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Imagine hauling 8,000 pounds (3,629 kilos) of fresh food a week through basement windows.<\/p>\nImagine hauling 8,000 pounds (3,629 kilos) of fresh food a week through basement windows.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what Isaiah 58 Ministries<\/a> in St. Louis, MO was doing when it was operating from Compton Heights Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)<\/a> (CHCC)\u2019s former building.<\/p>\n But with our help, the non-profit agency will soon be able to meet the needs of low-income individuals in its neighborhood from a facility that\u2019s a better fit for its staff, services\u2014and most importantly\u2014its clients.<\/p>\n In 1968, four local congregations from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada<\/a>, United Church of Christ, and Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) denominations started the 4 Church Association, which would eventually become Isaiah 58 Ministries. While it has always been ecumenical, from its inception the cooperative ministry has been housed at CHCC\u2014that is, until it realized that it had outgrown the church basement and needed to find its own place.<\/p>\n As for the staff, getting around wasn\u2019t much easier. Without a loading dock, they had to move donations through the basement windows, down the hallway, and into the pantry\u2014all before guests arrived. Even then, there wasn\u2019t enough space in the 10,000-square-foot basement to store large quantities of food.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve always made it work,\u201d says Rev. Brenda Booth, Isaiah 58 Ministries\u2019 Executive Director. \u201cBut I wanted something that worked for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Three years ago, when CHCC was undergoing a visioning process, they reached out to our Building and Capital Services Advisor Jim Michel to review the facility. In conversations with him, they explored the idea of the CHCC faith community nesting within Isaiah 58 Ministries, since the latter had more assets and donors. So, Jim traveled to Missouri and conducted a Building Evaluation<\/a> to see if creating more room in the existing building might be possible. In the end, CHCC decided not to invert its relationship with Isaiah 58 Ministries and instead, made the difficult decision to sell its building. During this time of discernment, Brenda went on sabbatical for three months to research how other services hubs functioned.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we wanted to support the church and appreciated all that it had done for us, we are ultimately here for our neighbors and the community,\u201d explains Brenda. \u201cIn the last two decades, the area around us has changed. It has gone from having 60% of its population being people of color to 30%. Our clients must travel further to get to us. I asked myself, \u2018why are we here?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Isaiah 58 Ministries serves families living at or below the poverty line in four different zip codes; neighborhoods that are quickly transitioning into higher economic statuses. The two zip codes that it sees the most traffic from are two miles south of CHCC\u2019s former location, where gentrification has pushed residents to.<\/p>\n So, Brenda began the process of looking for a facility that was located amid the communities that she and her coworkers were serving. Jim gave her advice on what to look for in buildings and she created a list of priorities that would guide her and her team\u2019s search, including enough space to do their current ministry and to grow, parking, easy access, and green space. Last winter, Brenda and Jim deliberated on funding, conducting a feasibility study, reviewing potential donors, and putting together a capital fundraising campaign<\/a> team.<\/p>\n \u201cJim assured me that we could do this and guided me through what we needed to do,\u201d Brenda recalls. \u201cEvery time I reached out to him, he was always very quick to respond.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As for the financial planning, while our funding support of Isaiah 58 Ministries includes a capital campaign to pay off their loan<\/a>\u2014a process that many of the organizations that partner with us do\u2014the campaign itself is not adhering to the typical timeline. With CHCC\u2019s building being sold shortly, Isaiah 58 Ministries has not had the luxury of conducting a campaign five years in advance of a building purchase. CHCC is now renting space in the former Holy Family Catholic Church and Isaiah 58 Ministries has until November to vacate the basement.<\/p>\n The goal of the current fundraising campaign, Answering the Call<\/a>, is to raise US $3.5 million (CA $4.8 million) to complete three phases:<\/p>\n From L to R: Associate Regional Minister for Mid-America Rev. David Woodard, Isaiah 58 Director Rev. Brenda Booth, Building and Capital Services Advisor Jim Michel, and National Benevolent Association President and CEO Mark Anderson<\/p><\/div>\n So far, 50% of the total cost of the building purchase loan has been raised. Without congregants to rely on for gifts, Isaiah 58 Ministries is seeing them come from individual donors, local foundations, and state and federal grants instead. According to Brenda, the response so far has been good\u2014which was evident at the \u201cgroundbreaking\u201d celebration on February 24 of this year, where Isaiah 58 Ministries was joined by hundreds of volunteers, civic leaders, and longtime friends.<\/p>\n \u201cThis partnership shows how we\u2019re shifting. While we continue to work with congregations and organizations, we\u2019re looking at their facilities differently than we have in the past,\u201d reflects Jim. \u201cWe\u2019re asking questions like, \u2018how do they affect the neighborhood and the community?\u2019 It\u2019s something that we\u2019re going to see more of in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Currently, Isaiah 58 Ministries is on the second phase of its campaign and continues to \u00a0work with us. Our next step together is a renovation loan<\/a> to build out the facility for its food and clothing ministries, as well as to install a passenger elevator.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to know that we are partners in this journey and it\u2019s not just a transactional relationship,\u201d concludes Brenda. \u201cDisciples Church Extension Fund<\/a> is a partner that believes in the transformational power of the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nNourishing community for almost 60 years<\/h3>\n
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For years, if people wanted to use Isaiah 58 Ministries\u2019 low-barrier food pantry, clothing closet, or other outreach programs, they would have to walk down a flight of stairs, which prevented many of those with physical disabilities or limited mobility from entering the lower level of CHCC. Then they were required to wait in a hallway for their name to be called. If it rained, there wasn\u2019t enough room inside to accommodate them, and their only shelter was retractable awnings outside the building. In 2024, the organization opened its long-awaited shower ministry, but patrons only had access to one shower.<\/p>\n\n
Isaiah 58 Ministries\u2019 next chapter<\/h3>\n
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In 2024, she restarted the partnership with Jim, this time with plans to take a different direction. They began to discuss what it would look like if Isaiah 58 Ministries had a place to call its own and were to repurpose it to fit its needs. It wasn\u2019t just the lack of space that Brenda was considering.<\/p>\n\n
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Creating a heart and hub for the community<\/h3>\n
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After looking at approximately 20 different potential new locations, Brenda and her colleagues settled on a former wedding dress gallery situated right in the middle of the communities that Isaiah 58 Ministries serves. With a square footage of 39,000 feet on three levels, a freight elevator, and a loading dock, this building was just what they were looking for. Our building purchase loan<\/a> enabled them to buy the facility and get started on figuring out the layout of their new home. They plan to dedicate the ground floor to the ministry\u2019s services and install a walk-in cooler and freezer as well as a reception area with a hospitality counter. For the first floor, they envision the clothing room and food pantry and for the 2nd, three to four showers, a community space, offices, classrooms, and a teaching kitchen. There\u2019s even room in the facility for other like-minded missions to move in.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image1-scaled.jpeg\")
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