I can attest to the value of the work you are doing in Shall Never Thirst Ministries. I’m a parent of a former addict and I believe that the power of Christ is what changes the addict. My son traded a life of bondage to heroin to a life surrendered to Jesus Christ and is now leading a Discipleship program like yours in Washington state. The government tries to help the addict with programs but their success has been limited. The long term success rate is not what we see in Christ centered programs like Shall Never Thirst.
I have been on the receiving end of the hard work of the guys in the program. The men came to my home in New Jersey and spent a full day doing yard clean up for me so that my property would look nice to sell it. They even had a crew of guys painting my side porch and door and what started out as a garage roof repair became a full roof replacement. The guys were very respectful and I enjoyed meeting each one. Once my house sold, I needed to get a piano out of my basement and the guys willingly came over and helped get it to the curb.
The guys are in our church every Wednesday night receiving the Good News of the Gospel of Christ. They are learning how to apply Godly principles to their lives. One by one God is transforming them into Godly men who want to serve their fellow brothers and sisters in the church and beyond the church.
I pray that the zoning board can look beyond fear and in this situation give your ministry the opportunity to grow and thrive right there in Philadelphia. I believe the good far outweighs any negative to have the ministry in the neighborhood.
