Anna Valeria-Iseman & Warren Meeks - Why Does Investing In The Community For 100 Years Make A Difference?

Show Notes

Anna Valeria-Iseman & Warren Meeks - Why Does Investing In The Community For 100 Years Make A Difference? by Browncroft Community Church

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Peter Englert: Welcome to the Why God Why podcast, my name is Peter Englert. We exist to respond to the questions you don't feel comfortable asking at church. We are brought to you by [Browncroft] Community Church. We also part of the Group Talk network. You'll be hearing more about that in the weeks to come. I'm here with our fantastic producer, Nathan [Yoder] and our illustrious co-host Aaron Mercer.

Aaron Mercer: Thanks Peter.

Peter Englert: Aaron, this episode's a big deal.

Aaron Mercer: Yeah. This is an exciting episode. I'm really excited about it. We're going to be talking to good friends of Browncroft's for many, many years, and we'll get into that in a minute. But it's also coming out during a special time for Browncroft. We're about ready to celebrate our 100 year birthday. What do you think about that?

Peter Englert: So my wife's grandma turned 100 this year. And my wife said to me, she goes, "Grandma's older than Browncroft." Anyways, but that's old other things. So we have two guests here, Anna and Warren. They're going to be introducing themselves from Open Door Mission and also Rochester Family Mission. But the question we're asking is why does investing in the community for 100 years make a difference? And yeah, I'm looking forward to not only looking at the past of how churches and nonprofits, this is a story that's very, very normal, but also what the future holds for us. So let's go.

Aaron Mercer: Yeah, no, I'll just add too, I want to get to our guests here in a second, but I just want to add too, I think it's an exciting topic and let's be honest, it's one of those questions where you're like, okay, 100 years. What does that mean? Does that mean that you've overstayed your welcome, you've been around too long, or what sort of impact does that have on the community? I think that's where we want dig in with some of our good friends who have also been here in the Rochester area for a long time and who Browncroft has been able to partner with. I hope and pray and believe that has made an important difference. So, anyhow, yeah. Do you want me to have them introduce themselves or you want to do it? How do you want to do this, Peter?

Peter Englert: You know what, I'll throw it to both of them.

Aaron Mercer: All right, let's do it.

Peter Englert: This is Anna Valeria-Iseman and Warren Meeks. Anna is the executive director of Open Door Mission. And then Warren is the executive director of Rochester Family Mission just to get started. Why don't you introduce yourself and also share how you landed and we'll start with Anna first, then we'll go to Warren.

Anna Valeria-Is...: Okay. Thanks for having me. I started at Open Door in 2014 and that was after I had been in the field for about five years. And I entered the field of homeless ministry and outreach, it was actually as many ministries are born, out of grief. It was the sudden loss of my father. And I decided I really wanted to just find a way to reach out and have people be heard. And so I started doing street outreach back when we could access the aqueduct tunnels under the city streets. And I thought that by just kind of sitting down and talking with individuals, I could know more about their stories and what led them to those situations. And at that point it was really just to listen. And that was born into some case management work, it developed into a profession. But then I found my way to Open Door as a result of years of really seeing how broken the systems are that are supposed to serve the poor and the addicted and the mentally ill.
And, and I think one of the biggest things I saw, and I'm sure Warren would agree, is that one of the biggest things that's missing out of many programs is the gospel. And that's what led me to reaching out to Open Door at one point and saying, "You guys are really different. DO You realize that you're kind of different?" I've worked in all of these programs, many wonderful programs in our community. And anyway, I reached out to them and we started some conversations. They said, "Hey, we'd really like to develop a program for women and children." And so that was why it was brought on initially, was to do the research and development for the women and children's program. And that was seven years ago. And here we are seven years, almost eight years later now. And I'm the executive director. And lots of change and growth has happened in that time. But it's a wonderful organization to be part of. And I'm just really happy to be there and honored to serve with the team we have there.

Peter Englert: That's great. Warren, let's hear from you. Welcome. Anna has been on before. This is your first podcast with us. So welcome.

Aaron Mercer: Welcome.

Warren Meeks: Thanks for having me. I appreciate the opportunity to be here with you. I know we had talked about getting together and doing a podcast a couple times, but I'm glad that we have the opportunity now. I got with the Rochester Family Mission, my mother on and off, ain the course of me growing up, always instilled upon us volunteering and being there to help out those that were in need. And it wasn't until we reached a point when we were children that we fell into a need position and a church organization, they came through for us. And that really touched my heart. But over the course of, maybe I say the past 15 years on and off, I've been helping my mother with different functions at the Rochester Family Mission. I even worked there once 15 years ago, I was the driver picking up the groceries and stuff so that we can distribute. But you develop a, I say your heart gets attached to helping people.
I'm a guy that comes from the automotive industry where for the past 10 plus years, I've been making six figures. And that wasn't enough for me and my heart wasn't satisfied. And when I had the opportunity to come in to assist the Rochester Family Mission, those needs were higher than ever before. Rochester currently has three zip codes that are in the top 10 in New York State with food insecurities. So what we do is very important in Rochester. So my heart started to get attached to that. And seeing children in need and seeing even elderly people in need, it just caused for a shift. So when the opportunity presented itself for me to become the executive director, first of all, I was shocked. But according to those that interviewed me, I was qualified and my heart was there and I had a passion for the people. And I really loved the direction that the Rochester Family Mission is going with opening up more services, such as our clothing ministry, our counseling, and et cetera.

