This is our highly relational ministry that seeks to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty through gracious hospitality one friend or family at a time. The 3e Restoration Process© encourages equips and empowers "neighbors in-need" to move from homelessness/extreme poverty to holistic sufficiency within the context of community and God's sufficiency, and addresses the whole person. Therefore it is not considered a “program,” but is a process rooted in a unique friendship. The relational framework of the 3e Restoration Ministry invites any one in WCC to serve as All-In Friends, people willing to walk in a variety of ways side-by-side our friends/families in Need. It also includes Servant Leader Coordinators (SLC’s), people willing to walk with the friend as the “primary” relationship. The SLC meets weekly with our friends in need and utilizes a flexible curriculum called the "3e Restoration Floor Plan©" that teaches life-reorientation tools called, "Growth Symbols©.” These tools serve to equip and empower our friends with the necessary skills to reorient their life from survivability to sustainability and transition from poverty or homelessness, to holistic-sufficiency. SLC’s have received over 16 hours of formal training with our partner 3e Restoration Incorporated, an incredible 501(c)3 non-profit company that works to equip, encourage and empower our congregation in this mission.
You can see what this looks like by watching our story with Frank here.
Through this highly relational experience we want to demonstrate the love of Jesus through tangible acts of mercy and compassion by simply being friends who listen to their stories, and offer help as needed--no matter the need--while modeling the love of God in King Jesus. We also serve to equip them in practical ways to live with greater self-sustainability by addressing life-skills such as computer literacy, basic money management, housekeeping, cooking, resume building, etc. This only happens if everyone in WCC makes their lives available to others, including their giftedness, skills and life experiences, to our friends who find themselves in a difficult and often desperate time of need.
In the 3e Restoration Process, we formally partner closely with many professional/business men/women and various organizations and agencies within Williamsburg, James City/York counties to offer an array of "Wrap-Around Services." We call these partners "Coaches" as they serve to equip and empower our Friends/families in Need in a number of ways, such as financial planning skills, interviewing skills, occupational therapy exercises, dental care, nutrition awareness, mental health care, etc.
We also partner with other local churches and social services agencies such as the Community of Faith Mission (C.O.F.M.), Williamsburg Community Chapel's Agape Ministry, Greater Williamsburg Outreach Mission (G.W.O.M.), and both local and county Social Services and Human Services departments.