Gospel Rescue Mission - Bringing God's Love to the Least, the Last and the Lost

Our History

Mr. Ray Chastain, who was a yardmaster for the Southern Pacific Railroad, saw a never-ending stream of homeless men riding the rails in and out of Tucson. To express Christian charity, Ray and other caring and concerned Christian Tucsonans prayerfully founded Gospel Rescue Mission in 1953.

Located in a storefront building in downtown Tucson next to the railroad yard, the Mission began providing meals, clothing, shelter, and a Gospel message 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

In 1956, the Mission facility moved to our current location at 9th Avenue and 28th Street. Outreach and provisions to the homeless continued to expand.

In 1990, law enforcement personnel began bringing women and their children to the men’s shelter during the night. These women are often in an abusive relationship or violent situation. With no alternative family or community resources, they came knocking at our door. Not wanting to turn these women away, we began providing safe and secure shelter at the men’s facility.

Seeing the need to expand our outreach to this fastest growing segment of the homeless population, Gospel Rescue Mission opened a women and women with children’s shelter in 1992. Located on Miracle Mile, this shelter, Women and Children’s Center, began meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of women and their children.

While providing emergency shelter, food, and clothing are critical services, we realized that there were many more unmet needs in the homeless population. In the mid 1990’s we implemented a residential long-term addictions recovery, discipleship, and education program to meet these needs.

Community Ministries was developed to meet the needs of the homeless, poor and needy of Tucson. Community Ministries is the umbrella ministry for Good Shepherd, Bilingual Chapel Service, Food Boxes, Kid's Club, Kid's Camp, Volunteers, Community Relations, Neighborhood Outreach and Community Outreach.

Good Shepherd Project is the arm of Community Ministries that reaches out into the community to the poor, needy and homeless. Every Saturday morning two large trailers leave the Gospel Rescue Mission. The red trailer is loaded with food to be served to anyone that shows up and wants to eat. The white trailer is loaded with clothing and essentials helping anyone with immediate needs. No one is turned away. The Good Shepherd Project feeds and provides clothes for 300 to 400 per week. Starting in September through May we see a steady increase because of our warm winters. Because of this great need the Mission is making plans to increase from one day to at least two days per week. Hundreds of volunteers come and help in meeting the needs of the poor and homeless. Some food is donated while some is purchased at the Community Food Bank. Fresh fruit and tortillas are purchased.

Bilingual Chapel Service is a weekly chapel service that meets the spiritual needs of our neighbors held on Saturday mornings. Kid's Club also meets on Saturday to help families who bring their children and other children in the surrounding neighborhood. Many local Spanish pastors are involved with this Bilingual Chapel Service. Food boxes are handed out after the service to families in need. Families are encouraged to attend the Bilingual Chapel Service, meet the local church leaders and eventuality start attending their churches.

Food Boxes were developed to meet the needs of local residents who are not homeless, but who have limited financial resources to provide for their families. Food boxes are provided to families who attend the Bilingual Chapel Service and other families who are in need during the week. Food Boxes are distributed free to those who have a need. The Mission is averaging 50 to 80 food boxes each week. Food boxes contain approximately three meals.

Kid's Club is an outreach focused on elementary and junior high age children living in and around the city of South Tucson. Many of these children live in neighborhoods where exposure to excessive violence, drug use, gangs, and prostitution, is an everyday occurrence. Giving them help through education, encouragement, activities, love, and the hope of the Gospel will break the cycle of drug & alcohol addictions, violence, homelessness and despair. Mission staff and volunteers meet with children on Saturday mornings. Each meeting is started with a meal. Children bring their backpacks to Kid's Club then the backpacks are filled with food items for each child to take home. At the beginning of each school year, school-age children are provided with backpacks stuffed with school supplies.

Kid's Camp is the annual camping trip to Mt. Lemmon and is the highlight of the summer activities. Many of the children in Kid's Club have never been outside of South Tucson, let alone to the mountains. Watching the excitement and enthusiasm of the children as they touch the rocks and smell the pine trees is heartwarming and rewarding.

Volunteer Partners are essential to help accomplish the task of Gospel Rescue Mission. Depending on your skills the Mission offers various ways for both individuals and groups to volunteer. Hundreds of people enjoy the experience of helping others and putting smiles on the faces of those in need by volunteering their time and talents at Men's Center, Women and Children's Center and Community Ministries. It takes hundreds of volunteer partnerswith a large variety of skills and talents to keep the Gospel Rescue Mission operating. We depend on the unique gifting that God has given each of His children to bring balance to the Mission.