Aaron Mercer: That's great. So can you give me a little bit of history about, I'm glad that I got to know more about your stories. Can you give me a little bit more of a story about the ministry itself, each of you? How did it get started and how did that kind of lay the foundation for what you're doing today? Anna, do you want to go first?

Anna Valeria-Is...: Yeah. So we started in 1965. And the very first activity the Open Door Mission hosted was a Thanksgiving dinner. So Thanksgiving in 1965 was the first time the Open Door Mission provided a meal. And since then it was mostly, it started really with meal service. And that evolved into kind of some outreach and counseling. It evolved into shelter and then residential addiction recovery. So really since probably, I think it's been maybe since the eighties that we've actually had those residential programs. So addiction recovery program for men and the shelter.
And in the past several years, we have grown into, we've added our transitional housing program for homeless women and children. We have a permanent supportive housing program, that's scattered Site, and that's for chronically homeless families. We do emergency food and clothing. We also do eviction prevention, that's something that has just started in the past couple of years as well. And we are currently hoping to add on our program, our men's addiction recovery program, we want to offer that to women. Now, it would start likely with an outpatient format until we have a space to house everyone. But in the meantime we're trying to develop the addiction recovery program to make it accessible via Zoom and things like that so we can include women.

Aaron Mercer: That's great.

Warren Meeks: [crosstalk] Go ahead.

Aaron Mercer: Can I jump in here real quick before ... I want to tell.

Warren Meeks: Go.

Aaron Mercer: So yeah, I showed this to Warren beforehand, so he knows what's coming. But to give a little history, I want to hear more about the history of RFM, Rochester Family Mission, but I wanted also say, so I have been doing a lot of digging around here, around the church just to find old pieces of history. Browncroft is 100 years old. One of our pastors here recently called me Indiana Mercer. I don't know. I think I need to get a hat or something. But it's easy-

Peter Englert: Just not a whip.

Aaron Mercer: Right. That could get interesting. It's easy to always be thinking about where we're at right now and where we're going, which is good, but it's important to be thinking about where we came from. We can talk more about that in a minute. But one of the things I found in my digging was actually a financial statement from Browncroft, a 1927 financial statement. The church was founded in 22, which is why we're 100 years this year. 1927, which I believe will was the first year that Rochester Family Mission was founded under a different name, Gospel Tabernacle, and in it, I'm going to hold it up for the people on YouTube if they want to. And I probably shouldn't be touching this with my fingers. I'm going to have to put it in a sleeve or something.
But among the disbursements, so our church was very missions focus from the very beginning. And one of the first things on here is Rochester Gospel Tabernacle, $40. Now keep in mind, this is 1922. $40 went a lot further then than it does now. And the church was only five years old. So I think that's significant. There's been a partnership with both of your organizations for a decade, looks like 95 years, at least. That was the first year, right, 1927?

Warren Meeks: 1927 was the first year that now Rochester Family, actually now RF Mission was founded under the name God's Tabernacle. So it eventually went on to be called Rochester Family Mission. And because of the millennial age, it's RF Mission who prefer everything to the acronym based. So yeah, it's been around. We will be celebrating 100 years soon as well. And it's amazing that you dug that up because I was not aware that he had this document prior to me coming. [crosstalk]. And when I seen it, it's so original and it says 1928 for those that are looking, and it's amazing. We have been around that long. And Browncroft has actually been around supporting us from the beginning. And that's a blessing as well, which speaks volume to the type of church that you guys are, that you really care about the communities. And this is in the 14608 community right dead in the middle of the city. And you guys are right there planting seed to help the mission of the Rochester Family Mission. So that is much appreciated. And actually, I can see it so it goes without saying.

Aaron Mercer: Well, so tell me, why did the mission get started in the first place? And how does that kind of over that 95 year period, how has that affected the mission you're doing today?

