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Local free meal ministry gets gift to pay off building mortgage in 1 year

Scott Thorn, director of the New Life Community Meal Ministry, stirs a pot of soup he made for the evening’s free community meal on Wednesday, Aug. 12. A recent donation paid off the mortgage on the ministry’s building. Between 45 and 50 people take advantage of the free dinner nightly.
Scott Thorn, director of the New Life Community Meal Ministry, stirs a pot of soup he made for the evening’s free community meal on Wednesday, Aug. 12. A recent donation paid off the mortgage on the ministry’s building. Between 45 and 50 people take advantage of the free dinner nightly. Photo by Rebecca Sandlin.

Originally published Aug. 24, 2015.

Sometime before 6 p.m. on any given weeknight, people start lining up outside the door of a storefront downtown on Jefferson Street. The mouth-watering aroma of food and the promise of a good meal draw them to the site of the former Rodger’s and Vivian’s Income Tax Service.

And now, with a gift from a church in another state, the New Life Community Meal Ministry can now call the roof over its head permanent.

The free meal ministry, an outreach of New Life Fellowship Baptist Church located at 323 N. Jefferson St., paid off the mortgage it owed on the building space in only a year — thanks to a donation of about $8,100 from Hillcrest Baptist Church in Carlisle, OH. It’s just one of many ways divine providence has kept the doors of the soup kitchen open and serving the community, says Jimi Staton, pastor of New Life Fellowship.

“Our biggest resource is God — and our biggest help is volunteers,” he says.

Those volunteers come from all over — from local churches of all denominations to more than 150 people from congregations outside Indiana. Recently there were 52 people from Hillcrest Baptist, 44 of them kids from the church’s youth group.

“They came in to serve on a missions trip,” explains Scott Thorn, director of the meal ministry. “One of the guys that served while they were here had it on his heart that the church should do something to help us here.”

He went to his church’s board and they agreed to bless New Life by paying off what they owed on the building.

“Now all we have to worry about is operating expenses and food expenses,” adds Thorn.

It takes about $2,000 per month to operate during winter and roughly $1,500 in the summer. Food expenses vary, depending on donations. But Thorn estimates he spends a minimum of $500 per month on food.

The ministry sees between 45 and 50 people come on each of the seven nights per week that they serve dinner. No one is charged for their meal; everything is free.

Now that the building is paid off, Staton says that leaves financial room to provide more services to the community. One possible service the church is considering is a daytime Celebrate Recovery group, a Christian-based addictions program.

Both Thorn and Staton say God has moved quickly to establish not just the meal ministry, but the church itself and a third component, a women’s ministry, which just celebrated its two-year anniversary.

“We started the church 14 years ago in a house with two other couples. We moved five times in the first 10 years, and this is the last move hopefully,” Staton says. “God has started the soup kitchen, and the vision is the soup kitchen and the women’s shelter … all that in 14 years. That’s a lot.”

The community meal ministry was formerly housed in a rental space adjacent to the former United Brethren Building on Franklin Street. They were forced to find another location when that structure was cleared of tenants in anticipation of possible demolition.

It was a blessing in disguise, Staton says, as the new home on North Jefferson Street is more spacious, has a bigger kitchen and is aesthetically more pleasing with its decorated storefront windows.

The Women’s Life House on Byron Street currently houses four women, who receive shelter, food and guidance in getting back on their feet. More than 50 women have been helped since it opened its doors, Staton says.

They go through a program of classes, including goal setting, safe people, a 12-step class and Bible study. They either find jobs through WorkOne or volunteer their time.

The two branches of New Life Ministries operate under the direction of a board separate from the church, including members who do not attend New Life Fellowship, Staton says. He recently asked them and members of his church to pray that God will supply $15,000 needed to run the meal and the women’s ministries. That week, $4,100 in donations came in.

“This week, people have come up to me, and we’re around another $1,800 just for this week, from people hearing about it and praying about it,” he adds. “It’s the people that don’t get recognized — it’s people I don’t even know … I would say that this community is receptive to what we’re doing.”

The public is invited to eat dinner free of charge at the New Life Community Meal Ministry. Mealtimes are at 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

To give to the New Life meal and women’s ministries, send donations to New Life Ministries, 313 E. Franklin St., Huntington, IN 46750.