Community Relations bridges the gap between the mission and the community at large. Tours of the Gospel Rescue Mission Men's Center, Women and Children's Center and Community Ministries are conducted on a regular basis. Donors, ministry groups, churches, civic organizations, Pastors, individuals and families are invited to "come and see" what is happening. Community Relations provides speakers to churches, civic clubs and other organizations wanting a presentation about the mission. Community Ministries provides a manned display booth for Missions Conferences. The Mission also provides churches with a guest Pastor to share from the pulpit.

Neighborhood Outreach is improving lives of indigent or elderly shut-ins neighbors of the Mission in South Tucson by improving their homes. Neighborhood Outreach will beautify homes by painting the exterior and providing front yard landscaping. This would be done free of charge to the residents.

Community Outreach is reaching out into the community in many different ways. A Thanksgiving Street Banquet and a Christmas Street Banquet provide meals to the homeless, poor and needy. The Mission serves between 1,300 to 2,500 traditional holiday meals at each banquet. Music and testimonies present the Gospel message while guests enjoy their hot meals. Activities for children create a festive and enjoyable atmosphere for all. Two hundred to three hundred volunteers are utilized to prepare and serve the meals. Christmas gifts are provided to children at the Christmas Banquet.

The Mission provides two trucks to pickup donations and in-kind gifts. All donations of clothing, household items and appliances given to the Gospel Rescue Mission by the community are distributed free to those who have needs.

The Distribution Center is used to receive, store, sort and distribute the donated items. Everyone who receives help from Community Ministries is screened before receiving help. Men from the Men's Center serve in the Distribution Center. Case Management is provided to the families receiving help to provide for their immediate and ongoing needs.

The Mission also works with churches to help meet the immediate and ongoing needs of their congregations.

As we look to the future, we are planning to expand our transitional housing program, continue casework management for our homeless men and women so that we can provide the best possible care for our quests that the Lord sends to our doors. We want to be able to offer better medical care options, look into more extensive job skills training, and of course provide our services to a much greater number of deserving needing people. But we have a problem; we are literally bursting at the seams. Our current facilities are just not large enough to serve the ever-growing population of homeless and needy people. Please pray that the Lord will direct us to just the right property to expand his work.

Gospel Rescue Mission is an independent member of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions located in Kansas City, Missouri www.agrm.org.




