“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
— 1 Peter 4:10
Faith and discipleship are more than just the walls of the church. We want to be able to share Christ’s love and bless those in our community. At First Wayne Street, we support a number of missions locally, nationally and globally.
Our Outreach Ministry allows members of the congregation to provide leadership, assistance, and financial gift giving. Whether you want to participate in hands-on service opportunities or help support efforts, there is an opportunity for you to give back as a disciple of Jesus.
Our members also volunteer time and talents in service to many other community boards, agencies and institutions that serve the general public good, thereby enhancing the quality of life for all.
Local Mission Support
Allen County Jail Chaplaincy
Allen County Jail Chaplaincy provides ministry support for individuals incarcerated locally and their families, as well as for the victims of crime.
Associated Churches of Allen County
Associated Churches of Allen County is a consortium of 130 churches that gives leadership to many ecumenical ministries in Allen County, including: Neighborhood Food Network, A Baby’s Closet, Rising Stars (connecting schools, churches and organizations), Military Families and Missions.
The Rescue Mission
The Rescue Mission, founded in 1903, is a faith-based, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization, providing restorative care to men, women, and children experiencing a homeless crisis. The Rescue Mission serves Fort Wayne, Allen County, and its eleven surrounding counties. The Mission is comprised of four ministries, or houses, that function as communities of compassion:
Life House
Life House provides immediate relief from hunger and homelessness through the immediate housing ministry and community meals ministry. The immediate housing ministry is for men experiencing a homeless crisis, providing safety, basic needs, and spiritual support. The community meals ministry offers nutritious meals, referrals, and other support to the public 365 days a year.
Restoration House
Restoration House provides safety and care for men experiencing a homeless crisis. Short and long-term residential ministries are available meeting spiritual, emotional, physical, and educational needs.
Charis House
Charis House provides safety and care for women and children experiencing a homeless crisis. Short and long-term residential ministries are available meeting spiritual, emotional, physical, and educational needs.
Treasure House
Treasure House is a thrift store whose proceeds help fund The Rescue Mission’s ministries and provides vocational opportunities for residents.
Learn more at TheRescueMission.net.
East Wayne Street Center
East Wayne Street Center on the city’s near east side, offers a variety of services and programs, including Head Start, GED classes, home repair and a clothing bank. It is also in the Neighborhood Food Network as a distribution center. FWS’s monthly food offering goes to EWSC’s food bank.
Fort Wayne Campus Ministry
Fort Wayne Campus Ministry offers Christian fellowship, Bible Study, mission projects, and counseling for students who attend Indiana Tech and PFW.
Pastor’s Discretionary Benevolence Fund
As a downtown church, First Wayne Street strives to serve the needs of homeless and transient individuals at the heart of Fort Wayne who appear at the church office door in crisis. The Pastor’s Discretionary Benevolent Fund provides appropriate, but limited, emergency assistance to those Jesus called “the least, the last and the lost”— those who have fallen through the cracks in the social safety net and have nowhere else to turn but to Christ’s church.
Wellspring Social Services
Wellspring Interfaith Social Services provides programming to senior citizens & special needs individuals, children & youth (both after school and summer programs) and parents in need. Wellspring also manages and maintains a food bank. Summer Camp Scholarships for inner city children & youth are First Wayne Street’s primary area of support.
National & International Mission Support
Operation Classroom
Operation Classroom is a United Methodist hands-on mission in the two English-speaking, West African countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone, that makes a difference in the lives of youth. Operation Classroom of Indiana is in partnership with 5 of their schools, as well as with other churches in other conferences “to upgrade the educational system of Liberia.” First Wayne Street’s Children’s Worship Offering goes to Operation Classroom, selected for support by our children themselves.
UMCOR
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to alleviating human suffering around the globe. UMCOR’s work reaches people in more than 80 countries, including the United States.
UMCOR provides relief to survivors of natural disasters, i.e., earthquakes, volcano eruptions, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, tornadoes and famine, as well as humanitarian relief and support where war and civil conflict disrupt life to such an extent that communities are unable to recover on their own.
UMCOR serves as a “voice of conscience among Methodists to act in the relief of human suffering without distinction of race, color, or creed.”
UMCOR spends 100 percent of designated donations on the projects our donors specify. When UMCOR donors give their time, money, and supplies, they join UMCOR as the hands and feet of Christ.