Central Christian Church has a long history of serving God -  by serving others throughout our community and globally through missions. 

In 2018, Central Christian Church embarked on a journey to begin a new, and much needed ministry with our community. A committed group of leaders from our congregation began the process of learning to listen to the needs of our community, and learning about the assets and talents of our own church members. Once the educational training was complete, Central Christian Church was invited to apply for a Community Mutual Ministry Grant to help fund a new ministry. This ministry will utilize the talents and assets of our congregation and community in partnership with the talents and assets of those being served by the ministry - an innovative approach to ministry that is collaborative, asset-based and relational. A ministry with people, rather than for people - mutual ministry. A ministry that connects "us" and "them" to form "we". 

At times, we felt overwhelmed by all of the new information being presented. We felt we might easily commit to an obligation beyond our capabilities.  We had to sort through a lot of questions, and have some sobering discussion.  We had to understand the possibilities before us, and figure out our approach to them.  We wanted to cut a fresh new path without reinventing the wheel.  We wanted to know we were sticking to the same purpose which has already been at work in Central Christian Church for the last several decades.  We wanted to know this is God’s agenda and not mere human ambitions.

After a year of listening, learning and discussing, it became clear that the addiction recovery community's needs were not being fully served by the local resources available to them. Our focus for this grant is to work with a person in the recovery community as they transition from incarceration to a healthy return to their family and the community in general. While the final details of the grant application are still being written, we hope to develop a program to sponsor a family and learn from this so that the program can be expanded and replicated by others.