter in a loving environment. Thanks to you, they have hope for the future – many for the first time.
You provide a lifeline of support and hope to our homeless neighbors to help them break the chains of addiction, poverty and despair. Thank you for believing that no soul is too lost to save, no addict is broken beyond repair and no life is unable to be restored.
Your heartfelt gift is already at work, sharing God’s love and providing life-changing services to our neighbors in the Peoria community this summer. Our ministry and impact would not be possible without you – thank you again for your generosity!
All His blessings,
Jon Rocke
Executive Director
P.S. Are you following PRM on Facebook or Instagram yet? It’s a great way to find information about current events and volunteer opportunities, and read stories about how your gifts are changing lives. You can also share posts about why you’ve chosen to partner with us to encourage others to support our work, too!