Warren Meeks: Well, I mentioned earlier that Rochester has three zip codes in the top 10. Well, the 14608 community, which is right there where God's Tabernacle, that is number two on the list. And it's been that way for a while. And I can assume that they planted the Rochester Family Mission in that area because the need exists maybe a hundred years ago. Now, while you would say over time, shouldn't things have gotten a little bit better? But there's life circumstances and situations that people fall into. And also the lack of development in certain communities that calls for organizations like us to be present and much needed. So that's how we got started, basically identifying a need and identifying the fact that these communities suffer from food insecurities and that they don't really have what we would consider a normal nutritious meal.
And when you look into the neighborhoods and you look at even the corner stores and stuff, their supplied with chips and juices and sugary items, but you don't get produce. You don't get good meats. You don't get things that are nutritious for an individual. And that's what we provide to those families in that neighborhood. We give them an opportunity to, well, first of all, to be able to eat. We are getting larger families that are coming in and we're providing for them like never before.

Peter Englert: You know, before we jump into more questions, I think this is what happens. I think this is the first time you two have met. So what's kind of hitting me is you have one organization, RF Mission, that's, we're consistent, we've done mostly the same faithful work for almost a hundred years. And then you have Open Door Mission not even 10 minutes away that has said, "Hey, we're kind of taking on these new challenges." And I guess I'd be curious from your vantage point, because I think that that's something that people get wrong. So we try compare businesses. There's a certain coffee shop from Seattle that I think should just stick with coffee. I didn't say it, cup might be on the table.
But anyways, but then there's other organizations like Apple that they recreate the iPad. And so I guess from a ministry perspective, how do you both, thinking of your past and even thinking of your future, think about how do we follow God's leading to really serve, because what you're both doing is saying, "Hey, we're serving the context that we're in." How do you figure that out? Anna, let's start with you.

Anna Valeria-Is...: Oh boy. We have in recent years, we've really significantly developed our grant funding stream. And one of the reasons that we've done that is because as I see how systems are changing around us, specifically the housing system, homeless and housing and HUD models, and those can vary state to state. But certainly here in New York we see a very specific approach to addressing homelessness and housing insecurity. And the big piece that's missing from that is the services part of that. I'll get a little controversial here and say we put the catch phrase that everybody loves to hear, which is housing first on the housing model and think all we need to do is get people in housing. If they don't have a house, give them a house. Well, if we're not addressing the things that got them to that circumstance to begin with, they're back in our shelter within six months to a year.
So one of the things that we have done is in realizing that we need to catch people in their most hopeless state, we need to be able to have them have easy access to walk in a building or a facility and get that food, shelter, and clothing, meet those basic needs. But how do we get them to the next level? So what is the next level for many people in these circumstances, it is addiction recovery. And for many people, once that addiction has been addressed, how do we continue to get them re-entered into the community, independently housed, employed, productive? And so unfortunately, there's not a lot of options out there aside from just giving someone a house and walking away, or a subsidy. So we have decided to kind of walk into that jungle and say we're going to do this and we're going to do it well.
And so we decided not to shy away from grants that would help us partner with the government and say this is how you approach this situation. But we want to show how we can be witnesses to how to do it better. So we're doing what we're doing. As long as we can maintain our identity as a gospel based organization and that every service we provide is based on that foundation, then we're able to influence what's going on out there. And actually created a lot of pathways to bigger conversations at the Washington level, at the federal level, because they're looking at organizations like ours and saying, okay, wait a minute, so you're like all of this private funding through churches and individuals, but you can take it this much farther because we're helping you out a little bit, but you're taking it farther in this way.
So we're able to take someone and put them in, maybe we can get that subsidy to get them into housing, but we're not walking way. We're staying with them all along the way. We're making sure that in a month or six months or five years from now, they're still housed and they're still engaged in a church community, and they're still working on that network of support around them. And they're also giving back. They're giving back to our community or your community or they're part of your community. So I think that kind of how we've looked at it and saying we're not good with just the emergency part of it. We need to take this all the way.

Peter Englert: I love that. Love that. Warren, I guess kind of the same question, but both of you have a very similar approach. But even you said this, like we're a faithful presence in that zip code. How is that kind of framed how you even see the past in the future of what you're doing and how you're supporting the community?

