Dear Friend of the Mission,

We have an amazing and dedicated staff here at the Whosoever Gospel Mission. Every day without fail our staff members show up at the Mission ready to serve the Lord by serving our men. Each staff member shows up with dedication, enthusiasm and joy for the work that the Lord has given us to do. When you think about the Mission and COVID-19, our story is pretty remarkable. We have been operating at our 55-bed capacity during the whole pandemic. We have a staff of 21 which sadly was cut to 15 because of the closure of our two thrift stores. Thankfully we have called back all of our full-time staff with the exception of one staff member who is looking to retire. On any given day during the entire pandemic, our staff members were and continue to be fearless. With 55 residents and 15 staff members, we have about 70 people living and working at the Mission. Humanly speaking, the probability of the coronavirus making its way into the Mission was and is rather high. We did everything we could to keep the virus out and to protect our residents and staff, but at times we felt like we were fighting a forest fire with a garden hose. We realized that ultimately God was the only one who could protect the Mission and keep us all safe. And the Lord has in fact done so! As of the date of this letter (I am writing this letter on July 1st), we have not had one case of COVID-19 in the Mission. Our residents and staff have all stayed healthy. We thank God for His amazing grace and mercy.

And through it all, our staff never complained. They never hesitated to come to work and risk their health and possibly even their lives. Our staff understood that we are essential workers and that the Mission is an essential life-giving ministry permitted by the government to stay open. But above all, our staff understood that our ministry is a ministry close to the heart of God. Our staff did not call out sick or suggest we stop taking in new homeless men, nor did they ever suggest that perhaps we should close down the Mission until the COVID-19 pandemic passes. Our staff understood that a ministry such as ours cannot be done by staying home, or by doing our ministry virtually online. Our ministry must by necessity be done face-to-face – ministering the love of Christ to our residents in person – meaning we daily become the hands and feet of Jesus to our men in practical, compassionate and tangible ways.

Thank you for your kind and generous support. You are our critical supply lines, prayer intercessors, and cheerleaders. We cannot do what we do without your continued support.

Pressing on with joy & steadfast endurance,

Robert A. Emberger, D.Min.
Executive Director