February 2021 The Legacy of Brother George Roberson - OUR MISSION To offer life changing hope through the Gospel of Jesus Christ to homeless men ...
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February 2021 The Legacy of Brother George Roberson OUR MISSION To offer life changing hope through the Gospel of Jesus Christ to homeless men, women, and children through programs to deliver food, shelter, counseling and discipleship
From the “Some wish to live within the sound of church or chapel bell. DIRECTOR I wish to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” —C.T. Studd REX BAKER The Gateway Rescue Mission family just lost our most of the passing of George Roberson. He was Gateway’s legendary ambassador. Brother George Roberson passed chief ambassador and historian. We have lost the last link away recently at the age of 93 after a life well-lived loving between Gateway Rescue Mission today and the Gateway God, his family, and gospel ministry. Bro. George, as we of yesterday. affectionately called him, served as Executive Director of Gateway Rescue Mission for more than thirty years in a I’m writing this letter from the same offi ce that Bro. career spanning from sometime in the 1950s through the George held in the same building that he helped early 1990s. construct. He is now with the Jesus he proclaimed to pretty much everyone he encountered. At Bro. George’s Bro. George would often drop by to visit back in my funeral, I wondered about men who came to Christ at rookie days as Gateway’s Executive Director and never Gateway Rescue Mission years ago who have since failed to impart wisdom and history to my impressionable crossed over that great divide. What a homecoming that mind. One day, he stood on the steps outside our offi ce, must be for Bro. George to be with them today in glory. looked me in the eye, pointed his fi nger at me and said “the gospel to the unbeliever is that Christ died for you. Rev. David Hopkins, who also served as Executive The gospel to the believer is that you died with Him.” Director of Gateway back in the 1990s, spoke at Bro. George’s funeral. He shared a humorous moment when Bro. George literally helped build our main mission Bro. George took him down into “the hole” at Gateway building at 328 South Gallatin Street. He often related where they both cleaned out a stopped-up sewage sump stories about how he personally laid the cinder blocks pump. According to Rev. Hopkins, “Bro. George told me to the walls of the building and how workers from the this is a hands-on ministry.” electrical union wired the building back in the mid 1960s. He would colorfully describe how God always Some things haven’t changed, as we still have to fi x that seemed to be right on time in providing food back in the sump pump today and Gateway Rescue Mission is still a day. Sometimes that meant butchering a cow on a farm hands-on ministry. However, Bro. George no longer has Gateway operated somewhere near the Pearl River or to worry about sewage pumps or broken people. He is folks dropping off donations. Bro. George ministered in an now in a place where there is no night, no people without era when paychecks could be few and far between. hands, no sickness, and no death. Once he told me of a fellow who showed up at Gateway As I look at the walls in my offi ce made of the cinder causing trouble. This individual had a hook in the place block laid by Bro. George, I think of the big void George of a missing hand. Bro. George said “he raised that hook Roberson leaves in the hearts and lives of those who and looked down at me like he was going to hit me, but he loved him. May all of us who had the privilege of knowing didn’t. He turned around and walked up the street.” him carry the message of Jesus Christ to a world that desperately needs to know the peace of God through I would love to have one more conversation with Bro. Jesus Christ. George. An old proverb holds that “when an elderly person dies, a library burns to the ground.” Such is true Rex Baker Executive Director Visit gatewaymission.org Gateway Rescue Mission for more information on how you can help someone today.
FEATURE GATEWAY Board of Directors One month into 2021, we continue serving quality meals at Gateway Rescue Mission. Tuna fish, Bruce’s barbecue, spaghetti (both chicken spaghetti and regular, red sauce Ford Mosby variety), are some of our weekly items. Laszlo is shown here preparing a chicken-based President dish. (I recently sampled some of Laszlo’s excellent jambalaya, flavored with just a bit of cayenne pepper and other secret ingredients he won’t divulge.) Beth Archer Our kitchen provides a training ground for our New Life Program residents to learn the Vice President culinary arts. All Gateway kitchen staffers graduated from our program. We continue to serve three meals a day, with lunch open to the general public. We are currently serving Jackie Meck lunch meals in to-go trays for Covid-19 safety reasons. Secretary We are also in a time of planning for the future. Please pray for God to give wisdom to our Board of Directors as our leadership seeks divine guidance for the years ahead. We Vivian Farris continue to believe God is preparing Gateway Rescue Mission to be a light in our rapidly Treasurer changing world. Glen Bush Danny Cawthon Allen Holiman Ben Moncrief Vernon Perry Marilyn Tinnin 328 S. Gallatin Street P.O. Box 3763 Jackson, MS 39207-3763 Phone: 601.353.5864 Fax: 601.353.9468 Website: www.gatewaymission.org
A picture of a floor may not win a Pulitzer Prize for photography, but it’s a beautiful sight at our Gateway Rescue Mission thrift store. Crews are currently upgrading our store by installing a new floor, new ceiling tiles, and new lights. And a new paint job to boot. We sell donated items in the Gateway thrift store, with the proceeds going directly to support our ministry to those in need. Our thrift store buzzes daily with shoppers plowing through boxes looking for a bargain. Take for instance the old clock pictured here; I’m not sure if it works, but it’s 9:20 somewhere and you never know when someone is looking for just such a piece to accent a den or living room. Our store accepts donations Monday-Saturday from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. We also pickup heavy items such as furniture. You can call our dispatch office at 601-932-1668 to schedule a pickup. Or you can drop your donations off at the back dock of our store. You’re always welcome to drop by and shop! Gateway Needs We wish to thank everyone who continues to respond to our request for needed items. This month, please consider donating; • Body wash. This stuff works great as a shampoo/soap • Shaving clippers (for men who have issues with combo. We need lots of it. ingrown facial hair) • Toothpaste and toothbrushes. • Small containers of sanitizer wipes to hand out to the public. • Shaving cream and razors. • Masks for Covid-19 protection. • Magic shave shaving powder. Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @gatewaymission • Facebook: Gateway Rescue Mission • Instagram: gatewaymission For your convenience you may now donate online at gatewaymission.org/donate
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