profile Resources

HEALTHCARE

Good Samaritan Health Services Mobile Health Clinic (Tulsa, OK)

Who They Serve:  Uninsured and working poor of Tulsa County, OK

What They Do:  Health Care, Health Education and Prevention, Social, Psychological and Spiritual Care, Financial Assistance, Community Development, Youth Mentoring, Teen Pregnancy Prevention

Brief Description: The Mobile Health Clinic is a 35-food mobile medical van that is fully equipped with exam and treatment rooms, a small pharmacy, and medical equipment.  The clinic travels to ten different locations, partnering with churches in each location.  The church facility is used for medical triage, check-in, prayer and counseling.  Through these partnerships, Good Samaritan hopes to provide people not only with the medical care they need but also with more ongoing care as they connect with the churches.  The clients can therefore receive health education, spiritual care and comfort, mentoring, financial counseling, after school programs and tutoring, and assistance with job and transportation issues. 

Medical services provided include acute primary care, blood pressure checks, blood sugar testing, breathing treatments, preventative healthcare, physical examinations, pregnancy tests, lab work, childhood immunizations, eye exams, health education and counseling.  They provide continuing care for conditions such as diabetes, heart problems and arthritis.  Good Samaritan does not charge for services but asks for donations. 

Tip:  Check out their website at www.goodsamaritanhealth.org. 

Articles, Excerpts, Tips & More
Profile of Second Baptist Church: This instructional profile tells how this church leads a multi-church effort to serve the city schools of Springfield, MO.
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Profile of Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale: This profile describes how this mega-church has transformed the foster care system in southern Florida.
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Profile of Calvary Church Grand Rapids: This instructional profile describes how this large suburban church went from commodity-based benevolence to a more holistic, relational approach.
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Profile of Harderwyk Christian Reformed Church: This 8-page profile shares lessons from this multi-congregational church’s shift into greater external focus and holistic, relational ministry.
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Profile of Rolling Hills Community Church: This instructional profile tells how this 3000-member church in OR has connected over half its congregation in community service by building partnerships with numerous ministries/agencies.
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Profile of First Baptist Church Huntsville: This Texas congregation centers its community ministry efforts on supporting correctional officers and assisting ex-offenders.
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Profile of Perimeter Church: This large church in suburban Atlanta has given leadership to a multi-church network called UNITE! to facilitate greater church engagement in transformational community ministry.
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Profile of Fellowship Bible Church North: This 4000-member church in Texas dramatically increased its community impact by putting an outreach face on their small group ministry.
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Profile of Midwest Church of Christ: This profile details how Midwest Church of Christ was able to minister to the city of Louisville, Kentucky and gives tips on how other churches can do the same.
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Profile of New Song Community Church: This small inner-city congregation has had a major impact in revitalizing its neighborhood by following the “3 Rs” of the Christian Community Development movement.
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Profile of Hope Evangelical Free Church: This instructional profile tells how this church has greatly multiplied its impact in the community by vibrant partnerships with existing social ministries/agencies, including the public school system.
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Profile of Lincoln Village Ministry of Southwood PCA: This instructional profile relates the story of a suburban church’s deep engagement in a low-income neighborhood five minutes from the church.
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Profile of Tenth Presbyterian Church: This instructional profile relates how this PCA church launched a vibrant diaconal ministry to serve Philadelphia’s homeless and down-and-out.
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Profile of LifeBridge Christian Church: This instructional profile relates the journey of this church’s move from internal to external focus.
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Profile of Mariners Church: This instructional profile relates the story of a mega-church’s development of a large-scale community ministry department mobilizing thousands of parishioners for service.
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Recommended Books
Urban Churches, Vital Signs: Beyond Charity Toward Justice: An inspiring and challenging collection of stories of churches across America involved in dynamic urban ministry among the poor.
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Street Saints: This book collects numerous, diverse stories of effective faith-based ministries in the U.S., with advice on imitating their approaches.
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Cup of Water, Bread of Life: This collection of stories of effective, holistic ministries from around the world offers inspiration and guidance to church leaders for balancing evangelism and social action.
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RECOVERY/PREVENTION

The HELP! Foundation (Little Rock, AR)

Who They Serve : Female heads of households who have been victimized by domestic violence and therefore find themselves homeless

What They Do : Offer referrals, counseling, job training, housing, and computer training

Brief Description :

The HELP! Foundation serves women in Little Rock who have been victimized by domestic violence by offering referrals, counseling, job training, housing, and computer training. 90% of program participants are successful in finding alternative sources of either temporary or permanent housing and most have secured jobs. Primarily serving as an intermediary between the clients they serve and social service agencies in the community, the HELP Foundation is able to assist a large number of women on a relatively low budget. They accomplish their organizational goals by partnering with a number of organizations (within and outside of the faith community) in order to restore women to health.

Tip : The Violence Against Women online resource (VAWnet) has produced materials on domestic violence prevention for use in communities of faith. Their resources include informational articles, bulletin inserts, and sample campaign materials and have been developed for interfaith, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish houses of worship. Click here for details.

NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION

Fresh Ministries Beaver Street Enterprise Center (Jacksonville, FL)

Who They Serve: Business owners in a distressed neighborhood in Jacksonville.

What They Do: Business development for small business owners in the core city, training, personal development, technical assistance and networking opportunities for the clients who participate in Beaver Street Enterprise Center programs, marketing and publicity for the tenants at Beaver Street Enterprise Center

Community Development, Job Training and/or Occupational Retraining, IDAs

Brief Description: Fresh Ministries is working to renew a distressed neighborhood in inner-city Jacksonville by giving small business owners an opportunity to succeed when otherwise they might have lacked the adequate resources.  The Beaver Street Enterprise Center is a business incubator.  Small business owners use the Center as their first professional space, available to them at a low, subsidized cost.  They can remain there for three years and while there, they work with Beaver Street to help their business flourish.  Financial experts help them with their business plans and monthly statements.  The business owners receive training and education and have the opportunity to network and fellowship with other growing businesspeople like themselves.  They are matched with business mentors from the community and thus are connected to the larger business world in their area.  After three years, the business owners are meant to relocate into the surrounding neighborhood, working towards its renewal.