5.22.2007
ADF Ally Rescues Homeless Ministry LITERALLY left out in the cold...
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty
and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you
invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me." -- Matthew 25:35-36 (NIV)
A core part of the mission of Family Life Church in Elgin, Illinois, is to serve those in physical and spiritual need through its partnership with "Hope, Encouragement, Love, Prayer, and Salvation" (H.E.L.P.S) ministry that provides the homeless with food, counseling, and other means of support.
In November 2005, the city of Elgin told the church it needed various new permits to continue the ministry. When the church leaders contacted the city manager, they were told the chances of getting all needed permits were "a million to one."
The church began the permit process, but last fall at the onset of another frigid Chicago-area winter, the city literally booted the ministry, and those it ministers to, out into the cold.
Family Life and H.E.L.P.S. were told by city inspectors they were allegedly in violation of 105 items that had never been noted on any previous inspection and they were given three days to resolve all the issues. H.E.L.P.S. had to establish a camp to continue its ministry twenty miles outside the city.
When resolution efforts failed, ADF allied attorney John Mauck filed a lawsuit on behalf
of the ministries. And two weeks ago, officials granted the
conditional use permit to Family Life Church, so the ministry can once
again serve the needy. Mauck will continue the lawsuit to ensure
that ministries such as H.E.L.P.S. do not receive the same treatment in
the future."It's tragic when an organization whose only purpose is to minister to its less fortunate neighbors finds itself without a place to go, particularly when that occurs in the midst of winter," says Mauck. "Christian service and aid to the helpless should not be thwarted by unnecessary governmental interference and bureaucracy."
Thank you for making this victory - allowing a church to carry out its God-given mission to the "least of these" - possible.
Prayer Requests | Visit the ADF prayer page
"Without Christ, we can do nothing." - John 15:5
- Please pray for the 2007 Blackstone Legal Fellowship leadership training program which starts in two weeks.
- Please pray for the oral arguments being held Tuesday
before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish. This is the case where the ACLU of Louisiana
executive director Joe Cook called for praying Christians to be jailed
and compared Christian school officials to Islamic terrorists.
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