Happy Thanksgiving! Autumn is upon us as the days become shorter, the trees lose their leaves, the air becomes cold and brisk, and the holiday decorations seem to spring up all around us. But this year as prices of food and gas and other necessities rise, many in our community will find it challenging to make ends meet during the holiday season. I am grateful that if a family finds themselves in this situation, the Modesto Gospel Mission will be available for them to come in and have a hot turkey Thanksgiving meal and receive a coat and warm clothing. I am further grateful to God that we can reach out to those who are broken and hurting and share the message of faith and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. As the world seems to be in a tailspin, the Mission stands like a beacon of hope amidst the chaos. The next two months are critical times for so many people…times of great need, hunger, cold, depression, and loneliness; the Mission has so much opportunity now to be the hands and feet of Jesus to these men, women, and children. As we move to finish strong our 74th year serving the poor and homeless in Modesto, we thank YOU for being part of that hope, promise, and life transformation. Happy Thanksgiving and May God Bless You! 

Jason Conway

Chief Executive Officer

Modesto Gospel Mission

SPOTLIGHT

I am an alcoholic and opiate addict in recovery. Before I came to the Mission, my drinking and pill-popping habit had forced my daughter to put me out of her home. She dropped me off at a homeless shelter in Stockton. I moved from one shelter to another for about a year, and in June 2020 I came to the Modesto Gospel Mission. During my first year at the Mission, I was told by a staff member that I would be a good candidate for the New Life Program. Someone gifted me a Bible, and I discovered a desire to know God’s word for the first time in my life. I started recognizing that God had never left me; I left him. I opened my heart and allowed him to start working in me and through me again. I discovered that my strongest spiritual gifts are "helps” and “service.” I would like to continue to help others and serve at my home church. I started working part-time at a thrift store through the Salvation Army.
I would love to eventually work a full-time job through the ministry training
I received.
I love God.
I love people.
I want the love of Jesus
to shine through me.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

What a year we have had, and it sure has gone by quickly! It has been filled with joy as we have witnessed countless men and women enter the Mission’s residential 18-month New Life Program and see it through to graduation. We have seen miraculous life-change take place repeatedly– transformation that could only be attributed to the love and grace of Jesus Christ who makes all things new. We have formed lasting bonds and strong friendships with our guests as new brothers and sisters in the Lord. 

Yet while we have seen such amazing things, we have also witnessed circumstances and events that break our hearts – refusal to accept help, failure in overcoming addiction, backsliding in heart, returns to street living, families torn apart, and just the daily negative behaviors attached to brokenness and desperation. The number one heartbreaking event that we see all too often, however, is the increasing number of women and children seeking shelter, rescue, and refuge on a daily basis in our community – and having to tell a battered woman or a desperate single mom with kids that there is no room in the shelter for them. 

Since 1948, the Modesto Gospel Mission has existed to help the “least of these” members of our community. Throughout these last 74 years, we have never seen such a problem with so many women and children so desperate for assistanc. The Mission has resorted the past few years to moving out furniture in the living room at night in the women’s building and putting down sleeping mats and cots.  But we are almost always full with an ongoing waiting list. Since July 1st of this year, we have still had to turn away 435 adult women and moms with children from our shelter due to lack of space. This is a sobering number. This is something we desperately need to solve, and we cannot do so alone. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP. Consider this a battle cry. Each year we depend on your support to help the Mission meet the tangible and spiritual needs of the men, women, and children that walk through our doors each day.  We have seen all of our beds fill up this year, for the first time since the pandemic, and we glorify God for bringing hurting people to the Mission; but now we are turning away more people than ever. Ironically, in this season where we celebrate the God-ordained story where a young, pregnant mother is forced to lodge in a stable to bring the Savior into the world, we are facing a similar problem today 2,000 years later.

We are humbly asking for your support this Christmas. In this gift-giving holiday season, will you give a gift to the Mission today? Every dollar raised this year-end will help aid women and children that desperately need it. Your gifts are critical right now.  Your prayers, your donations of clothing and food, and your financial contributions are much needed this time of year.  May God bless you!