The Samaritan’s grace story

For many years the founder of Samaritan's Grace, local developer Duane Horton, felt a burden to help the homeless and needy of downtown Chattanooga. Duane's office is downtown and he is often approached by folks asking for "spare change" or other help. Knowing that just giving money would be counter-productive, he kept asking the Lord "in what way can I make a difference?" He looked at many ministry models in Chattanooga and around the country, but he never found one that fully involved the average person the way he envisioned. After much prayer and research, the Lord laid upon his heart a vision to establish an innovative ministry to enlist Good Samaritan's in the process by using a voucher system. The voucher would be redeemable for meals at a place where a Person In Need would not only get a good meal, but loving and wise counsel from a mentoring Innkeeper to help them address their specific needs. The idea and concept has been widely accepted by area business and civic leaders and plans have been put into action

Our prayer is that folks who work downtown will act as Good Samaritans and give a meal voucher to a Person In Need. Imagine receiving a text or email saying, "John Smith has eaten here two days in a row with the vaucher you provided him and he says he'll be back tomorrow." Each Good Samaritan will have the opportunity to stay involved in the journey or may only want to pray for the Person In Need, each is an important level of involvement. Bottom line, a key aspect of Samaritan’s Grace model is a positive connection between all three people, the Person in Need, The Innkeeper and the Good Samaritan. But that's just the beginning.

The Innkeeper is trained in ministering to the whole person - meeting the Person In Need at their specific point of need and helping them take the next step in moving toward a better life situation. There are many organizations in the Chattanooga area that minister to the homeless and others in need. We network with many of them to appropriately connect the Person in Need with a church or organization that can walk beside them in their efforts to address whatever challenges they may be facing. The potential list is long: homelessness, hunger, financial struggles, medical and psychological issues, abuse, addictions, job loss, job training, etc. There is another critical aspect of our ministry that is the basis for all of this: faith in Jesus Christ.

When Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke Chapter 10, he laid the foundation for grace-based ministries such as ours. A Samaritan took it upon himself to care for a severely injured Jewish person; he "showed him grace and mercy." We believe our ministry model will enable and empower lots of folks who work downtown to really help People In Need. Just like Duane, they want to help in a way that is truly effective. We are a faith based Christian, non-denominational, ministry. Our prayer is that everyone who spends any time at assisting those in need will be exposed to the Grace of Jesus Christ both in word and in deed. Our volunteers will strive to minister to the "whole person." However, a person does not have to be a Christian to receive a meal voucher or other services. We will minister to anyone in need, regardless of race, color, creed or any other personal preferences they may have. God’s grace is available to all who are willing to receive it and we hope to show that Grace to everyone we encounter.

There is a lot to do in order to realize this vision, but we believe the Lord has called us to establish this ministry so we can make a positive impact in the lives of those in need in the Chattanooga area. We appreciate your prayers and support of all kinds. We need lots of prayers, advice, volunteers and workers. Thank you most of all for your prayers!