Warren Meeks: Well, most importantly for us, I think that being God centered and God focused, and preaching the gospel and teaching the gospel. The Bible speaks of making disciples. And I believe that if we really look at it, disciples are well equipped. You know what I mean? But if we don't do our job to make disciples as the great commission is, as we've been commanded to, when I look at the communities that we serve, it doesn't mean that disciples don't actually go hungry sometimes. I'm not saying that. Because they do fall on hardships and things like that, but they have the Lord on their side and they have the spirit to guide them to make good decisions. And when we look at what we're faced, we don't have all the sources at the Rochester Family Mission, but we lean on other places like even Open Door. If we recognize a client has a need for housing or have a need, we will send them that way.
And I think that, collectively, nonprofits have to look to somewhat work together in a sense. And just like for us for instance, we've had an access of food and we've sent it over to Open Door. And they've accepted it, clothes and extra stuff. They've accepted it. And that's the one thing I like about the fact that even though we are organizations, is that we find ourselves loving each other and helping each other because our ultimate goal is to help the people. So I believe that if we tap into the resources, and that's something that's important now, most organizations, like she said, Open Door, they can come into where you can sit down, you can do an evaluation to find out what is the need? Is it drugs?
If it is, okay, well here, you can go over here to this facility. You need some drug help. Is it housing? You can go here. Us, we provide food and clothing and we do have a new facility that we're looking to open up as well that's going to offer more needs. But we're in a growth process. And even after 100 years, we're still trying to grow to offer more services. I know we have a heart and a desire because our neighborhood, most of these neighborhoods that you'll find that have these great food insecurities and there's a substance abuse problem. And like she said, you have to address those issues before you can really move forward, because then you find the people that you help today back in your care for the same problem less than a year later.
And that can kind of affect like directors because our hearts are attached to our work. And we go home after we serve 100 plus people and we're like excited that we did something good. And then when weeks when we're not serving as many people we start wondering is the community okay? Are they all right? So, And like I said, the main thing is just really just keeping God and spreading the gospel while we're doing what we're doing. And I think that's the positive effect on the community that's going to make it better.

Peter Englert: Well, I'm going to push on something that you said. So pastors love to use this $10 word discipleship.

Warren Meeks: Yeah.

Peter Englert: So when you say discipleship at RF Mission, if I came in on a Wednesday afternoon and you're really, what does that look like?

Warren Meeks: Okay, well, don't come in on Wednesday. But Wednesday, because Wednesday is actually our, oh, it is the busiest day. We got food coming in from multiple different sources, like the Father Heart, they donate some fresh stuff that they get. So we're distributing food, we're setting up. And then we're also like distributing hot meals and stuff. So we're there from like six in the morning to like seven at night. So not on Wednesday, but other than Wednesday ...

Peter Englert: That sounds like discipleship to me.

Warren Meeks: It is, it is. But other than that, you find that a lot of times people want to be heard. And the uncomfortable position that pastors and leaders put themselves in is that they tend to want to be heard. And yes, we're supposed to teach the gospel, but not every time should a pastor take it upon himself or a leader, I happen to be a pastor, but a leader in itself. We're the executive directors in these communities, but we don't always have to just take over the conversation, take over and have control. We need to listen and then feed. We need to listen and then feed. That way that we're meeting the needs. And I'm not just talking when I say feed, I mean give them the word, give them Jesus, show them Jesus. The best Jesus that these people can ever get is to watch you operate how Christ would operate.
That's the difference that I find is that many leaders, it's like, well, when you see them, do you see Christ? That's the hang up. So I think from my perspective, the biggest thing that we can do is just show them Christ, show them the love of Christ, listen to them and then teach them about Christ.

Aaron Mercer: So it seems like I'm listening to both of you and I guess I've also heard in the past, seen in the past, that there's a particular strength to faith-based ministries. And of course there's lots of good charities that are not necessarily faith-based, although I think there's a lot of people of faith who get attracted to those charitable causes. But what is it about the way you operate that, like you said, even the government wants to partner with organizations that are doing a good job. You know what I mean? And sometimes people get hung up on all sorts of other issues that can be connected to that. But the fact is these faith-based ministries like yours seem to be having good results. Why is that? What's the secret sauce there?

Anna Valeria-Is...: Well, I think we've been saying the gospel is the secret sauce, but it's also in creating that environment. There's a different feel when you walk in. I've walked in shelters across the country and there's a different feel when you walk into a place that you know, there's just a different feeling there. And one of the things people have asked, there's the whole, people will label religious or Christian or faith-based shelters is you have to sing for your supper. There's a kind of like that old saying there.

Aaron Mercer: I'd go hungry.

Anna Valeria-Is...: Right, yeah. And to be clear, that's not the case. But what we've learned is that you don't have to force the gospel on anybody. People are drawn to it. So do we make people stand up and sing because we have a chapel every day? But I could count on one hand the number of people that I have seen actually over the years say, "I'm just going to sit back here and I'm not going to ..." and that's okay too, because the seed has still been planted. And that's the other thing is that when we look at the difference between, we talk about the supportive churches like you guys, like having a church support us is such an incredible gift because it allows us to maintain our identity as a Christian organization first, because we don't have strings.
But that said, there's so much more that can be done with relationships. So there's so much that can be done with financial support, but there's even more that can be done with relational support. So folks like Browncroft come in and do chapel services and come in and decorate our, one of the things you guys do yearly is decorate our buildings for the holidays. And so to walk into a place that actually feels homey and comfortable and festive, it has a different feel than walking in some place where you're just like, okay, I'm just a number. It's kind of feels more institutionalized. And so to make it feel like home, and we know that comes from our mission, the gospel is ...
I say this a lot, that programs don't change people and policies don't change people, Jesus changes people. And we just provide an environment for that to happen. And by partnering with churches, you feel that way. We will have our shelter be overcrowded with people when there's open beds elsewhere, because there's just a different feel there. And maybe not everybody knows what it is when they walk in, but they certainly know what it is when they leave.

