Who We Are Called to Be - Fort Collins Rescue Mission

This Easter, as we reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are reminded of our call to live like Him. At the Mission, Christ has always been at the center of our work, and as we have progressed with our three-year strategic plan, one of our initiatives was to clarify how we have been and will continue to show up in this ministry. We settled on four key points: engage mercifully, work holistically, speak truthfully, and believe in miracles.

Engage Mercifully

Loving our neighbor as ourselves, without judgment.

We recognize all humans are made in God’s image and strive to live out Christ’s command to love our neighbor as ourselves, without judgment. Every day we practice mercy by:

Welcoming all, with a low barrier to shelter entry
Never giving up on people
Handling difficult moments with patience and remembering the trauma of the people we work with

Work Holistically

Recognizing that we are complex beings who require complex solutions.

We are rooted in the Mission’s historic goal of meeting people at their physical and spiritual points of need. As Christ commanded, we love God with our whole self and recognize that we are complex beings who require complex solutions (biological, psychological, social, and spiritual). Every day we provide holistic support by:

Providing for guests’ physical needs through food, shelter and life-changing programs
Facilitating access to physical and mental health care
Providing spiritual care and comfort

Speak Truthfully

Speaking truths: first to ourselves and then into the lives of the people we serve.

Following Jesus’ example, we recognize the ongoing need to speak hard truths: first to ourselves and then into the lives of the people we serve and systems we engage within. Every day we honor truth and speak:

Responsively instead of reactively
At the appropriate time
With honesty, transparency and hope

“Many years ago, I was helping a participant study for the GED, and he shared all the criticisms he had of me, personally and professionally. As I listened, I remember thinking, ‘I know his story. He has seen everyone he loved leave him because of his actions, and I bet he’s wondering if I’m going to do that too. I wonder what might happen if I just listen, stay connected to him through this and speak honestly to him?’ So that’s what I did.

I said, ‘I really want to keep working with you because I think you can accomplish a lot of incredible things during your time here, but I am getting the sense that you are trying to push me away with all these things you are bringing up. I want you to know that I’m committed to hearing as much as you want to share, and it doesn’t change my commitment to working with you. Are you willing to continue working with me even with all my faults?’

He was speechless. I could tell he heard what I was saying because his whole posture relaxed a little bit. More importantly, he showed up for our next appointment and eventually he received his GED and he graduated.”
Seth Forwood, Senior Director of Fort Collins Rescue Mission

Believe in Miracles

Believing that all lasting growth and healing depends upon the miraculous work of God.

Recognizing God’s greatness and our frailty as humans, we believe that all lasting growth and healing depends upon the miraculous work of God. Every day we live out our faith by:

Instilling hope in what God can do
Knowing that apart from God we can do nothing
Believing that as people behold the glory of God, they are being transformed into the same image

“A guest at Fort Collins Rescue Mission told me that he wanted to go back to church. We discussed small ways to meet this goal and to reengage in his faith. The guest started regularly interacting with one of our volunteer chaplains who comes to the Mission weekly, and this led to the guest starting to go back to church regularly. A month later, the guest took the initiative to participate in a weekly discipleship class where he was assigned a mentor, completed assignments, read material, and engaged in his relationship with God even deeper.

Recently, this guest told me he and a few other guys from church were going to start their own book study. This seemingly small engagement that this guest had with our volunteer turned into something so big for him, transforming his life and renewing his relationship with God.”
Rachel Pinkston, Case Manager at Fort Collins Rescue Mission