City Vision Institute

Introduction to Rescue Missions and Ministry Serving the Homeless & Addicted

Course Description

This course is intended to be an orientation for new interns, staff or program participants to understand rescue missions and similar ministries that serve the homeless and addicted and to develop the skills and attitudes needed to serve effectively.

We expect that many rescue missions and similar ministries might use this free curriculum in three ways:

  1. As a training module for program participants toward the end of a residential recovery program who wish to prepare for employment in a rescue mission or a similar ministry.
  2. As an orientation program for recovery program graduates that have become interns with the ministry.
  3. As a training module in orientation program for new staff to complement other training material provided by the ministry.

This course is particularly designed as a first course to be as accessible as possible to recovery program graduates who may lack confidence in their ability to succeed in college courses.

Course Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  1. Describe the purpose of rescue missions and similar ministries.
  2. Explain the effect of worldview on ministry.
  3. Describe poverty from a local perspective, national perspective and God’s perspective.
  4. Reflect on how spiritual disciplines help you prepare for ministry.
  5. Apply the concept of boundaries to identify boundaries needed to ensure margin in ministry.
  6. Describe the importance of developing character, integrity and morality in ministry.
  7. Describe the importance of understanding clients and the impact that shame and trauma might have in interactions.
  8. Identify ways to be more effective in showing respect to clients.

Throughout this course, you will be reading Called to Serve: Servant Leadership Jesus Style by Lorraine Minor. If you prefer you may download the full book PDF here instead of using the individual chapter links below and in other lessons.

Self-Paced or Group Facilitated

This course is designed so that students can go through it individually on their own, or go through it as a group facilitated by any group leader. The Guide for Group Leaders & Live Discussions provides suggestions for discussion topics for those going through as a group. The group leader may also choose to assign some of the items in the Student Assignment Workbook as "homework" to do between meetings.

Students that wish to advance their learning may find it helpful to go through the assignments in the above workbook.

Course Content

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