September 19, 2022

Dear Friend of Twin Cities Ministries,

One of the significant challenges the Twin Cities has faced in the past several years—through the pandemic and the violence surrounding George Floyd and his murder—has been the formation of large encampments in public parks and other public places primarily in the city centers of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Hundreds of these camps were established and occupied by homeless people as a way to create basic elements of stability and community. Most of the residents of these camps struggle with some form of addiction that enslaves them, and which inhibits them from stable family lives, consistent work, and a home. Invariably, violence, prostitution, human trafficking, and a lack of clean water and sanitation makes these camps and the immediate area virtually uninhabitable. Unfortunately, long-term solutions have been hard to come by and the cities have been forced to essentially destroy these encampments, which forces the inhabitants to move on and find other housing solutions.

This is but one form of community crisis that highlights the need for affordable housing—housing needed by those who are trying to rebuild their lives and overcome their pasts of crime and substance abuse. By God’s grace, God has given Twin Cities Ministries that calling and we are grateful to be able to share two stories by men who have taken advantage of the opportunities we provide and are rebuilding their lives.

Reese

We first met Reese when he came to Metro Hope, which was a local faith-based treatment center we staffed from 2017 through 2020. He was barely 20 when he came into the program. The staff and residents, almost universally, treated him like a little brother. He did incredibly well his first time through the program. After leaving, he started using again. He cycled through Metro Hope and Twin Cities Ministries’ houses for a few years, doing really well, then falling off.

When he was doing well, he was engaging with Twin Cities Church, engaging in house church, and participating in the lives of the people around him. When he wasn’t doing well, he was hiding from all of those. During his final stay with TCM, something clicked for him. The Gospel came alive for him, his need to stay connected to the church became obvious, and his continuing need for the Gospel became clear.

For many of us, it takes time for the Gospel seeds that have been planted to take root. This has been true of Reese. Each time he came back, he grew more, understood more, and there was more fruit in his life. Now that those seeds have taken root, he has begun to flourish.

Reese is in college, pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering, and already working in that field. More importantly, he is a vital, contributing member of the church, pursuing Christ, and growing in maturity.

Jonathan

Through a connection with Seth, Jonathan moved from Florida to participate our program at Metro Hope. Jonathan had been struggling with a heroin addiction for years. His addiction led him down a path of divorce and despair. His previous attempts at sobriety always failed because they were dependent on his own power and will.

Jonathan went down a different path this time. Rather than relying on himself, he turned to Christ for strength. He had an insatiable hunger to understand the Word, and to follow Christ more fully. In treatment, his spare time was spent studying the Word or pursing older, wiser mentors.

After treatment, his zeal has continued. He moved into a Twin Cities Ministries home, entered North Central University majoring in Biblical Studies and Theology, and started working multiple jobs to support himself and his burgeoning ministry with Summit Assemblies of God in St. Paul. According to Jonathan, his time with us was critical to his recovery, but more importantly, to his faith. We continually pointed him to Jesus, and helped him to develop a solid Gospel foundation.

Since leaving the house, Jonathan got married, came on staff at Summit Assemblies of God as the Assistant Director of Christian Education, and has a flourishing ministry to others in recovery. Jesus impacted his life and now he is impacting the lives of others, directing them to Christ, supporting them in their struggles with addiction, and living out the Gospel.

Our Pressing Need

Twin Cities Ministries is in its eleventh year of helping people overcome crime and substance abuse through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have been able to engage this work through your faithful support. Over the years, we have steadily grown a steady base of monthly support, but that support dropped by more than 50% in early 2021 and we still haven’t recovered. Last year, we reached out to our friends and supporters in late summer, and over $50,000 arrived over the next several weeks. That held off staff drastic staff reductions and stabilized our budget. We are in need of that type of response again. Over the last two months, we have reduced our monthly expenses significantly as we were able to reduce our staffing needs. We now have one full-time staff, who is Seth Evans, who works in the jails and oversees the homes, and two part-time staff members, Tim Larson and Deirdre Tschanz. Tim works directly with the residents of the homes and Deirdre is planning and working to launch a home for women and children—another desperate need—as soon as God provides the right house and the funds.

Please prayerfully consider making a generous contribution to Twin Cities Ministries. Your support will continue to demonstrate the grace of God through His people to meet the pressing needs of the world while sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and incorporating people into the family of God.

In service to Jesus Christ and our cities,

George Stagg

President

Twin Cities Ministries