Life Support Center

Meet Sam Drake, the Life Support Center/Work Awakens Worth Director. Sam is passionate about his work here at the Life Support Center and has some great new ideas you will see soon! Come by and meet Sam any Tuesday or Thursday from Noon to 3:00 pm. 

Life is messy! We offer Life Support to give people life-enhancing resources and skills to deal with those messes. Of course, as we do, we get to build relationships with them and share the hope that Jesus Christ brings to messy lives...true Life Support!

Not All Charity is Effective

• What if the charity you were involved in actually helped people get out of poverty?
• What if the people receiving the charity were given the opportunity to truly be active in that process?
• What if these people actually got to the point they didn’t need your help anymore?

New Covenant Life Support Center has adopted True Charity’s (truecharity.us) model of charity that is effective and transforming, championing a national movement of voluntarily funded, effective charity at the most local level.

Top Five Values

1. Imago Dei/Worth/Dignity

2. The Gospel of New Beginnings/Transformation

3. Work

4. Creativity

5. Shalom/Justice

We believe that most models of charity do more harm because they keep people enslaved to others for their basic needs. We will empower our Friends (clients) to discover their true worth as one created in the image of God and to be transformed by working of the Holy Spirit in their lives as they break the cycle of poverty. True life support!

The “Dignity Exchange,” allows our clients to exchange some sort of service/work for items from the Clothes Closet, the Cupboard Food Co-op, and other resources, and helps them to understand good stewardship of themselves. Dependency on others has been shown to keep people from thriving; our goal is to help people break those bonds of dependency and have the abundant life that Jesus promises.

We find great joy in witnessing people's transformations! We have been exploring ways to make our outreach more sustainable and impactful. Much of what is often referred to as charity can inadvertently do more harm than good, perpetuating dependency rather than fostering self-sufficiency. We are excited about a ministry model that is both sustainable and transformative, aimed at helping our friends develop essential life skills that will provide them with dignity, enable them to thrive, and ultimately achieve true self-sufficiency.

Below is a good picture of what our charity model at the Life Support Center looks like. We have been focusing on the first two road markers: Relief and Rehabilitation. Relief is primarily provided in the way of free lunches, and travel packs (to-go food items). Rehabilitation takes place through our Dignity Exchange, which initiates the journey of understanding that giving back and working are positive experiences. Now, we are ready to fully embrace the third stage, Development, through our initiative "Work Awakens Worth," which is our social enterprise program.

New Covenant is always looking for better ways in which to serve our friends and neighbors. We believe all people are created in God’s image and deserve to be treated with dignity. We want  to give people more personal choice in what they receive from The Cupboard  and also provide a way for our friends to give back. This preserves dignity and builds hope.

Persons/Families are eligible to get food 1x/month and will be asked to contribute $5 or 1/2 Dignity Exchange (1/2 hour of community service) to New Covenant each time. (Attending church on Sunday can cover this requirement.) A point system based on the size of the family will be used to determine how many items a person can get, and persons will choose their own items with the guidance of Cupboard volunteer.

Thank you for your cooperation as we strive to serve God’s people in a way we believe can be transforming. Shalom.

Abundant Life Job Center

Tuesdays/Thursdays afternoons by appointment
 

Services Provided

• Job/Vocation coaching 
• Skills Assessment
• Computer Access
• Interview Skills/Etiquette

A Community Garden Project
Come see us grow!

This year we will do intensive gardening! It is our hope that this method will provide a bigger harvest that volunteers can share in. Extras will go to The Cupboard and other area food ministries. To join the Garden Team email Pastor Cathy @ pastor@newcovchurch.us