Coming soon . . . still under construction:

A partnership between the work release program and St. Mark’s has been a blessing for both the members of St. Mark’s and the members of work release. As the laity have embraced the Mission of service for the people of work release, there have been positive transformation in both group’s lives:

For the laity, is is following the Mission of God wherever He may direct us. And in the midst of that, we learn that merely thinking you know the talk doesn’t mean you know the walk. Helping run classes, take care of the down-trodden, committing of yourself – those actions cost something to both sides involved. But we find that Jesus gave of Himself because He mimicked the Heart of our Father. So to do we find that we are more like we’re who we were created to be as we steward freely and wisely the Mission set before us.

For the people of work release, they have found a church they can home. For many, they may feel they have been cast aside by society – looked down on, discounted, judged before they even got to say their side. And as the people of St. Mark’s have been able to come along side this group of people, there have been countless ripples of transformation – not just counting the people in work release; but also the lives around those individuals; and also the congregation.

That’s not the end of the story. In the words of Pastor Tony: “when people are treated like people and they’re not used to it – news of that gets around”. St. Mark’s has grown in attendance from the attendance and service of the men and women in the work release program. Many of our community events and work days are attended by both an “80yr old grandma who’s been coming to St. Mark’s since she was 2” and also “a person who ’til last week had never gone to a church service before”.

This all fits under the Mission God laid before every Christian in Matthew 25: to care for the stranger at our door, to help those who could use it. And the people of St. Mark’s found that as we do ministry for those in work release that we have to change that thinking: we have been doing ministry with them – as many of the people from work release have gone on to leadership positions.

In truth – this story of the people of work release will never be completed, as there is still yet more to come. God is still moving in exciting ways . . . so stay tuned with us.