Aaron Mercer: Wow. Wow.

Warren Meeks: Hey, she said it best. She said Christ is the sauce. All right, did you guys get that?

Peter Englert: Tweet that.

Warren Meeks: I love that. I was like, oh, she hashtag Christ is the sauce. I love that. And she's right. She's right 100%. And while the government is trying to offer their assistance in multiple different ways, it's not the same when you have a organization or a church like Browncroft that's like participating. You keep that spiritual component. And the fact that they're not just a number, just a statistic, it's different. And it's important to have the church involved. And I think that the church should be involved in all missions and people that are trying to do the right thing to help change the trajectory of any area. And I think that it's super important because it allows us to be authentic and to not ... Because you get leaders that come in and they could be faith based and they can change to do everything for the numbers to get to the money.
And when our target is to remain faith based, it keeps us authentic. It keeps us spreading the gospel, constantly trying to preach the gospel. So I'm really not a big fan of the government stuff, but we do take on some of the assistance that they do provide for us. But we are almost 100 years with Browncroft. I mean, that's amazing. You guys have been supporting 14608, a community that's 15 minutes away, but you still consider it a part of your community. So the local church is very important to what we do and it keeps us faith based orientated.

Peter Englert: So I kind of want to push back on both of you because there's this story that you are telling that isn't what the news is telling, and it's not what ... We're talking a lot about deconstruction, so I have tons of conversation. What's deconstructing? People are deconstructing their faith and they're saying things like the church is hypocritical and the church isn't involved with what the community wants to do. And in our worst sense, people that don't know Browncroft kind of feel like it's disconnected. But the story that you're saying, and I'm biased because I'm here every day. Churches aren't perfect. But the story that you're saying is, hey, I might never have met Anna, but I've supported RFM Mission. And Anna's like, hey, I know about his branches, these local organizations. Basically what I hear you telling me is there's a whole lot more collaboration between nonprofits and churches. And so people say things like the church doesn't care about the poor. And they're like, there's all these Bible verses. But what you're telling me is there's a whole nother story that's not being told.

Warren Meeks: Yeah, absolutely. Can I ...

Anna Valeria-Is...: Yeah, please. Go.

Warren Meeks: Well, so Wednesday night, that's our busiest night. There's churches from everywhere. Browncroft is there every single Wednesday night. You guys may not know because this is a large church, but you guys have groups. You guys have people, they're there every Wednesday night. They also, also, they come down once a month and they cook hot meals for our clients. And I hate to put you guys on the spot because you may or may not be aware because of the church size and the multiple different groups that you have. But I don't even know if you guys know, your guys are present every Wednesday night. There's someone there from Browncroft serving, there's someone there. So our community actually does know. Those clients that come through, they know that Browncroft is actually there.
Now, what people who sit at home and who are always trying to persecute the church and always trying to come after the church, I would recommend that they get up, get up off your couch and actually ... Because they would be considered to me just as guilty. If you felt like the church isn't doing anything, well, why don't you go verify your information before you draw to a conclusion? So get up and go see, because if they walked into our building and say, "Hey, I want help," and they asked the question, "Hey, where are you from?" "Oh, I'm such and such from Browncroft, I'm such and such from this church," and that they'd be like, "Oh, well I guess the church is helping in the community." And they are every week.

Anna Valeria-Is...: Yeah, I can say without a doubt, Open Door would not be here without the local church. We just would not. We exist based on ... And it's not, like I said before, it's not just financial support. The financial support really allows us to maintain our independence, but it's also, when we talk about the church, helping the church, well, especially Browncroft, you don't just send a check. Like he said, you guys are there with us every month too. So you are able to send your folks out to help us. We also wouldn't exist without volunteers.So between the V volunteers, between the engagement, between the prayer support that we know we get, we could get letters of support from you guys and cards just saying we're praying for you. That may seem like such a small gesture, but it goes so far. If it's a really especially challenging day, and to get that, a letter like that showing up in your mailbox, it's nice. And so I can say, I'm sure with the RF-

Warren Meeks: Mission.

Anna Valeria-Is...: Mission too. I'm behind on lingo too.

Peter Englert: Those millennials. [crosstalk].

Anna Valeria-Is...: But yeah, many of these smaller organizations that really do intimate level work with the community because we're in the neighborhoods, we're on the street, we're doing street outreach. We're able to do that because of the church. So I think it's kind of an old and overused argument to say that the church is uninvolved or doesn't care.

