But you won't hear the men complaining. Charles, for instance has just come back to Breakthrough after being away for 10 years. “Because they really help you get right with the Lord so you can make it out here.” He's staying in the shelter and taking advantage of the case management that Breakthrough's staff provides: job training, goal setting and, of course, spiritual support.

The facilities have always been cramped (picture two counselors talking with clients in a space the size of the average office cubicle) but with the new move they're going to get even more so. First Evangelical Free Church is tearing down two buildings both of which were utilized for the Men's Services Program and most program operations are moving down the street to the 5237 building. “We're losing about 1/3 of our space” explained Bill Curry, Breakthrough's Senior Program Director. The cramped space is one they hope to be leaving soon but only if Breakthrough raises the remaining $900,000 towards their $5 million campaign goal for the Breakthrough Ministry Center which will be home to the Men's Services program in East Garfield Park.

Charles isn't complaining though. “On the streets you can't sleep like you do at home”, he says. “You never can really rest, you've got to sleep with one eye open and one eye closed… it's like being in prison.” For now, he's grateful to have a place to stay where he can get his life back together with the help of fellow believers. “I don't expect to be here for a long time. I'm not looking for Breakthrough to be my mom and dad and take care of me.” If things go according to plan, both Charles and the men's ministry will have a new place to call home by next year.

To see plans for the Breakthrough Ministry Center click here.

First Evangelical Free Church

Fourteen years ago First Evangelical Free Church found a good balance when it decided to embrace the vision of Arloa Sutter to reach the homeless men in the church’s neighborhood. This partnership soon gave birth to what is now Breakthrough Urban Ministries. “As a pastor it’s really helped us learn in new ways the meaning of passages in scripture like Matthew 25,” shared Senior Pastor Bill Shereos, ”spending time with these men is really a two way ministry, you really hear God speaking in those interactions.”

Bill Shereos Pastor, First Evangelical Free Church

“In one sense we are going to deeply miss them leaving” said Shereos. But the church is also seeing the move as the beginning of a new season and are going to begin renovating their facilities. “We had 18 babies born last year and we feel God wants us to start a family center to minister to them.”

And if God sends another person with a vision like Arloa’s? Shereos doesn’t rule that out, but in his mind, someone with Arloa’s kind of vision might be a once in a lifetime find.

• Meet Arloa and our staff
• Hear life transforming testimonies
• Take a walking tour of Breakthrough's Joshua Center
• Catch the vision of our future Breakthrough Campus
  

When: First Monday of every month. Next: October 2, 6 - 7 p.m.
Where: Breakthrough's Joshua Center
3330 W. Carroll Ave., Chicago, IL 60624
To reserve a spot, please contact Jessi Pfaff at 773.722.1144 x238.

Executive Director, Arloa Sutter

When I entered the storefront room on our Saturday moving day, I was not prepared for the wave of emotion that swept through me. This was it. The room that had been our homeless service center was about to be demolished. Never again will we be able to bring guests into the little room and talk about how it all started there, with nothing but a borrowed coffee pot and a lot of faith and good will.

I remembered when several of us from First Free Church met in that room regularly for prayer before we started Breakthrough. We prayed that God would use that space to be a haven for the lost and the lonely, that God would use us any way He wanted to do His work in the community.

Judy Cuchetto was there on moving day packing boxes. We began to reminisce. Judy joined me in the storefront room during the first year, 1992, and has been working there ever since. We laughed and cried as we remembered the interesting characters we met there; Irving Wasserman, the eccentric elderly man on disability who picked up pennies off the street and gave Breakthrough $500,000 when he died; Jimmy, who truly loved Jesus, but just couldn't stop drinking, until he was struck and killed by a car on Lake Shore Drive; Troy, who did imitations and kept us all in stitches, who died of an overdose in Cabrini Green; Rodney who went on to work at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and care for his young son.

God has answered the prayers we lifted in that storefront room. He has blessed us and He is moving us on. By next summer we will be in our newly renovated facility in East Garfield Park. The stories will continue to be told and lives will be transformed. The storefront room will be a happy memory.

Kellogg Business School Students save Breakthrough between $6,000 – $9,000

Breakthrough saved between $6,000 - $9,000 with the help of a group of 16 Kellogg Business School students who volunteered to help with our move this past month. The students used the work day as a team building experience before taking a trip to Spain together. They cleaned out the new facilities, filling a 20 yard dumpster and then moved the entire Day Center facilities up into the new building.

Thanks to Victor Kucek for organizing the event and for all the students who helped out. If you have a group that would like to do a work day with Breakthrough you can contact Scott Ruth at (773) 722-1144 x271

For more information, please call 773.722.1144 or email benefit@breakthroughministries.com.