Mercy Street is a Movement

Mercy Street: Learn More About Mercy Street from Brett VanderMolen on Vimeo.

We are a group of Christians who desire to see God glorified and the neighborhood of West Dallas transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Believing transformation best occurs in the context of relationship, we value people over programs. Therefore, we intentionally engage in mutually-transforming relationships with the residents of West Dallas, working with them to bring hope and healing to West Dallas.

We believe true and lasting change will be brought about by the residents, particularly the children, of this community. Mercy Street's hope is to raise a new generation of leaders from the community to be the change agents of tomorrow. Sometimes an infusion of hope and help from the outside is all that is needed to make a monumental difference. That is where our mentors, coaches, and volunteers come in. They are tasked with being an encourager, friend, and advisor to the children over the course of many years.

Mercy Street also seeks to be "incarnational" in our ministry efforts, meaning we relocate to the place where we minister in order to put flesh on the redemptive message of the gospel. Whether a physical relocation (like most of our staff) or a mental relocation (like most of our mentors), we invite everyone to take on the cares and concerns of the community as their own. We believe this is part of “loving our neighbors as ourselves.”

At Mercy Street, we prayerfully work together to push back against the thorns and thistles that have taken root in West Dallas so that God's Kingdom reign might be evident. Urban decay points to spiritual decay. As Christians it is our delightful responsibility to enter into the dark places of the world and let the light of Christ shine. Light always repels darkness.

Join the movement and shine the light of Christ in our community.

 

Quotes From the Street

  • Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows.
    ~ Hosea 1:8

  • Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with dwellings.
    ~ Isaiah 58:12

  • If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will be like the noon day.
    ~ Isaiah 58:10

  • I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.
    ~ Amos 5:24

  • but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
    ~ 1 Corinthians 4:7

  • I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
    ~ John 17:22-23

  • Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
    ~ Psalms 37:3

  • For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jews first and also to the Greeks.
    ~ Romans 1:16

  • "Gilberto helped me see that I grew up with privileges and wealth others simply don’t have."
    ~ Chris Clark

  • "Anthony and I love driving around listening to music. Sometimes we talk about the lyrics, sometimes we sit in silence just enjoying the harmonies together."
    ~ Greg Jenks

  • "I cannot describe the change I have seen in Wilmer. He is a different man and I am so excited about it."
    ~ Baxter Underwood

  • "Mentoring has grown us, our family needed to live outside the bounds of our family, our comfort and our convenience."
    ~ Sarah Stehlik

  • "If the people who are not following Christ are not intervening, who is going to intervene?"
    ~ Sarah Stehlik

  • "If you are waiting for a better time (to mentor) when you don't have things going on, you'll wait forever."
    ~ Sarah Stehlik

  • "Rodney has really become like part of the family. We love spending time with him."
    ~ Mickey Friedrich

  • "Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them."
    ~ Mother Teresa

  • "Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom"
    ~ George Washington Carver

  • "Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil."
    ~ C. S. Lewis

  • "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education."
    ~ Theodore Roosevelt

  • "A high school dropout is 8 times more likely to commit a violent crime than those who graduated from high school."

  • "A study by two prominent economists found that a 10 percentage point increase in graduation rates would reduce murder and assault rates by about 20 percent."

  • "Every Timothy needs a Paul; Every Ruth needs a Naomi."
    ~ Pastor Aaron Williams (Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Seattle WA)

  • "A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could."

  • "You really can change the world if you care enough."
    ~ Marion Wright Edelman

  • "Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them."
    ~ Lady Bird Johnson

See all quotes

Contact Us

214.905.1042
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3801 Holystone Street
Dallas, TX 75212