On a mission
Nonprofit’s leaders step out on faith for funds to complete a project.
Anew facility housing a large food pantry, worship center and meeting rooms soon will take shape at Mission Norman, 2525 E Lindsey.
The faith-based nonprofit recently broke ground on a new $1.5 million mission center on its complex in southeast Norman.
Gene Barnes, who cofounded the organization with his wife, Linda, said the agency has raised about $70,000 for the project thus far, and fundraising efforts obviously are ongoing.
However, he said he isn’t worried because the Lord has provided for Mission Norman since its inception in 1998.
“In (the Book of) Matthew, Jesus said this is impossible with men, but with God all things are possible,” Barnes said. “I don’t know where the money is going to come from, but all along the way, God has provided.”
The organization began as an outreach to apartment and mobile home park residents 20 years ago, but its ministry efforts have evolved to include food and utility assistance, plus transitional housing for the homeless and working poor.
Allen Edson, Mission Norman’s executive director, said the new mission center will house the nonprofit’s office and a larger food pantry with built-in refrigeration and freezers. The center also will include a loading dock, worship center and meeting rooms, all of which are needed
to support Mission Norman’s ongoing work.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Edson said at the April 26 mission center groundbreaking ceremony. “When we started this ministry, we didn’t know any of this would exist.”
Edson should know. He started out as music minister for Olivet Baptist Church, the Norman congregation that began the apartment outreach at what was then Parkwood Apartments at 12th and Robinson. The outreach was led by the Barneses under the name Caring Bible Fellowship.
Edson said the Barneses asked him to lease an apartment at the complex so that the outreach could offer a Bible study
and worship service there. Then a local church delivered a truck full of food to the outreach, and suddenly its leaders found themselves with the ability to distribute food to those who needed it.
When a local church offered to lease its building to the growing ministry, the Barneses, Edson and other leaders contracted to lease the church building from the congregation. They were given a golden opportunity to purchase the church property, which is Mission Norman’s current site, but they had to step out on faith to get it done.
Barnes said they took out a 10-year loan for the 6-acre property “but God paid it off in 13 months.” He said that past experience compelled the nonprofit’s leaders to trust that a divine plan will emerge and donations will come in to finish the new
mission center. “We’re ready to roll, we just need more money,” Barnes said. “Some people think you need to have all the money before you start something, but if we had waited until we had all the money, we wouldn’t have anything done yet.”
With the acquisition of property came the ability to offer help to people trying to make the often difficult transition out of homelessness. Mission Norman built a fourplex which is open to families with children. Edson said families may live in one of the four 800-square-foot units rent free, but they do put money into a savings account that Mission Norman sets up for them. At the end of their stay, the family may access the accumulated funds to help them move forward.
Barnes said after the mission center is completed, the next phase of
Mission Norman’s expansion efforts will be another fourplex, this one with some three-bedroom units to house larger families in transition.
Praise for agency, its mission
Several city and community leaders were on hand during the recent ground breaking event.
Each one praised the nonprofit’s efforts to come alongside the needy to help them change their lives for the better.
Norman Chamber of Commerce is proud to count Mission Norman as one of its members.
“Often people think of businesses as really concerned about the bottom line, but one thing I love about Norman is that the community matters. And Mission Norman, for decades now, has met the needs of people where they’re at and has taken care of families, whether it be housing or food,” said Scott Martin, Norman Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer.
“The business community is proud to support them and excited about all that’s going on here. I was excited to be here today and celebrate with them.”
Lynn Henley, a Mission Norman board member for about three years, said she also was excited about the nonprofit’s future. She said she is hoping
that more people from the community will come out and volunteer as they see signs of progress.
“It’s a long-awaited day. I believe these steps going forward will encourage the community to support it more, to be willing to volunteer or donate,” she said.
“I believe that God is working in this community for the people that need housing and the people who need direction on what they need to do, besides providing food for them once a month.”
John Bobb-Semple, with the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, said organizations like Mission Norman fill a critical need because their existence means people in their area have nearby access to aid.
“As far as I’m concerned, the shorter distance people need to go to get help, the better,” he said.