In Lufkin, Texas, families are living in their cars. Because they’re not sleeping outside, they don’t show up in HUD’s official homelessness counts, the annual “point in time” surveys that shape how cities and nonprofits respond to need. They’re invisible in the data, but not invisible to Jason and Sarah Hollinger, who lead Lufkin Street Ministries and have spent years serving people experiencing homelessness in the Lufkin area. Through our partnership with Jason and Sarah, part of the Rural and Small Town Initiative’s (RSTI) work under the Pepperdine Empower and Equip grant, we’re launching an initiative to build a transitional housing village specifically for these families.
This past week marked a real beginning. A small team from local nonprofits and churches met for the first time and formed four subcommittees: property, programming, legal, and financial, to begin building a comprehensive plan and start raising the capital needed to make this village a reality. This is the kind of work RSTI exists for. We believe churches thrive when they work together, across congregations and organizations, to meet the real needs of the people around them, especially in rural and small towns where housing, transportation, and job opportunities are already stretched thin. That’s the posture of Jeremiah 29: seeking the good of the place you’re planted in, together.
We’re currently doing this work in three communities, Lufkin, TX; Bertram, TX; and Spartanburg, SC, and Lufkin’s village is a tangible next step. Please join us in praying for this endeavor, for wisdom for the subcommittees, provision for the capital campaign, and for the families this village will one day house.