SOURCE MN NEWS – MARCH 2025
URBAN OUTREACH｜ANTI-TRAFFICKING｜EST. 1987
Mother’s Nightmare & Eternal Hope
Homeless Son Finds Christ Before Death
We met Billy, a young man, and his mother Sarah in the spring of 2024. Sarah was in tears and gave him long hugs as she had been searching for him for many weeks. Billy was desperate and vulnerable with our staff confessing in front of Sarah about his drug use Homeless encampments are incredibly dark and have increased in significant numbers since 2020. Open drug use (fentanyl), addictions, gang violence, trafficking, and murders are all present. We are aware of multiple shootings in 2024 resulting in 8 deaths including Officer Mitchell last May. Source Homeless Outreach brings meals and clothing. The outreach and food are a bridge to Recovery Resources and to voice God’s love and forgiveness. vulnerable with our staff confessing in front of Sarah about his drug use and dealing. He allowed us to pray for him and shortly after he came to a community meal and Bible Study at the Community Center. Billy appeared soft and expressed a desire to get out. He made a dedication to follow Christ as he continued to be attentive to the Bible study and desired more prayer. At the end of the year, tragedy struck and Billy was shot. After being in the hospital for several weeks he passed away. Sarah told us that before Billy died he told her he wanted Jesus in his life. “Mom, you need to go back to church and find God. Something happened when I was at Source and I prayed with them. I could feel God. Sarah is attending, seeking community, and growing in faith at the Source Latino Church La Fuente.
Join us on 4/25, for a few minutes or several hours. See the schedule for different themes throughout the day along plus 6p-8p a time of praying with Source for the city, the at-risk and unreached.
2024 YE Campaign
Healthy Food & Good News for the Poor
We saw a record YE response. Over $200K gives us a great start for 2025 to continue to provide Healthy Food and Faith Initiatives – Thank You!
Volunteer Opportunities
- Summer Service Days
- Food Shelf
- 7/19 Fallout Art Fest Block Party
Golf Tournament – May 15th
NATIONAL HOMELESS YOUTH OUTREACH
MEALS & PRAYER – BRINGING LIGHT TO “SPIRITUAL” DARKNESS
What do Midwest retirees and homeless youth have in common? Florida in the winter. They are both Snow Birds. Every winter homeless youth, modern day Vega bounds and travelers migrate to the National Forest in Ocala, Florida. For over 20 years Source has been part of an annual outreach in hosting a Jesus Camp/Kitchen that has includes 100’s of meals, spiritual conversations, worship and prayer around the camp fire. We have seen Baptisms, 1st time commitments to follow Christ, teens return to Minneapolis to live in Source supportive living and many tears just to name some of the fruits. It is not uncommon that we see young people open up and express the desire to pursue Christ and confess that they want to break free of addictions and even spiritual darkness that they have experienced. Jane has a history of seeking significance in many alternative spiritualities and was very open and curious about what it meant to follow Christ. She knew very little about the Bible and did not understand the Good News Christ spoke of. As she was engaged in the conversation, a young man seemed to be getting irritated and visibly disturbed. He began displaying behaviors that were unsettling and I can only categorize as demonic. Later as we prayed for him he stated that he was being controlled by Satan. It is not uncommon we witness signs of spiritual darkness over the years, but this occasion was one of the biggest we have experienced. Most everyone except for the young man and our team left our campsite. After interacting and engaging in prayers for 45 minutes there was a peaceful ending. Many guests at Ocala have testified over the years that the Jesus Camp always feels peaceful and safe. Initially this encounter seemed to thwart what seemed to be a fruitful evening of spiritual discussions and prayer. However, during the rest of our stay we ended up talking to many individuals who witnessed what happened as they expressed seeing the power of christ. We also were able to continue conversations with Jane as she expressed witnessing the spiritual forces that seem to desire her to not pursue Christ. Jane lives out of her car and sells jewelry at festivals and concerts. We have been able to stay in touch, sharing more about Christ as she expresses lots of hurt from the past and unsure if she can trust God or people in the future. She remains open to dialogue and prayer. Pray with us as we are encouraging her to pursues a safe and peaceful place to make a break from the past, spiritually detox and heal, and set foundations for the future.
DIGNITY & RESPECT
COMMUNICATE WORTH AND VALUE TO THOSE IN NEED
Women’s Drop-In: Professional Salon Volunteers Give At-Risk Women a Special Gift.
Making contact and building trust is huge challenge with reaching out to women from abusive pasts. One of our goals is to be able to communicate worth and value to individuals who have been told they have little to no worth and value for much of their past. Source Women’s Drop-In sees 10-20 women weekly. Outreach and food allows us to make initial contact and build trust and then the Drop-In gives the opportunity to pursue more when they are ready. Treating individuals with dignity and respect is a small but is incredibly significant in communicating worth and value to those in need. Hair stylists from a local salon set up shop and volunteered at the Drop-In with the heart to help us go the extra mile. Women were delightfully surprised to be given the professional care for their hair. Women living on the street or in low income housing rarely have the resources or energy to go to a salon. Women at the Drop-In expressed gratitude, sat up straighter, began to smile and left feeling loved and valued in a way they rarely experience. In the weeks that followed they seem to appreciate and trust our staff more.
The day made a great impact on everyone involved as the hair stylist requested to return. It reflected an incredible day where the volunteers were unsure if they received more than they gave.
Thank You to “The Barber Shop West St Paul.”
Food & OutreachPrograms
Food Shelf, Neighborhood Pop-Ups, Homeless Outreach, Women’s Drop-In, Meals, Teen Homeless Youth Rainbow National Outreach, Fallout Arts Initiative, Teen Internships, Healthy Cooking Class, and ESL.
A Bridge to Recovery Resources & Faith Initiatives
Case Workers, Supportive Housing, Mentors, Spiritual Conversations, Alpha, Bible Studies, La Fuente Latino Church and local faith communities.
Prayer
Empowering Life Long Change – Prayer Recently I was asked why do we pray and have faith initiatives? Honestly I could not imagine doing what we do without it. I responded, “because our desire and passion is to love and serve people. We want to help them overcome obstacles. If food and resources is the only hope for a better life and freedom from the past, then hope will be wanting.” We also come in contact with need and abuses that can easily overwhelm and break our hearts. We have also seen God move in mighty ways through prayer – physical miracles, emotional healing and hope restored. We have witnessed simple expressions of pursing faith in Christ empower many. Source was built on prayer. The effectiveness of our staff and programs is a partnership following God’s lead. This begins with prayer. Please be praying for those we serve, our programs and staff, and our families.