May 2019 - Creating a Safe Place for Those At Risk - Jerri Schmitz

Featuring Jerri Schmitz, 
Founder/Executive Director, The Mathews House

Jerri Schmitz is a woman who is kind, supportive, strong, and focused.  Those characteristics have made her a passionate advocate for those who are at-risk in the communities where she serves as the Founder/President of The Mathews House.

The story of The Mathews House stems from Jerri’s passionate response to a personal concern.  In 2003, Jerri met a young man in Old Town Fort Collins. He had just aged out of foster care, which resulted in him couch-surfing and living on the streets. Jerri told him she was going to do some research and find resources for him. However, in the early 2000’s, there weren’t any resources for kids aging out of foster care in Larimer County. Jerri’s response to this lack of services what that “…someone should do something about that…” and that someone was Jerri.

Jerri and Sara Mitchell, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, launched the nonprofit together in 2005. They began working with youth in 2006. They dreamed of creating a safe place where at-risk youth could escape poverty and abuse. Their dream quickly became a reality, and soon every child aging out of foster care was being referred to the program. 

But while the Mathews House’s innovative approach was working to support such youth, they also saw the need to address why this need was there. That prompted The Mathews House to reach families early enough and helping them gain stability, so that kids could avoid being placed in foster care in the first place.

The Matthews House currently works with over 3,200 youth and families annually. They are growing with purpose and filling in service gaps to meet the needs of families and communities.  They work collaboratively with many nonprofits, businesses, and public entities to best address the needs of participants. The Matthews House offers both intervention and prevention programming, walking alongside youth and families as they work their way from crisis to thriving – providing a safe place for those most at-risk.

April 2019 – Church for Survivors and Vulnerable - Dr. Beth Grant

Featuring Dr. Beth Grant
Co-Founder/Director, Project Rescue

What does it look like to take the Church to the streets, to other countries, to the most vulnerable? Dr. Beth Grant knows too well what that looks like. It is simultaneously difficult and beautiful. She and her husband David have served in the mission fields for more than 40 years, fighting injustice and promoting faith. As Co-founder and Director of Project Rescue, a ministry to survivors of sex trafficking, Dr. Grant has brought the Church to some of the most needed places in the world.

Dr. Grant’s ministry and work stems from a deep and abiding faith, immersion in the church, and extensive Christian educational experiences. She holds a B.S. from Central Bible College, an M.A. from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Biola University. Dr. Grant has served as faculty and guest lecturer in missions and cross-cultural communication in seminaries and universities in India, South Africa, Europe and the United States.

Dr. Grant and her husband David founded Project Rescue in 1997. A team from Bombay Teen Challenge was stunned to find an estimated 100,000 women and children living in sexual slavery. In that first encounter, over 100 women came to Christ, and 37 of their children were rescued – creating an aftercare shelter that night.
Since then Project Rescue has worked extensively to support survivors of sex trafficking. Last year, Project Rescue ministered to over 37, 000 women and children in sexual slavery. They have extended their work to not only India but also Nepal, Bangladesh, Moldova, Tajikistan, Spain, and France, providing aftercare homes, vocational training, afterschool programs, night care shelters, HIV/AIDS and medical clinics, red light district churches and Sunday schools, and awareness and prevention programs.

Dr. Grant’s efforts to bring Christian advocacy to issues of human trafficking worldwide also include serving on the steering committee member of the Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking. In addition, she developed and co-edited Hands That Heal, an international curriculum to train caregivers of trafficking survivors. She also authored Courageous Compassion: Confronting Social Injustice God’s Way.

Dr. Grant’s ministry and advocacy leadership have led her to a range of other leadership opportunities. She served as chairperson for The Network for Women in Ministry for the U.S. from 1999-2010. In 2009 she became the first woman elected to the Executive Presbytery of the National AG USA.

In addition to her advocacy, ministry, and leadership experiences, Dr. Grant remains a testament to what a Christian life and a Christian faith can do for justice. She supports survivors of human trafficking through her steadfast commitment and Christian convictions. She has extended her faith and heart to bring the Church in real and tangible ways to people who would not otherwise experience it. She brings hope and freedom to the most vulnerable.