Love In the Name of Christ is a proven model that connects local Christian Churches, Volunteers, and community organizations to help our neighbors in need situations. Love INC exists to impact lives so that people THRIVE rather than just survive. We maintain 3 ministries in Sheboygan County, each building upon one another to strengthen relationships:
- Clearinghouse Ministry: This ministry is the foundation of Love INC's programs and serves as the connecting agent between our Neighbors and those serving them. It consists of a Call Center with Volunteer Intake Specialists who record all requests. The Clearinghouse Coordinator then assesses the situation and verifies the need along with the best form of assistance from our partner Churches, local agencies, or Gap Ministry. These calls lay the groundwork for developing a relationship with our Neighbors in order to identify the root cause of the need situation.
- Gap Ministry: This ministry is often the next step in building relationships and trust between Love INC and our Neighbors. As the requests for assistance are evaluated and verified, unmet needs or "gaps" in community services are identified. With the assistance of our partner Churches, programs are developed to fill the "gaps" and provide the needed assistance in order to steer our Neighbors on a better road to break the cycle of need. Our current Gap Ministry programs include Furniture, Moving, Auto Repair, Home Repair, Personal Care Kits, Love Buckets, Sew Caring, Hope Bags, Starter Kitchen Kits, and Bedding & Linens. Often, these programs are used in conjunction with our life skills classes.
- Transformational Ministry: This ministry provides life skills classes to assist individuals and families so that they become self-sufficient and begin to thrive. These classes encourage people to develop a relationship with God, building on the foundation that God created us with intrinsic worth and unique potential. Through the guidance of volunteer facilitators and mentors, this program provides a way to invest relationally in each other in order to encourage, inspire, and invest time in the individual for a better future.
Our model of ministry challenges current efforts to help our Neighbors by encouraging all of us to move from offering a handout to offering a hand up, by walking alongside our Neighbors and providing them life skills to break the cycle of chronic need.
