Rockford Rescue Mission opened its doors May 1, 1964. By August of that year, many of the men who had come through the doors had stopped drinking. And, 36 had received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
But the Mission was also $1,300 in debt (that’s more than $12,000 in today’s dollars) and behind on rent. It looked like it might have to close. Co-founder Ray Stewart wrote: “I’m sure the Lord called me here to meet a problem and I’m sure He never starts a job He couldn’t finish.”
One day in September, a woman came to the Mission carrying a brown paper bag. She handed it to Ray and said, “A friend of mine wants the Mission to have this.”
Ray looked in the bag. It was stuffed with twenty-dollar bills. Fifty of them, for a total of $1,000. It was enough for the Mission to catch up on rent payments and stay open.
We’ve never been exactly sure how that anonymous donor found out about the Mission’s need. But what became known as the “Brown Bag Blessing” kept the Mission alive at its most desperate hour. As Mission pioneer Nadine Pitney used to say: “When God calls you to a place of responsibility, and you’re faithful, He takes care of you.”
Adapted from Rescuing the Raggedy Man, ©2004 by Perry Pitney and Jim Killam