Peter Englert: Yeah, I agree.

Aaron Mercer: So, to jump in there, so you're you there day in and day out, both ministries. And I know others like yours, Peter mentioned a few too, day in and day out. And both ministries have been there for decades. And the people in those communities who need help or maybe have family members who need help, they know you've been there. And it sounds like some of them even know some of the churches that are supporting, or at least who the volunteers are. What do those connections do in those communities? How have you seen over the decades or over the years you've been there, how has that affected people in those communities? Whether they stay there or if they go to other places, what sort of impact does it have?

Warren Meeks: You'd be surprised that some people have a hard time opening up to people that they see regular. And especially people that they may assume who live in their communities. But some of the volunteers that we have that come weekly, because they see us every day, so they will open up to us to an extent of what they may initially need. But we see them in circles around the parking lot, when they pray because this is how it happens for us. They'll be outside in a parking lot. We have our lines and stuff. And our volunteers will actually go speak because discipleship, not just being a word, this is action. And they're out there talking and you'll hear the people opening up. And I'm like, oh, okay, wow. They didn't say that to me.
But they said it to another believer who can pray, who can address that. Some of them give me some insight so that I can help them further. But that's the value of the relationship of the church. And especially with faith based organizations like ours, actually being there and being a part of it is just vital. It's much needed and it's appreciated because the community opens up even more because they see love. They see Christ.

Anna Valeria-Is...: I also think it goes a long way to bridging divides in many ways. So one of the things that when we have people serve breakfast, they'll serve the breakfast, which can feel very transactional. I'm here to help. You're here to take that help. But where the real magic happens is when those servers sit down and have breakfast at the table with guests because then relationships can be built and you can share stories and you can get to know people. And so what I see is that that goes a long way from a volunteer and client perspective, church volunteers, community volunteers. To be able to sit and have those conversations really starts to break down walls, racially, economically, generationally. So when you have someone who's in the shelter and just completely in a very hopeless state and they're sitting next to somebody from Browncroft who's got a great job, and you're just sitting their level at the table, just having a conversation.
And oftentimes what's happening is the guest is the one who's influencing the person who's serving or the volunteer. But at the end of the day, there's something that happens there that stays with them. So even if it's one conversation where you just feel that sense of normalcy and the volunteers feeling a sense of just compassion and connection with someone who's really, really hurting and struggling, that stays with you. That doesn't go away. And I think a lot of times those interactions plant the seed for stuff that happens years down the road.

Warren Meeks: I think I geared away from mentioning that, but the breakdown of the racial divide, those things are very important, especially in our communities. And I didn't bring it up, and I was thinking it, and I was wondering, should I say it? And I should. But you're right, is that when you come into these communities, these are predominantly black communities and Spanish communities, these are the people that I see regularly. We do see white people as well. But to see them serving and communicating and giving a hug to somebody who we would probably consider dirty, but no, you're not dirty to us. We love you. It helps out a lot, breaking down those racial divides and things like that. That's a major component that it does. And it causes for people to really see Christ because of that too.

Peter Englert: So I'm a skeptic and I'm listening. And great, Browncroft's 100 years old. RF Mission's almost 100 years old if I did my math right. 60, your turning-

Anna Valeria-Is...: Almost 70,

Peter Englert: Almost 70.

Anna Valeria-Is...: 52. I think I said we're 65 years old. We started in 52. So you did your math right.

Peter Englert: Oh, I did. [crosstalk]. That's good. For all those past world ministry majors that didn't learn how to budget. Well, anyway, that's a whole nother topic. But we've been around for decades and you could look at the city of Rochester. You could look at the past two years. We just brought up racial reconciliation. And it's almost like, what difference did it make? Food insecurity isn't gone, homelessness isn't gone. How would you respond to a skeptic that would say something like that? So what you've been around for 100 years.

Warren Meeks: I'll take it if you want.

Anna Valeria-Is...: Go ahead.

Warren Meeks: Honestly, I wouldn't allow it to affect me. But I would definitely just try and tell them, first of all, the population has almost doubled in the past 40, 50 years. So with that understanding that there's a lot more people and there's a lot less resources. When we look at something as small, and I don't mean it to be like small, but just think about when I was growing up, there were so many vocational, there were so many recreational, so many different opportunities that were available to me as a youth. And they don't exist today. So I think over the course of time, resources got displaced. And I think that as of lately, and I'm talking about like really like 2020, 21, maybe even now, people are really looking into those resources that don't exist, and they're trying to push some energy towards providing resources that have just been like pushed to the side.
And like for us for instance, our goal is to open back up our summer camp, which was pushed to the side because of a lack of funding. Those things, they take place. And you got to think that us as a country, we've been going through a economic roller coaster. We got almost depression, then now we're going back up, and then now we're going back down. So people are being and affected in multiple different ways. So if they can just draw too, oh so what you've been around for 100 years, my conversation as well, we've been trying to do something for 100 years and you're on your couch.

