Love, In the Name of Christ - Heartland

Our mission is to mobilize local churches to transform lives and communities In the Name of Christ. Working with our partner churches, we serve the communities of Corcoran, Delano, Greenfield, Howard Lake, Independence, Loretto, Maple Plain, Mayer, Montrose, Rockford, Watertown, and Waverly, Minnesota.

Poverty exists. And, it exists in our backyards.

Existing resources operating independently are often not adequate to meet current and growing levels of need. One church alone cannot deal with all the complex issues of poverty. It takes churches working together - across denominational lines - to meet these multifaceted needs. Love INC can do what the others can't. Agencies, charities and government can provide a safety net to help those in need, but they can't love and bring transformation like Love In the Name of Christ can.

2011 was an incredible year for Love INC - Heartland. We met over 13,000 needs through the help of 1,782 volunteers and our 26 partner churches. In total, we served 8% of the population in the 12 communities we serve.

Reflecting the difficult economy, our 2012 year-to-date requests for assistance are up dramatically. We have already met more than 17,000 individual needs - a number that puts us significantly ahead of this time last year.

One of our greatest strengths is the unwavering generosity of our donors. On behalf of Love INC - Heartland, our partner churches, and our communities, we thank you for your support.

Stories of Love:

A distraught mother arrived in our office early one morning. She introduced us to her adolescent son. She was not the custodial parent, but her son had unexpectedly been dropped off at her house by the relatives taking care of him. He came to her with his most valued possession – his mountain bike – and little else. His first night there, his bike was stolen. The young teen had nothing of is own in this abrupt, new setting. The mother requested the basic necessities that she could not afford including deodorant, toothbrush, towels and clothing for her son. We told her we would do our best and we prayed with them. That day a donation from a retail store arrived and had everything she had asked for. Proving how He loves us – down to the details – a second generous donation that day included a new mountain bike!

A neighbor we will call Christina came to us needing car repairs. Her car was old and falling apart but she couldn’t afford a new one. Love INC contacted a gentleman who had offered to help with automotive repair for those in need. Christina’s car needed major front end repair that would have cost her over $3000 at a repair shop. Living on a limited income, that bill might as well have been $1 million. But our God is amazing. You see, Christina designs web pages and this gentleman knew he needed a web page to expand his business. They worked out the cost between them. God not only repairs cars, he repairs lives!