| Place a Classified | Subscribe today | July 10, 2009 |
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Helping those in need
POCATELLO - Five years ago, Merriann Forrest says God gave her direction as to where to go and what to do. She took that advice, and today she is executive director of God's Home of Compassion, a nonprofit organization in Pocatello that provides food and clothing for the needy.
''When I was in prayer when the Nazarene churches got together on May 22, 2002, God sent me a verse,'' Forrest recalls. The verse which Forrest says God sent her was Corinthians 13:4. It reads, ''Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.'' ''When the Lord gave me this Scripture, he told me that we would not need to worry about anything but filling a need for today,'' Forrest says. ''He said to never judge anyone that comes through our center. That was his job. It didn't matter what was going on other than we meet the need for today.''
To aid in her new organization's philosophy and direction, Forrest kept in mind a second Bible verse from the same book, Corinthians 1:3-5. It reads: ''Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.''
God's Home of Compassion's first outreach was a clothing drive called ''Coat of Many Colors.'' A month after starting, the organization opened its food bank, called ''Manna Shop.'' Forrest says that from the founding of God's Home of Compassion, she wanted the group to not take federal grants so that it wouldn't be subject to strict rules and regulations on how to spend the money that comes their way.
Although the nonprofit group is located behind the Rocky Mountain Ministry, it not a church. It is a faithbased 501 (c)(3) organization coordinating with other community agencies, including religious organizations of various faiths, to help fill needs in the community. She also wants people to know that those involved in God's Home of Compassion do not proselytize.
''We don't tell people about our church unless people ask us about it,'' Forrest says. The groups's mission statement is ''We Strive to Reach the Hearts of the Lost and Brokenhearted.''
What started as an idea and two volunteers five years ago is now assisted by 30 volunteers. The center is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon. There are usually one or two volunteers running the center. The board of directors includes Shari Hartle, Marilyn Slade, Brandi Roberts, Beth Staley, Irene Nash, Lisa Frick and Claudette Hartle. Forrest is not on the board, but she meets with members once a month.
Forrest is particularly pleased that some of the people who have sought help from God's Home in the past are now financial backers of the organization - a fact she takes as a sign the group is indeed fulfilling its mission. Founded in 1895, the Church of the Nazarene is a Protestant Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement whose mission is ''to make Christlike disciples in the nations.''
The church, based in Kansas City, Mo., has about 640,000 members in the U.S. BY BROOKE ANDERSON For the Journal
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