PHILOSOPHY

City Ministries is about helping children, families and community by providing social services and educational services from a faith-based perspective. City Ministries is a tax-exempt social service organization that provides various services to the community.

MISSION

City Ministries is social service organization whose mission is to serve the community with faith based volunteerism and resources.

It is comprised of 3-divisions:

Child Placement Agency – works with the State of Washington DCYF to provide foster care services, licensing of foster homes, and training to foster parents, volunteers and support resources for program participants. Our mission is to see children experiencing the foster care system cared for in safe, loving, stable, faith-filled families focused on permanence and stability for the children through restoration of their birth and/or extended families or placement with an adoptive family. We will do this by providing family and community-based foster care, foster to adopt and adoption services utilizing a unique model that provides a nurturing, supportive environment.

Rose Hill Cottages – is a residential community of 22 homes and the Aaron Haskins Community Center designed to provide affordable housing to participants in the City Ministries Child Placing Agency.

City Kids School– a preschool & kindergarten.  It is a developmentally appropriate school and utilizes play in creating a love for learning in children. The school has been in operation for over 20 years and is licensed through the State of Washington.

Definition of Faith-based:

While the agency will accept children for placement without regard to their faith and has a policy of religious nondiscrimination regarding children experiencing the foster care system placed in our licensed homes, the ministry philosophy of Churchome and City Ministries is to be demonstrated by the employees and volunteers in their attitude of faith, courtesy, cheerfulness, graciousness and skill. The agency will implement programs with a holistic approach of spirit (faith), soul (mind, will and emotions) and body (physical) in a respectful, considerate, professional manner with DCYF & Children’s Administration, foster parents, birth parents, children, other agencies, and everyone we serve and work with.

THEN

In 1993, Churchome started a social service non-profit food distribution ministry by picking up “day-old” bread and delivering it to needy neighbors in the Crossroads area of Bellevue, WA. This grew to servicing many grocery stores and household goods stores and distributing those items to families in need as well as churches in the community and other social service organizations.  Throughout the 1990’s, CM operated a Women in Transition Home that helped women and their children in difficult situations move to a place of stability and re-integration back to the workforce and safer, stable living situations.  At the same time, we opened City Computer School which provided low or no cost certification program in the Microsoft Office Suite, allowing people to build those much needed computer skills.  Another ministry that operated for many years was City Colors, a resale clothing shop that accepted gently used clothing that was either given or sold at a very low price to those in need. At that time we had partnerships with local women’s outreach organizations, other churches, our local DCYF offices to support their efforts in helping women and children.

In 1995, Churchome moved to its present location on the Eastside and with that move added City Kids School – originally called City Kids Preschool, to serve the preschool needs of children in the community. Consistently each year 75% or more of our students come from the surrounding community and are able to take advantage of a strong developmentally appropriate curriculum and excellent teaching staff. All of these services were provided from a position of faith, believing the best for people, and a heart of love for our community.

In 2002, the church started City Ministries as a separate nonprofit organization to enlarge the food distribution ministry and include all the ministries under one umbrella to better serve our community.

TODAY

In 2007, with much prayer we ventured into the arena of foster care.  It began with the construction of 22 homes and a community center on the east side of Seattle.  Many hearts were stirred, many prayers prayed, and families stood up and joined the journey.  We now have a thriving foster care program and child placing agency, as well as a community were foster families we license may choose to live.

The Rose Hill Cottages & Aaron Haskins Community Center stand as a testament to the faith, love and heart of service of many, many people. City Ministries Child Placement Agency is doing effective hands on case management, recruitment and training of foster parents, and maintains partnerships with DCYF and other community partners to provide a safety net for the rescue and protection of children. City Kids School is experiencing record growth and is an award winner in the Early Achiever program and has expanded to pre-K, Kindergarten and preschool.

Today a few of the components have changed as we adapted to the community needs, but our mission to serve our community remains the same. As we move forward and continue to grow, your generosity in giving, your prayers, and volunteerism are important as we all do our part to make our community a safe, prosperous, welcoming place for children and families.