Ministries
Hospitality Ministries
In the biblical sense of Christian hospitality, a weary traveler would be welcomed into the homes of towns along the way. The host would prepare a meal, offer a bed, wash their feet and troubleshoot whatever obstacles may have emerged along the journey. Welcoming people with such love and care allowed the neighbor in need to continue on the journey and successfully reach their destination.
It is with this sentiment that the founding Micah churches offer showers, meals, bagged lunch pickup, and more. Hundreds of neighbors in need are welcomed every week. Their journeys have included heartache, catastrophic losses in relationship, breakdowns in both health and spirit. But no matter how treacherous the path that leads them to our door, the hospitality within all of our walls seeks all things possible for our friends to reach their destination.
Neighbor Care Center
Micah’s Neighbor Care Center is our location for intensive, wrap-around support, for those individuals most entangled in chronic homelessness. The Neighbor Care Center provides deeper, more intentional care—working one-on-one with those who are most vulnerable in our community.
It serves as Micah’s main hub of support for those currently experiencing literal street homelessness, helping our neighbors move along on their journeys towards permanent housing and flourishing lives. Case management support, volunteers helping neighbors troubleshoot common issues, a place to take a shower and connect to resources: these are just some of the things that happen daily at our Neighbor Care Center.
The Neighbor Care Center also provides a place for those without a mailing address to pick up mail, and serves as the primary location for Micah Ministries to accept donations that support all of our ministries in the community.
Jeremiah Community
Jeremiah Community is our vision for the future, about to come to fruition: A life-sharing community where neighbors can live affordably, have purpose and grow meaningful relationships. Phase one of Jeremiah Community will include 50 small homes, dedicated for the chronically homeless, surrounding a wholistic Community Center that offers wrap-around support for our neighbors.
Future phases of Jeremiah Community will include even more small homes and other supports, like a garden, an arts development workshop, a shared worshipping space, and more. Experience has taught us that housing alone will never solve homelessness, but community will. The fundamental component that human beings need to thrive is human interaction, and human interaction occurs within community.
Jeremiah Community will fundamentally change the face of homelessness in our region, and we are excited to be so close to groundbreaking on this innovative, life-changing community.
Hesed House
Hesed House is one of Micah’s newest ministries. Hesed House provides bridge housing — temporary accommodations for those who would be sleeping on the streets otherwise, while permanent housing is being located for them in the community.
Hesed House offers individuals experiencing homelessness not just a place to stay, but a new beginning. Each resident is given the opportunity to engage in on-site work or pay rent, and receives support tailored to their journey towards permanent housing. The converted hotel is equipped with essential amenities and offers a peaceful setting for personal healing and growth. Hesed House has been operational since the fall of 2023 and has been a part of transforming lives ever since.
“Hesed” is a Hebrew word for love and refers specifically to God’s unconditional, unrelenting, unfailing commitment to humanity. It is with this in mind that we provide Hesed House to our neighbors transitioning out of homelessness into flourishing, purposeful lives.
Respite House
Micah’s Residential Recovery Program (lovingly known as the Respite House) cares for those staying there like friends and family. The Respite House provides temporary accommodations and support for those experiencing homelessness who are discharging from hospitals and institutions.
We manage medication, provide homemade meals, transport people to follow-up appointments, and coordinate other important aspects of recovery. Many compassionate hands and feet are needed for walking alongside our neighbors who need that level of support post-hospitalization.
Healthbridge Ministry
Micah’s HealthBridge ministry seeks to remove barriers to medical care for our unhoused neighbors. HealthBridge invites local medical and mental health providers to offer accessible, understanding care in spaces that our Micah neighbors already frequent.
Medical care providers visit our neighbors at the Neighbor Care Center, our housing office, and in some cases, in the homes of neighbors who are struggling with health connections. We are honored to partner with several medical care providers in our area
HealthBridge is an effort to “bridge” people who are accustomed to addressing needs on a survival basis to engage with more comprehensive systems of care. Because homelessness, especially chronic homelessness, creates long-term health consequences, our HealthBridge ministry works with experience and compassion to help our neighbors get better and lead flourishing lives. HealthBridge cares for those who are now housed, as well as those who are still experiencing homelessness.
Housing
Micah’s Housing Ministry realizes that people become homeless for an unending list of reasons. But every person who finds themselves without a place to live shares a common deficiency. They lack a family/support system with the means to intervene. Micah believes the church and community have responsibility to fill that gap.
We do so through a coordinated care system that meets people where they are with basic needs and general support. As our team of staff and volunteers grows in relationship with each neighbor, we work with them to pursue income, housing, and medical/mental health solutions. As individuals get jobs, locate housing, obtain benefits, regain stability and succeed otherwise, Micah offers support until it is no longer needed. Just like any family, that support can last months, years, or even a lifetime.
Step Forward
Neighbors overcoming homelessness face multiple barriers to dignified income, but these challenges do not define their potential. Through customized employment, disability benefit assistance, and assistance with mainstream employment, Step Forward has tailored income development to the unique needs of unhoused neighbors.
Step Forward is a team of experts who help our unhoused neighbors increase their incomes, ultimately helping them to overcome their homeless circumstances, and achieve stability in housing.
Step Forward’s connection to opportunities for dignified income and rebuilding purpose serves as a key foundation for our neighbors overcoming homelessness. Our team knows that even those with barriers to traditional income have something valuable, with their own unique gifts and talents, to contribute to our community.
Street Church
Micah’s Street Church is a unique, inclusive faith community in downtown Fredericksburg that brings together people experiencing homelessness and others seeking connection and spiritual growth. It is designed as a welcoming space where anyone—regardless of background or housing status—can belong, worship, and build relationships. The ministry emphasizes community, authenticity, and breaking down traditional barriers often found in church settings.
The gatherings focus on interactive worship, where participants can openly discuss faith, ask questions, and grow together. In addition to Sunday services, the community shares meals, hosts fellowship events, and engages in outreach, fostering a sense of dignity, support, and shared purpose. Street Church aims to create a compassionate, relationship-centered environment where everyone is valued and can experience spiritual and personal growth.
Cold Weather Shelter
The Cold Weather Shelter operates during the winter months on a temperature basis. Whether the shelter is open each night will depend on temperature, weather parameters, and other factors. This ministry provides a place for homeless men and women to sleep when they would otherwise be outside, at risk of freezing. Micah’s Cold Weather Shelter operates mid-November through mid-March each year.
*Men experiencing homelessness spend each open night at 750 Kings Highway. Men access the building through the back door, up the long ramp.
*Women experiencing homelessness spend each open night at FXBG Baptist Church, at 1019 Princess Anne Street. The entrance to the women’s shelter area of the church is on the Amelia Street side (red door). Women should look for the lit red door and signage for access.
