Dear Friend of the Mission,
The Whosoever Gospel Mission is known for good food and good fellowship around the tables in our dining room. If you were to watch our men during a meal, you would see lots of laughter, friendly smiles and lively conversation in a warm and happy relaxed atmosphere. Our men come to the Mission for help because they are sick and tired of being sick and tired. A good meal after being beaten down and beaten up on the hard streets of Philadelphia fills our men with great hope that a better day has arrived. Some of our men describe the Mission as an oasis and safe haven, a place where they can finally rest. We are grateful beyond words that the Lord has blessed the Mission abundantly and has filled our ministry with His love, joy, peace and hope.
We are quickly moving toward the end of our fiscal year which ends on September 30, 2015. In terms of programming, our men’s progress, our dedicated staff, and our wonderful volunteers, this has been a great year! However, financially, it has been one of the most challenging years in the 26 years that I have served at the Mission. We will more than likely end our fiscal year with a significant deficit – right now we are running about $40,000 behind in our regular cash operating expenses. This deficit was caused by many factors beyond our control. We have aggressively taken care of the things we can control such as cutting expenses and holding off on hiring a new part-time teacher to replace one of our teachers who left. But sadly we still have a significant deficit that will hurt our ministry to homeless men in many ways.
As we move closer to the end of our fiscal year, September 30th, I would ask you to do two things. First of all, please pray that this shortfall will be made up before September 30th. And secondly, please consider making an extra generous gift to help us end our fiscal year in good financial shape. Thanks so much! Our ministry is strong, and we are not discouraged. But rather, we are excited about all of the good things that we see happening in the lives of our men. Just recently, for example, one of our men graduated from Philabundance’s Community Kitchen food service training program.
You’ve had a part in this celebration and success. Thank you for being our partners in ministry through your prayers and support.
Working together with you,
Robert A. Emberger, D.Min.
Executive Director