Anna Valeria-Is...: I would absolutely agree. And I would add that for every life transformed and every soul saved by the gospel through these kinds of organizations, who knows if that would have happened if not for us? And I would say also, it's probably a subject for another podcast, but there's lots of reasons why things aren't going better, I would say from a policy standpoint. But we won't go there now. So how I would respond to that is maybe things aren't better because there's not more of this. There's not more of us. There's not more of these faith-based organizations that have the capacity and the independence to be able to really engage on the front lines with the people who need help the most and to really get them to a place where they're going to be long term successful, not just long term dependent. And I think that's where we want, we know that there's always going to be people in need. We know that. That's not going away. But what we can do is do is do more of this.

Peter Englert: So I think what I hear both of you saying is, so there's a saying that pastors ask themselves, I ask myself this every ... If Browncroft closed tomorrow, who would notice? And I think even what you're saying about the nonprofits that you serve, if Open Door closed tomorrow, if RF Mission closed tomorrow, people would notice.

Anna Valeria-Is...: Yeah.

Peter Englert: Wow.

Aaron Mercer: Yeah, I was actually thinking the same thing as what Peter was just, what he just said was, I think it's definitely a significant thought to think about. What would happen if your church, or your ministry, your mission, whatever it is, wasn't there? Would people notice it? I think the answer is yes. But it's a good marker to judge yourself by. So I really liked what you both actually said too. It seems to me like beyond the immediate needs that are being met, there's a, I think if you were to ask the question, if our ministry is closed tomorrow, would we be more united or divided as a society? It sure sounds to me like would be more divided. What do you think>

Warren Meeks: I definitely think we would be divided. Anytime people are coming from multiple different communities into a community, yeah, we would definitely be very divided. We wouldn't have those opportunities, those small opportunities of bridge racial gaps and all type of different gaps. They would be taken away. You know what I mean? So it gives people a chance to view people in a different light. So, nah, I don't think they should.

Aaron Mercer: Yeah.

Anna Valeria-Is...: And even in terms of bridging those divides, the divides between shelters, between shelters, in the shelter system anyway, you've got kind of two camps, and Open Door tends to walk the line between them. And one side is the heavily just government based shelters. And the other side is the ones that are kind of like, we'll call them the low to no barrier shelters. So operate completely different. We are able to kind of walk that line and say, "Well, Hey, we recognize the value and structure and different funding sources and making sure that things are tracked well, but we also want to be very accessible to anybody who needs shelter at any time." So we're able to be a partner with, for example, our county government to say like when the garage closed, talk about things that you don't see in the news. Everybody's talking about, oh my gosh, the garage doors are closing and everyone is going to be put out.
And we were there. We were literally there. We were there with the county, we were there with other providers at the door waiting for people to come that evening to make sure they knew they had a place to go. There was so much collaboration going on in the background to make sure that every single person who was not going to be able to access that garage that night knew they had an option and a place to go. And so absent that because otherwise you've got, I remember sitting there like in street leading up to the garage on [Fitzhugh], and one side is kind of the folks kind of protesting the closing of the garage, and the other side, you've got the government elected officials saying, this is what we have to do. And the owners and everything.
And I was like physically standing in the middle and almost took a picture of it saying, oh God, here we are again. And the solution to that is coming up and saying, "Hey, we're partnering with the county. The county entrusts us with taking these folks on." And then to the other folks saying, "Listen, they can come with me. They can come with me right now." And so just another divide that you can bridge, I think. But we couldn't do that without our ability to remain independent.

Aaron Mercer: Yeah.

Peter Englert: I think we need a whole new other episode. We need a one on one, bring you hold back together. In closing we ask the same question, but one thing I want to bring up, we interviewed Michael Peace from [Bethel Express] and his question was something to do with why would I serve long term? And his whole point of that episode was, he says it so much better than I do. He goes, "Those kids are cute, but you better be serving because they need someone faithful for years to come." And I think what we're all saying with this question, why does a Centennial matter? Why does almost seven decades matter? Well, it matters because the relationships and there's things that we don't see.
So I'll talk about Small Group Ministry for a moment. So we have small groups a Browncroft. They meet, 10 to 12 people, I can't measure the gospel work in the fact of there were marriages that didn't get divorced because they had accountable community. There were kids that were in student small groups that didn't go to drugs because a small group leader was there. And I think what you're kind of saying too is we can't always measure like a family that a parent made this huge decision. You can't measure that. You can't measure preventativeness. I don't know, that's pretty powerful. So anyways, I can preach. So the last question we always ask, so the good news is there's two of you to answer this question. So however Aaron and I mess this up heretically, you guys can fix it. Does that sound good? So the question we always ask, what does Jesus have to say about this? Why does investing in community for 100 years make a difference? So Aaron, you're like our Centennial Poobah.

