Robert McCormack suddenly found himself with no place to live 10 years ago. His bank account had been wiped out. He had his two little girls in the back seat and their car was running out of gas on Bozeman [Montana’s] 19th Avenue.

“I was kind of desperate,” McCormack recalled. “I remember sitting by the side of the road, without any gas or money, without a cellphone, I didn’t have a dollar to my name, looking at my little girls in the rear-view, not knowing what I was going to do.

“I walked into a church, and it changed everything.”

Love INC is not a Christian congregation, but when workers from diverse church histories, inherited suspicions, and religious stereotypes come face to face they are facing more than each other… The single most effective and persuasive reason for the witness of Love INC to be taken with utmost seriousness is that they are one.

Service to people in need is not first of all some kind of help. The first service is recognition. Those who serve come first to give value to people in need, the marginalized, the displaced. Giving value is the first service rendered. This is so because to Christian servants, service to those in need is service equal to equal, image of God to image of God.

Amy had never worked outside the home or managed money. To keep her two youngest out of foster care, she needed to figure out how to do both, fast. “From the start, I was willing to do whatever it took to get healthy, in a safe environment,” said Amy. “I didn’t want a handout; I needed help.”

Michael reached out to Love INC National and started the process of bringing a Love INC to Tampa, Florida. As he began meeting with churches and social service agencies to share the mission of Love INC, Michael realized, “It was generally agreed that the missing component of addressing poverty was the churches and their resources.” Michael gained community-wide momentum.

It is true, tragically so, that people can serve others in need and undergo no transformation. Likewise it is true, tragically so, that the persons being served can undergo no transformation either. The exchange of “services” is reduced to a transaction and the assistance rendered has been reduced to a commodity.

All such activity can be passed and quantified and look good while at the same time serving only to dehumanize all parties involved.

In June of last year, Louisa and Jeremy were leaning toward divorce, relationally and financially burned out. They turned to IMPACT, the weekly transformational ministry program coordinated by Love INC of Littleton.

“At first,” shares Lousia, “We kind of did it because we figured what’s the worst that could happen? It was difficult in the beginning. We doubted it, but it’s one of those things that takes time before you see the fruit of the hard labor.”

One of Love INC Kenya’s five affiliates serves the Githogoro slum and sees countless needs, many of which point back to the same root issue – poor sanitation. Without safe, affordable, and accessible drinking water, residents face a high risk of contracting communicable diseases such as typhoid and cholera.

Seeking a lasting solution to this problem, Love INC helped 12 agencies, 12 churches, and about 150 volunteers launch “The Githogoro I Want”.

Dillon Area Love INC (Montana) serves a strong, proud ranching community that is experiencing high levels of underemployment among other struggles.

In December 2016, following a development process with Love INC National, seven local Christian churches, in partnership with Love INC, opened a Love INC Clearinghouse. Recently, hardships facing Dillon residents increased when three agencies closed. But God had a plan.

A small group of men and women carried the vision for what would, in 2003, become Love INC of Greater O’Brien County. They prayed and worked hard to set the table for churches in their community to participate in life transformation.

One of those vision carriers, Mark Brown, is now a volunteer Faith & Finances facilitator in the Greater O’Brien transformational ministry program as well as a Faith & Finances lead trainer for Love INC communities across the country. He is recognized for heart, passion, and ability.