Our History Mr. Ray Chastain, who was a yardmaster for the Southern Pacific Railroad, saw a never-ending stream of homeless men riding the rails in and out of Tucson. To express Christian charity, Ray and other caring and concerned Christian Tucsonans prayerfully founded Gospel Rescue Mission in 1953. Located in a storefront building in downtown Tucson next to the railroad yard, the Mission began providing meals, clothing, shelter, and a Gospel message 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In 1956, the Mission facility moved to our current location at 9th Avenue and 28th Street. Outreach and provisions to the homeless continued to expand. In 1990, law enforcement personnel began bringing women and their children to the men’s shelter during the night. These women are often in an abusive relationship or violent situation. With no alternative family or community resources, they came knocking at our door. Not wanting to turn these women away, we began providing safe and secure shelter at the men’s facility. Seeing the need to expand our outreach to this fastest growing segment of the homeless population, Gospel Rescue Mission opened a women and women with children’s shelter in 1992. Located on Miracle Mile, this shelter, Women and Children’s Center, began meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of women and their children. While providing emergency shelter, food, and clothing are critical services, we realized that there were many more unmet needs in the homeless population. In the mid 1990’s we implemented a residential long-term addictions recovery, discipleship, and education program to meet these needs. Community Ministries was developed to meet the needs of the homeless, poor and needy of Tucson. Community Ministries is the umbrella ministry for Good Shepherd, Bilingual Chapel Service, Food Boxes, Kid's Club, Kid's Camp, Volunteers, Community Relations, Neighborhood Outreach and Community Outreach. Good Shepherd Project is the arm of Community Ministries that reaches out into the community to the poor, needy and homeless. Every Saturday morning two large trailers leave the Gospel Rescue Mission. The red trailer is loaded with food to be served to anyone that shows up and wants to eat. The white trailer is loaded with clothing and essentials helping anyone with immediate needs. No one is turned away. The Good Shepherd Project feeds and provides clothes for 300 to 400 per week. Starting in September through May we see a steady increase because of our warm winters. Because of this great need the Mission is making plans to increase from one day to at least two days per week. Hundreds of volunteers come and help in meeting the needs of the poor and homeless. Some food is donated while some is purchased at the Community Food Bank. Fresh fruit and tortillas are purchased. Bilingual Chapel Service is a weekly chapel service that meets the spiritual needs of our neighbors held on Saturday mornings. Kid's Club also meets on Saturday to help families who bring their children and other children in the surrounding neighborhood. Many local Spanish pastors are involved with this Bilingual Chapel Service. Food boxes are handed out after the service to families in need. Families are encouraged to attend the Bilingual Chapel Service, meet the local church leaders and eventuality start attending their churches. Food Boxes were developed to meet the needs of local residents who are not homeless, but who have limited financial resources to provide for their families. Food boxes are provided to families who attend the Bilingual Chapel Service and other families who are in need during the week. Food Boxes are distributed free to those who have a need. The Mission is averaging 50 to 80 food boxes each week. Food boxes contain approximately three meals. Kid's Club is an outreach focused on elementary and junior high age children living in and around the city of South Tucson. Many of these children live in neighborhoods where exposure to excessive violence, drug use, gangs, and prostitution, is an everyday occurrence. Giving them help through education, encouragement, activities, love, and the hope of the Gospel will break the cycle of drug & alcohol addictions, violence, homelessness and despair. Mission staff and volunteers meet with children on Saturday mornings. Each meeting is started with a meal. Children bring their backpacks to Kid's Club then the backpacks are filled with food items for each child to take home. At the beginning of each school year, school-age children are provided with backpacks stuffed with school supplies. Kid's Camp is the annual camping trip to Mt. Lemmon and is the highlight of the summer activities. Many of the children in Kid's Club have never been outside of South Tucson, let alone to the mountains. Watching the excitement and enthusiasm of the children as they touch the rocks and smell the pine trees is heartwarming and rewarding. Volunteer Partners are essential to help accomplish the task of Gospel Rescue Mission. Depending on your skills the Mission offers various ways for both individuals and groups to volunteer. Hundreds of people enjoy the experience of helping others and putting smiles on the faces of those in need by volunteering their time and talents at Men's Center, Women and Children's Center and Community Ministries. It takes hundreds of volunteer partnerswith a large variety of skills and talents to keep the Gospel Rescue Mission operating. We depend on the unique gifting that God has given each of His children to bring balance to the Mission. Community Relations bridges the gap between the mission and the community at large. Tours of the Gospel Rescue Mission Men's Center, Women and Children's Center and Community Ministries are conducted on a regular basis. Donors, ministry groups, churches, civic organizations, Pastors, individuals and families are invited to "come and see" what is happening. Community Relations provides speakers to churches, civic clubs and other organizations wanting a presentation about the mission. Community Ministries provides a manned display booth for Missions Conferences. The Mission also provides churches with a guest Pastor to share from the pulpit. Neighborhood Outreach is improving lives of indigent or elderly shut-ins neighbors of the Mission in South Tucson by improving their homes. Neighborhood Outreach will beautify homes by painting the exterior and providing front yard landscaping. This would be done free of charge to the residents. Community Outreach is reaching out into the community in many different ways. A Thanksgiving Street Banquet and a Christmas Street Banquet provide meals to the homeless, poor and needy. The Mission serves between 1,300 to 2,500 traditional holiday meals at each banquet. Music and testimonies present the Gospel message while guests enjoy their hot meals. Activities for children create a festive and enjoyable atmosphere for all. Two hundred to three hundred volunteers are utilized to prepare and serve the meals. Christmas gifts are provided to children at the Christmas Banquet. The Mission provides two trucks to pickup donations and in-kind gifts. All donations of clothing, household items and appliances given to the Gospel Rescue Mission by the community are distributed free to those who have needs. The Distribution Center is used to receive, store, sort and distribute the donated items. Everyone who receives help from Community Ministries is screened before receiving help. Men from the Men's Center serve in the Distribution Center. Case Management is provided to the families receiving help to provide for their immediate and ongoing needs. The Mission also works with churches to help meet the immediate and ongoing needs of their congregations. As we look to the future, we are planning to expand our transitional housing program, continue casework management for our homeless men and women so that we can provide the best possible care for our quests that the Lord sends to our doors. We want to be able to offer better medical care options, look into more extensive job skills training, and of course provide our services to a much greater number of deserving needing people. But we have a problem; we are literally bursting at the seams. Our current facilities are just not large enough to serve the ever-growing population of homeless and needy people. Please pray that the Lord will direct us to just the right property to expand his work. Gospel Rescue Mission is an independent member of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions located in Kansas City, Missouri www.agrm.org.		click here to view our newsletter


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