A Doorway of Opportunity
City Union Mission is not only a doorway of escape from desperate circumstances. It is much more than that! The Mission provides a doorway of opportunity to clients willing to face their problems and deal with them. Our long-term rehabilitation/discipleship programs offer a turning point where the patterns of the past give way to hope for the future.
- Christian Life Program
- RECON
- Opportunity Farm
- New Life Program
- Transistional Living Programs
- Biblical Counseling
- Learning Centers
- Life Skills Classes
Christian Life Program
This long-term program is available to men who have responded to the gospel and want to grow as Christians and as responsible members of the community. Daily Bible classes, individual and group counseling, drug and alcohol recovery, job assignments and life skills courses are required. Attendance at area churches and opportunities for further education make up this comprehensive one-year program. The Christian Life Program is also available at Opportunity Farm, an extension of City Union Mission, which is located in the Ozarks near Warsaw, Missouri.
RECON
The Christian Life Program is usually full and has a waiting list. RECON was developed as a way to minister to the men who were waiting to start the Christian Life Program. It systematically ministers to men in the shelter with Bible classes, skill development, trade refresher and development activities, and social improvement classes.
Opportunity Farm
Located in the Ozark hills near Warsaw, Missouri, the farm provides a place where men can get away from the pressure of Kansas City streets. Around 20 men live at Opportunity Farm year-round. There, simple living is characterized by bunkhouses, wood burning stoves, a comfortable lodge for fellowship and meals, and 500 acres for working, walking and meditation. During the fall, winter and spring months, the men maintain the farm and campgrounds, assisted by the professional skills of the staff. Each man is committed to the Christian Life Program, and is involved in a local church, along with daily Bible study, discipleship and the fellowship of his brothers in Christ.
New Life Program
Families and single women at the Mission's Family Shelter can enter the four-to-eight month New Life Program that offers rehabilitation to whole families. Members attend Bible study, local churches and have regular counseling sessions. Life Skills courses guide each person toward a healthier lifestyle. Families live in the shelter while parents and children alike stabilize and prepare to move into permanent housing.
Transitional Living Programs
This six to nine month follow-up to the Christian Life and New Life Programs helps graduates and their families adjust to independent living. In our transitional living apartments, clients pay a program fee each month, must be employed, can attend school and live as independently as possible in a nominally supervised setting, before moving into their own home.
Biblical Counseling
Guests at City Union Mission's shelters and members of the rehabilitation/discipleship programs, receive family and individual counseling free of charge. A youth and children's counselor meets the specific needs of children in the New Life Program, Emergency Family Shelter and Vanderberg Youth Center.
Learning Centers
Located at the City Union Mission Men's Center and Family Center, our Learning Centers offer educational advancement to low-income and homeless adults. Using "user-friendly" computer programs designed especially for the homeless and the learning disabled, students grow not only in knowledge, but also in self-worth, self-respect and self-confidence as they work toward their G.E.D. or improve vocabulary and other skills.
Life Skills Classes
Many of the homeless find themselves on the streets again and again. To help break this tragic cycle, we offer Life Skills classes to men and women in the community and in our shelters. The series of classes include Parenting, Decision-Making, Communication, Nutrition, Money Management, Drug Awareness, Relapse Prevention and much more. Mountain Movers, a Christian ten-step program, allows participants to explore their addictive and sinful behavior and God's response to that behavior in a group setting.
