1711 East Church Street, Union City, Tennessee 38261, United States
About Us
Our Mission
Refuge Mission exists as a safe place for broken people to encounter Jesus through a community of believers who are committed to each other and Christ who makes all things new.
We try and remember 2 very important commands and practice them to the best of our ability.
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
2. Love your Neighbor as yourself.
And this Principle: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
Our Vision
Christ Focused: Refuge Mission believes that the church is not a place. The church is the people who follow Jesus Christ and not doctrine, styles of worship, political affiliation, denomination, or anything else. We exist in unity, not uniformity.
Outward Focused: Refuge Mission values the mission of God to restore all relationships that are broken. We intentionally seek out the "least of these" in our community to offer them a connection with a family intent on being the hands and feet of Jesus.
Inward Focused: Refuge Mission recognizes that all of God's children are on a journey of discipleship. We are all at different points in our journey. We provide a biblical focus for growing to be more like Christ and biblical support in dealing with life issues no matter how difficult they seem.
Simply Christian
Non-Denominational: We really are! We do not identify with any other denomination. We have members who have come from many different denominational backgrounds. We are simply believers in Christ as THE SON OF GOD and followers of Christ.
Unity: We try to answer Jesus' prayer for unity among His followers "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you... I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 17:21,23
In Ephesians 4::3-6 says... Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
We all agree on these 7 criteria for unity. Everything else, we may agree to disagree and give each other the freedom in Christ to have their own understanding.
We are honestly too busy loving and caring for others that we don't have time to get off in the weeds about things that have no bearing on our salvation or eternity.
Our Policy
Who are our neighbors?
- Refuge Mission will strive to serve the neighborhoods in the Northwest part of Union City that are considered to be low-income areas.
- Many of the people living in these neighborhoods are living at or below poverty level. The Refuge will seek to use the best practices in poverty alleviation as taught through the Chalmer's Center for Community Development materials.
- As God's people we will always recognize our own brokenness before judging someone else's brokenness.
The art of listening
- Refuge Mission believes that our friends have insights and information about their personal situations of which we may be unaware. We will empower them to be innovative and find their own solutions to their problems.
- Refuge Mission will strive to stay away from paternalism and superiority. We will recognize that every person has strengths and weaknesses and people need room to operate from their strengths.
- Refuge Mission will strive to operate in a developmental ministry toward our neighbors. We understand that crisis situations will come along but they are not as frequent as development.
Walking with you, not doing for you
- Refuge Mission will be careful to assess a situation before offering material assistance. Material assistance will be offered if it is determined this will ease a burden but not enable.
- While in the neighborhood no member of Refuge Mission will offer material assistance, labor, or favors without first discussing the situation with the head of their service team.
- Refuge Mission will use a help guide to determine what factors are underlying when a neighbor approaches us for help.
- Refuge Mission members will NEVER give cash to our neighbors.