It was during and after college that I spent eight years working for the state of Tennessee at a correctional facility for juvenile delinquent girls and investigating child abuse cases. Working for the state on a daily basis gave me direct encounters with secular programs that were not producing permanent results that exemplified changed lives. I saw many of the girls pass the age of eighteen and end up in the women's prison system because they never got the real help they needed. After working for the state and recognizing that true transformation would never come as the result of any government system, I was appointed Director of Women for the Nashville Teen Challenge program where I worked for two years. Through my experience, I began to realize that only Jesus could bring restoration into the lives of girls who were desperately hurting and searching for something to fill the void they felt in their hearts. I knew God was unfolding a plan prompting me to step out in faith to help hurting young women.
In January 1983, determined to establish a program in which lives would truly be transformed, I moved to Monroe, Louisiana to start Mercy Ministries of America (now known as Mercy Multiplied America). I knew that there were three principles to which I must always remain faithful: (1) accept girls free of charge, (2) always give at least ten percent of all donations to other organizations and ministries, and (3) do not take any state or federal funding or any money that interferes with the freedom to share Christ. Several years and many changed lives later, Mercy Multiplied has established locations in Monroe, Louisiana; Nashville, Tennessee; St. Louis, Missouri; and Sacramento, California. The organization has grown beyond the borders of the United States, including locations in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada. In addition, plans are underway for more sites in America as well as internationally.
In January 1983, determined to establish a program in which lives would truly be transformed, I moved to Monroe, Louisiana to start Mercy Ministries of America (now known as Mercy Multiplied America). I knew that there were three principles to which I must always remain faithful: (1) accept girls free of charge, (2) always give at least ten percent of all donations to other organizations and ministries, and (3) do not take any state or federal funding or any money that interferes with the freedom to share Christ. Several years and many changed lives later, Mercy Multiplied has established locations in Monroe, Louisiana; Nashville, Tennessee; St. Louis, Missouri; and Sacramento, California. The organization has grown beyond the borders of the United States, including locations in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada. In addition, plans are underway for more sites in America as well as internationally.
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