Addiction and homelessness are large problems in America, even in the small town of Winchester, Kentucky. However, community members Steven and Kelly Slone are actively working to bring hope to those that need it most.
Kingdom Mission Outreach (KMO), located on 26 East Broadway in downtown Winchester, helps those in need get food, clothes, and support from people who care about them and their future.
Every Thursday at 5:00 pm, the Slones, accompanied by a group of people, go on outreaches where they walk the streets of Winchester, praying with the homeless and meeting them where they are.
Steven and Kelly Slone founded KMO on the ideals of hope, compassion, and support. The KMO mission statement is dual as Kelly explained.
“The first one is the Great Commission, which is to go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in,” Kelly said.“The second part is to help bring the body of Christ back together through serving.”
In addition to their Thursday outreaches, every Friday evening KMO has a clothing bank from 6:15-7:00 pm, with dinner and service following. What started out as around 50 people gathering for clothing, warm food, and a hopeful message, soon turned into over 100 people from various backgrounds coming to KMO for support.
“We don’t ask for any money, we don’t ask if they even live in this area,” Kelly said. “If they come and are in need, we’re gonna help.”
Not only do the people at Kingdom Mission Outreach believe in aiding people with their physical needs, they also prioritize the
problems that are unseen.
“My heart is to give them hope and lead them to what the answer is, and that’s Jesus,” Steven said. “That’s their hope, and that’s the thing that will give them the strength and the direction to be able to come out of addiction and be who God created them to be.”
As the Christmas season approaches, KMO is in need of volunteers to help decorate the space for the holidays. They’re hosting a Christmas dinner on December 26th, and want the environment to be as comforting and joyful as any Winchester family’s home.
“We will be having Christmas dinner where we like to have presents for all the children,” Kelly said. “We want them to feel love and hope. This is the season where there’s a lot of sadness and depression for people who aren’t with their families, so we get that opportunity to be the light and be the family that they are missing.”
KMO has a building that is filled with all of the items for their clothing drive. However, this building does not have heating in it.
Calvary Christian Church took their youth group as part of their fall retreat to KMO, most of these kids being GRC students. The students went and helped move out clothes, toys, blankets, and more from the building so the heating could be installed.
“All the work they did in a couple of hours, it would’ve taken us a week,” Steven said. “And actually, because of them, we’re
going to have heating in there before it gets cold.The Lord used them to help us with something that we couldn’t have done.”
Not only did this project help out the people at KMO and the people in need who use the clothing drive, but it made a lasting impact on the students who served as well. Matthew Jones, a junior at GRC, was one of these students.
“It’s amazing all that they are able to do serving the community, all the homeless and all the recovering addicts,” Jones said. “To be able to give back to them and to help further their mission is really fulfilling and I was so grateful for that opportunity.”
The people at KMO can always use an extra hand in helping others believe that they deserve to be seen. KMO is still accepting new volunteers and donations for the Christmas season.
“We don’t want it to be a food line where we’re not even looking at them,” Kelly said. “We want them to feel so loved because that’s what Jesus is like: excellence. And we want them to feel that excellence and service at all times.”
