Wholistic Ministries

Dorcas Ministries:

Dorcas Ministries was established to bring the gospel to the immigrant Chinese Community in the garment factories of NYC. Grace Mo and Rebecca Lee have given years of leadership to Dorcas Ministries. Our New York Chinese EFC was birthed with new believers out of this ministry.

In 2005, a ministry center was established in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and currently there are more than 100 immigrants attending ESL classes with a waiting list of another 100! They have ministered to children through a summer VBS ministry and have received several computers to help teach computer literacy.

They are a non-profit ministry under the Eastern District. Grace is the Executive Director who donates her time to the ministry. Rebecca is the Program Director and is supported as a missionary to the Chinese people in NY. As Dorcas grows, there is a need for helping to pay part-time staff to meet the growing ministry needs. Please consider adding Dorcas Ministries to your mission budget or giving a one-time gift. Grace and Rebecca are also available to come to your church to share about the ministry.

Here is the Dorcas Ministries website: www.dorcas-nyc.org
(Currently, the site is only written in Chinese.)

Firm Foundation of PA, Inc.
Harrisburg, PA
www.firmfoundation.org

There is a strong connection between Firm Foundation and the Evangelical Free Church. We are thankful for a ministry like this which seeks to rebuild an urban community and who are unashamedly Christian in their program and outreach. You can check out their website and contact them directly for more info. Here are some of their ministry arms:

The Firm Foundation House provides transitional living services to eight men transitioning from emergency shelter, incarceration or drug and alcohol treatment.
F.A.I.T.H. (Facilitating Assistance in Transition & Healing) provides trained faith-based mentors to those on probation or parole.
FirmWorks is Firm Foundation’s holistic asset-based approach to systemically reintegrate ex-offender fathers currently residing in the Dauphin County Work Release Center by addressing the social, mental, spiritual and emotional spheres.
Proud Dads is a fatherhood initiative for those re-entering the community from the criminal justice system. Fathers work together to strengthen their ties to their families and communities and are provided a FAITH Mentor.
Employment and Career Development Services are provided in partnership with Capitol Region PA CareerLink (Penn Center, 349 Wiconisco St., Harrisburg, PA 17110) for ex-offenders, low-income, and other disadvantaged workers in the Harrisburg area.
Opportunity Builders, Inc. ("OBI") is a for-profit Social Enterprise started by and owned by Firm Foundation. It is a construction company which engages in new home construction, rehab, and remodeling.

Hope for the City - Lebanon
Lebanon, PA

This is an example of one of our churches developing a non-profit ministry arm that will allow it to interact with other non-profits and with social agencies in the public and private sector. An example of this is a growing relationship with Urban Family Council which has obtained contracts to do mentoring and leadership training in the Philadelphia and Harrisburg public schools. Urban Family Council is a 501c3 with a strong faith-based element to its program. The need in the Lebanon urban/Hispanic community is great and Hope for the City - Lebanon may be the central organizer for a program that touches a growing need in the Lebanon School District.

Hope for the City - Lebanon currently runs an after school program in conjunction with the Lebanon Valley Youth for Christ. It is in the second year of operation and ministers to children in 3rd - 5th grade.

A counseling center in partnership with a Christian counseling group is also being considered.

Lydia Counseling Center
Hillsborough, NJ
Dr. Jody McCain, Regional Director

LYDIA Home Association has a long history in the Evangelical Free Church. Based in Chicago, they have always had at least half of their board members coming from an EFCA church. They began as an orphanage and have added other urban, child-focused services over the years including residential foster care, alternative schooling, day care, counseling and host homes for children at-risk.

LYDIA Home Association opened a facility on the east coast in 2002. LYDIA Counseling Center, located in Hillsborough, NJ, is a Christian counseling center dedicated to offering counseling services that are professional and affordable. As its parent company in Chicago, LYDIA Counseling Center is a non-profit center that uses donations and client service fees to provide its services. Its clinical staff is trained in psychology and its integration with the Christian faith. The following services are available:

• Individual counseling
• Family counseling
• Pre-marital and Marital counseling
• Assessment
• Keynote Addresses, Workshops and Seminars
• Staff development

LYDIA Counseling Center is prayerfully considering expanding its services to include urban ministries such as those offered in Chicago.

Dr. Jody McCain is giving solid leadership to LYDIA Counseling Center and is available to speak at your church. She, or her staff, can also provide referrals for Christian counselors in your area. She can be contacted via the website www.lydiahome.org/newjersey
or at (908) 359-3267

Camp Orchard Hill - Urban Camp Week
Jim Payne, Executive Director
Website: www.camporchardhill.com
Phone: (570) 333-4098

Camp Orchard Hill serves the entire constituency of the Eastern District with a quality camping program through the summer and retreats and special events throughout the year.

There is a special relationship with our urban/intercultural churches in that each summer a week of camp is set aside for our urban/intercultural children. They are offering a subsidized cost of $100/camper to offer a contextualized camp experience where young people from urban settings can experience God’s creation and His love.

For those interested in attending the camp, please contact your pastor or the Camp Orchard Hill office at (570) 333-4098.

For those who want to help sponsor a child for a week of camp, we need to raise another $100/camper to offset the actual cost of sending this young boy or girl to camp for a week.

To participate financially in this, please click on this link: