The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
CHURCH SEEKS HELP FOR RENOVATIONS
Resource center would help those near downtown
A local church could become a new center for helping the needy in central Lorain, planners say.
Lorain Lighthouse Ministries, 550 W. Sixth St., has opened its doors to serve meals two nights a month.
The building is usable but in need of renovation, so its operators hope to raise money to pay for needed electrical and plumbing work, with volunteers summoned to finish the building.
“I want to walk in here some day and see tile,” said Mark Jones, ministries director for Lighthouse Ministries.
He was referring to the plywood floor in the main auditorium that doubles as worship space and dining hall on the last two Sundays of the month. On those days, volunteers from other Lorain County churches bring in precooked meals to serve anyone who comes through the door.
The meals have drawn up to 110 people, said Jones and Leah Bower, ministries coordinator for Lighthouse Ministries.
“Leah’s the backbone of this place,” Jones said. “She makes a lot of this happen. She makes a lot of people smile.”
“We want to be a hand-up ministry where everything we do will get them up out of the cycle that they’re in.” — Mark Jones, ministries director for Lighthouse Ministries
Bower said her directive is simple: “Human beings helping human beings in crisis.”
The building served as offices for years, then as Calvary Baptist Church. Lorain Lighthouse Baptist Church got the building in September 2015 and took over operations in January 2016.
The goal is to raise $30,000 or more for materials and to summon volunteer effort. The combination would cover materials for contractors to perform needed electrical and plumbing work and have volunteers finish out the rest of the work.
The building has a warming kitchen to serve food, but not a full kitchen, and an office on the first floor. There are rooms partitioned upstairs.
“Everything’s going to be multipurpose,” Jones said.
The church staff would like to go beyond being a day shelter and instead create the feeling of a home away from home, where those in need could get training for relationships and jobs.
The hope is to expand into life coaching, job training and recovery treatment. For physical improvements, the staff would like to add a first-floor handicap-accessible restroom and upstairs meeting spaces.
“We want to be a handup ministry where everything we do will get them up out of the cycle that they’re in,” Jones said. “We want to be the people representing Christ to say, he came for us so we want to be here for you.”
In 2017 the church received $1,200 from Grafton Correctional Institution for the Go Home to Stay Home program for convicted offenders getting out of prison.
The church has gone public via Facebook to ask for help from the community.
Anyone interested in helping can reach out via email at lighthouselorain@gmail.com or by message at facebook.com/LighthouseMinistriesLorain.