Calvin Storey now has a home in Atlanta. He represents a statistic, but one on the good side of the ledger. He’s one of 647 people Atlanta Mission (a Christian nonprofit ministry) helped in 2015 who are no longer homeless.
In metro Atlanta, more than 10,000 people are homeless each night. Lack of affordable housing, poverty and unemployment are the most commonly cited causes of homelessness, says HomeAid Atlanta, an organization that assists Atlanta’s homeless individuals through housing and community outreach.
Calvin Storey (above) overcame homelessness with Atlanta Mission’s help. Now, he guides other men on that journey (top photo).
Nearly 1,000 people a day—including men, women and children—find help through Atlanta Mission’s five facilities. These are people in the situation Calvin escaped from.
Homeless men line up outside The Shepherd’s Inn, a men’s shelter and one of Atlanta Mission’s five facilities (above).
Jim Reese, president and CEO of Atlanta Mission, began work there in 2008. He wondered how to create organizational change in what they were doing. “I think God has a bigger plan than [seeing homeless men] coming in and leaving every day,” he says.
In 2014, Jim learned how Stepping Up®—a 10-lesson series for men created by FamilyLife®, Cru®’s ministry to families—was transforming men’s lives in prisons. He decided to go through it with his staff and the 130 homeless men at the mission.
Jim Reese (above, center), president and CEO of Atlanta Mission, discusses the Bible with men at the mission.
“Millions of men today need the courage to step up to their responsibilities as husbands, fathers, and as followers of Christ within their homes, churches and communities,” says Dennis Rainey, president of FamilyLife. “FamilyLife’s Stepping Up video series offers a biblical vision for manhood and helps a man recognize that without knowing God, he will not understand who he is and what his assignment is on planet Earth.”
Calvin’s windowless office (above) serves as a reminder of the hope he has found, and the hope he now wants to offer others.
Now, Atlanta Mission uses Stepping Up to help men like Calvin.
Calvin (above, at left) helps some of the 10,000 men, women and children who face homelessness amidst Atlanta’s skyline (below) daily.
The FamilyLife resource uses the acronym “STEP” to provide four broad courses of action for men to take: Stand firm, Take initiative, Engage with wisdom and grace, and Plan ahead and provide. From 2014-2016, 420 men have gone through Stepping Up at Atlanta Mission, and 1,138 people have transitioned away from homelessness.
Jim saw the value as much more. He spent his own money to buy 60 copies of the DVD series, and he distributed them to other rescue missions across the U.S.
Stepping Up is a multi-media resource available as a four-session video event, a 10-week video series for small group study, and as a book. “Stepping Up has proven to be a powerful tool for winning men to faith and then building them so they can go out and win and build others,” says Dennis. “In short, it is a highly effective strategy for training young men and for men to engage in the Great Commission.” For information, visit www.familylife.com/steppingup.
Rich began his journalism career as a newspaper correspondent for his local paper in Ohio. He covered city council meetings, wrote features and took photos. Rich served with Worldwide Challenge® magazine from 2008-2016. Now, he writes field reports for another Cru® ministry.
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Melody serves as editor-in-chief for Cru Storylines™ and a journalist with Cru®. She’s an Atlanta, Georgia, native and University of Georgia graduate with a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism. She enjoys the intersection of creativity, theology and popular culture in her writing projects.
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Tom is a photographer with Cru®. He loves seeing beautiful sights out of airplane windows and enjoys meeting new friends all over the world. His wife, Karen, travels with him whenever possible, which makes every trip even better. Tom has been photographing for more than 40 years.
Contact MeRead more from the August 2017 issue
Feature story
An Unlikely Missionary Revives Hope on the Reservation
Bob GreyEagle, a Cru® staff member with Nations®, formerly perpetuated a toxic home life. But when God rescued him, Bob longed to change his community. Then God made it clear to Bob: I am sending you.
August 2017
