The homelessness crisis in King County continues to create more questions than answers. One of the most important questions for the Church is, “How can we love and serve our neighbors experiencing homelessness?”
If you are interested in starting a conversation about how we can support your church in loving our homeless neighbors, please fill out our form below.
If you have questions about our trainings, reach out to us at church@ugm.org
Engaging Homelessness 101: An Overview and Path to Restoration
This training covers four key areas:
1. The extent and root causes of homelessness
2. God’s heart for our homeless neighbors
3. The Mission's approach
4. How anyone can get involved
Engaging Homelessness 101 provides foundational information and includes insights from experts, real-life stories from formerly homeless individuals that show that change is possible, and a Q&A time. We want each attendee to walk away having a better understanding of the homelessness crisis in the greater Seattle area and how they can be a part of a solution- God's solution.
This training discusses the three barriers to healthy relationships:
1. Trauma
2. Addiction
3. Mental Health Disorders
The training will include thoughts and ideas on homelessness from experts on the issue, stories of life change from people who have experienced homelessness themselves, and a time of questions and answers with the Mission training team.
Engaging Homelessness 103: How to Launch a Homelessness Ministry at Your Church
Engaging Homelessness 103 builds on Engaging Homelessness 101 and 102 to provide churches with practical frameworks and tools to help the church envision, develop, and then launch a ministry to the homeless neighbors in their community.
This training covers five key areas:
1. An overview of the homelessness crisis and why the Church should get involved
2. Aligning with Church Leadership in the ministry development
3. Practical steps for ministry development
4. How the Mission can support the Church in the development process
5. Working with church leadership on next steps
Engaging Homelessness 103 includes tools and insights from experts, examples of churches in the Seattle area loving our homeless neighbors, real-life stories from formerly homeless individuals that show that change is possible, and a Q&A time. We want each attendee to walk away with practical next steps for launching a homelessness ministry at their church.
Engaging Homelessness 104 builds on Engaging Homelessness 101 and 102 to provide churches with practical frameworks and tools for developing relational boundaries in ministry to our homeless neighbors. We believe healthy boundaries are essential for the health and longevity of ministry. This training walks through real church scenarios, providing space for understanding and practicing boundaries.
This training covers three key areas:
1. Boundaries: Definition and Application
2. Biblical Principles of Boundaries
3. Case Studies
Engaging Homelessness 104 includes tools and insights from experts, opportunities for discussion and reflection, and Q&A time. We want each attendee to walk away with practical next steps for practicing boundaries when loving our homeless neighbors.
Engaging Homelessness 201: Understanding and Addressing Trauma
Engaging Homelessness 201 builds on the level 100 Engaging Homelessness courses to provide churches with a deeper understanding of trauma and the hope of healing. It also provides next steps for how your church can love our homeless neighbors as they heal from trauma.
This training covers three key areas:
1. Understanding Trauma and the Brain
2. The Hope of Replacement Experiences
3. The Role of the Church
Engaging Homelessness 201 includes tools and insights from experts, stories of life change from people who have experienced homelessness themselves, and Q&A time with the Mission training team. We want each attendee to walk away with greater understanding and practical ways to provide healthy replacement experiences for our homeless neighbors.
Engaging Homelessness 202: Understanding and Addressing Addiction
Engaging Homelessness 202 builds on the 100 level Engaging Homelessness courses to provide churches with a deeper understanding of addiction, the role it plays in the lives of our homeless neighbors, and the hope of healing. It also provides next steps for how your church can love our homeless neighbors in their recovery journey. This training is heavily based on the Genesis Process by Michael Dye, which is used in the Mission’s Recovery Programs.
Engaging Homelessness 202 includes tools and insights from experts, stories of life change from people who have experienced homelessness themselves, and Q&A time with the Mission training team. We want each attendee to walk away with greater understanding and practical ways to provide healthy replacement experiences for our homeless neighbors.
Engaging Homelessness 203: Mental Health First Aid
Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches participants how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives learners the skills they need to reach out and provide initial support to someone who may be developing a mental health problem or crisis.
In this training, participants will learn a single 5-step action plan (ALGEE), which includes assessing risk, listening nonjudgmentally, and identifying appropriate help and support. Participants are also introduced to risk factors and warning signs for mental health problems. This training is highly interactive and practice-based to help build understanding for each learner to take back to where they live, work, and play.
Note: USA Mental Health First Aid is a National Council for Mental Wellbeing Course. Certified Instructors at Seattle's Union Gospel Mission maintain course fidelity and do not make adaptations or edits to the training materials.