Aaron Mercer: That's funny. Oh, that's funny.

Peter Englert: Indiana Centennial Mercer.

Aaron Mercer: There you go. Yeah, I do like history and I think it's important. I think our stories are important. Where we came from affects what we do now and who we are. We're part of a bigger story, all of us. And part of a bigger story together. I think that this is an important question. I think does Jesus care about it? Absolutely. I think the fact that, well, first of all, each of our ministries, he planted. He was the one that inspired people to plant each of those.
And I would love to know more about like what was on the hearts of the founding people and what was it that immediately triggered them to do it? But I think it does matter. And it matters to be fair faithful in the community so a community knows that you're not in and out and you're making a difference over the years. So I think that does matter. And Warren, I really liked what you were hitting on at some point earlier in our conversation. Actually you both were, about how people aren't numbers, they're people in these ministries. And that really gets to the heart of the gospel is we're seeing people as people created in the image of God, and who are loved beyond comprehension. And I think that's the importance of staying faithful in those ministries for years to come.

Peter Englert: I think one of my favorite stories that Jesus talks about is there's this shepherd that leaves the 99 to go for the one. And what I'm hearing, why does a hundred years matter, because when you have just 10 individuals that live out that gospel that say, "Hey, our whole city might be okay, but there's food insecurity here," No, that's not good enough. That's why people are motivated. That's why nonprofits and churches are motivated, because this one story that says we're going to be radically inefficient. We're going to be radically, like almost we don't care about the metrics. And we do, but we're going to so care about that one sheep that we're going to put all of our resources there. And I think it comes back to what God calls us to be faithful. And what he does out of that, we won't always see on the other side of heaven. But you all see it on everyday level. So that's what I'm leaving with. So when you live with that value, you see people the way God created them.

Anna Valeria-Is...: Yeah, I always think, especially doing street outreach and thinking about how Jesus ministered to crowds, he taught to crowds. But just as much, if not probably more, he was relational and he got down to earth and ministered one on one. And I think that's something that by our organizations and having, even in our case, we're two different organizations that function, we partner and we work together, and that's important, but having those one on one relationships with people that you build and that you create and that you can have that long term effect and long term service with, I think is just critical. And when I think of a question like this, I think of that. I think of that maintaining and sustaining the ability to really enter into deep relationship with the people that we serve.

Warren Meeks: It's going to sound like I'm piggybacking totally off of what Anna just said is when I look at it, you guys are here. And just like Christ, he traveled around though and he found more people to give the gospel to. And you guys even being centered here, right here on Browncroft Boulevard, you have taken your resources and you found a way to touch more and more people. And you're like, well, I'm not there, but we are there. We're helping that organization touch more and more people. And that's what I call a very effective ministry. That's what I call being very effective with the gospel, is putting yourself in positions to where there's people being touched that you don't even know about. Like I said, you guys are present regularly in my organization. And you may or may not know the people, like I said. But just think about it, even when you don't know that the gospel's being spread by people that are associated with you, it is. And that's a beautiful thing. I think that makes 100 more years look bright.

Anna Valeria-Is...: What a nice ending.

Peter Englert: [crosstalk]. I love it. I love it. Well, so both of you actually have special side projects too. So you're on WYSL.

Anna Valeria-Is...: Yep, Open Door does a radio show, yeah.

Peter Englert: And when is it on?

Anna Valeria-Is...: It airs on the third Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday of every month.

Peter Englert: Okay, great. And then what's your podcast?

Warren Meeks: It's called Men to Men 360. It's where we take a look at world views from a Christian perspective. It's four men. And currently right now, of course you can find us on all the podcast channels, but we can also be found on Our Spirit, it's a Christian radio station online. You download the app and listen. So we're on there as well.

Peter Englert: Awesome. And Opendoormission.org?

Anna Valeria-Is...: Dot com.

Peter Englert: Dot com.

Anna Valeria-Is...: Yep.

Peter Englert: And then I'm actually RFMmission.-

Warren Meeks: Org.

Peter Englert: [crosstalk]. So make sure you look them up.

Aaron Mercer: Peter. That's a good new domain name, there you go.

Peter Englert: We'll be tagging Anna and Warren, but I would just encourage you, as a church, the way we want to celebrate, whether you come to Browncroft or not, you're a listener, I'd say support financially or volunteer at these organizations. That's the best way we can celebrate what God's doing. So I'd encourage you to do that. Love that. So again, we're the Why God Why podcast, thank you so much for joining us and having a fun episode. We hope you have a great day. (Music)