St. Louis Residents Give Back to Their Community

Our St. Louis residents and staff had a great time last week at the St. Louis Dream Center putting together Thanksgiving food baskets for needy families.  Watch this video and hear straight from our residents on why they love volunteering:

Nashville Runs for Mercy!!!

Check out the full story here!

St. Louis Runs for Mercy in Biggest Race Yet!

The weather was absolutely perfect as over 500 people gathered at the starting line to show their support for Mercy Ministries in the St. Louis Run for Mercy 5K and Family Walk this weekend. We had double the amount of participants this year and double the amount of money raised for a total of $55,000!!! This is the most money ever raised at one of our 5K events! Serious runners, mothers with strollers, families, and even dogs turned out to participate in this fun family event. Check it out!

Mercy Ministries Graduate Speaks at Catalyst 2010 Luncheon

Check out this amazing video of Mercy graduate, Kim Brownie, speaking at a luncheon for women in ministry at Catalyst 2010!

Mercy Ministries Celebrates 22 Baptisms!!!

Tuesday night in an awesome demonstration of the healing and transformation that takes place at Mercy Ministries, 22 young women from our California home were baptized! The special baptism service and dinner were held at the home of Buzz Oates, key supporter of Mercy Ministries. Buzz, a commercial real-estate developer from the Sacramento area, gave $2.5 million and the land for the building of the Lincoln home through the Buzz Oates Charitable Foundation.

It was an incredible night of celebration and praise for the lives changed as well as a time for the girls to show their gratitude to some of the California home’s biggest supporters. One of the residents, after being baptized, walked straight to Buzz Oates and said, “Thank you for helping to save my life.”

Greg and Kathy Fairrington, pastors of Sunset Christian Center and daughter and son-in-law of Buzz Oates were there as well as Lou Engle, Founder of The Call. Check out this inspiring video from the special night:

With the help of faithful supporters who are the lifeline of Mercy Ministries, we are able to give hurting young women the help they so desperately need. However, there are still room sponsorships available for the California home as well as much needed support for our current operations! If you are interested in knowing what needs still exist or would like to sponsor a room, contact Kaci Davis, Community Relations Manager at kdavis@mercyministries.com. Thank you!!!!

Christian Rock Band, Circleslide, Visits Mercy Ministries

Last week, residents at the Nashville home were so excited to have up and coming Christian rock band, Circleslide, visit the home. Members of the band, Gabe Martinez (guitar, lead vocals, harmonica), Eric Vickers (bass, vocals), Jonathan DeAnda (electric guitar, vocals), and Lee Yoder (drums) toured the home Thursday morning and performed their soon to be released single “Looking Up” at the opening of the graduation ceremony. Here’s what lead singer, Gabe Martinez and drummer, Lee Yoder, had to say about the experience:

"The band and I were not prepared for the life-changing event that was our visit to Mercy Ministries. Touring the facilities, meeting the wonderful staff, and participating in the graduation will not soon be forgotten. Etched in our memory is the way the Mercy staff pours into each girl in the program with attentiveness to their uniqueness and personality. The time of worship was sweet and rich, radiating with each girls individual story and reminding me of the power of God's redemption. We were so humbled by the experience and each of us walked away in awe of how God’s grace has the ability to restore us all.”
-Gabe Martinez

“From the moment I walked in the doors at Mercy Ministries, I knew God's work was being done there. The thought that kept running through my mind as we were touring the facilities and then sitting in the graduation ceremony was ‘This feels like home.’ To hear the stories, and see pictures of where Amanda, Sarah, and Kara (the graduates) were before coming to Mercy brought tears to nearly everyone’s eyes. But as the girls finished their testimonies, those tears of disgust and sorrow turned into tears of joy and praise to God, because the healing that took place in the girls’ lives was so undeniable. I've always known that Love is a powerful thing. I have an even better grip on how powerful it is now. After seeing the lives changed, because of the love displayed to "the least of these," I would encourage everyone who has thought about it, to invest into Mercy Ministries!”
- Lee Yoder

Check out this video of the band performing at the graduation ceremony:

Mercy Ministries Goes to Gold's Gym in California

Residents and staff at the Lincoln home have been blessed with the opportunity to work out three days a week at their local Gold’s Gym. The gym is owned by Mercy Ministries Community Board members, Joe and Diane Wenson. Joe and Diane have given free memberships to all residents and staff, attend every graduation at the Lincoln home and have even offered to help employ any graduate who is staying in the area.

Check out this great video of Joe and Diane and some of the Mercy girls working out: