In the summer of 1991, five men gathered in a garage for prayer to ask God’s guidance as they went into drug-infested neighborhoods. Their objectives were to help men and women who were addicted to drugs and alcohol get into treatment. This started the ball rolling.

On April 4, 1992, GROUP (God Recognizes Our Ultimate Potential) Ministries, Inc. opened its offices at 1333 Jefferson Avenue, in a drug-ridden community. While clergy, elected officials, friends, and visitors celebrated our grand opening, the phone rang, it was a male voice who had heard about GROUP Ministries and was seeking help to get treatment. From that point on, our phones have not stopped ringing. The number of personal contacts we have made in the community is awesome; over 150, 000 people. This ministry has truly been a blessing to our community.

The work started with three employees, two full-time and one part-time, with a combined salary base of $400.00 weekly. We now have 23 employees, with 100 to 150 volunteers. The support of clergy, elected officials, local businesses, and the community has enabled our budget to reach $600,000. Our Board of Directors is made up of concerned citizens from the community, professionals, paraprofessionals, local businessmen and women, community leaders, and clergy who have the community’s interest at heart.

Over the years, GROUP Ministries, Inc., provided several varied programming to the community.

HARP:

HIV/AIDS Response Project, GROUP Ministries is dedicated to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. The HARP ministry was engaged in prevention activity on several fronts:

• THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (CDI)- Leadership development.
• THE PEER EDUCATION INITIATIVE- through street outreach, substance users, sex trade workers, inmates, and the community at large were educated to change behaviors.
• CRIMINAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE (CJI)-provides several services to individuals incarcerated in New York State Correctional Facilities.

EMPOWERMENT:

• The Empowerment Plan was developed to address the needs of the drug addict as well as his or her family.

PRISON MINISTRY:

• GROUP Ministries, Inc. Prison Ministry, in conjunction with Calvary Baptist Church served three local correctional facilities: Erie County Holding Center; the Youth Detention Center; and the Erie County Correctional Facility.

T.A.G. (Teen Awareness Group)

• Tag for Life was a group of 50 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 years of age. They meet three times a week, from 5-8 PM

HOSPITAL MINISTRY:

• Our hospital ministry is a special kind of service with a dual component. It is designed to show compassion to those persons whom society has turned its back on (substance abusers, sex trade workers, people living with HIV; and those persons who are homeless).
• And, visiting and ministering to the sick.

SUPERVISED LIVING:

• Supervised Living is a component of our Empowerment Program. We realized and understood that people recovering from any type of abuse or addiction need a safe place to live.

Fed-Co Ministries:

• Feed-Educate-Direct-Community Oppressed- “The Ministry that Feeds Your Needs.”
• Fed-Co started in 1992 as a volunteer program in which meals were prepared and taken to the street and given to the needy, along with talking about “the” Good News.
• Fed-Co gave birth to the present Food Pantry that has served well over 100,000

STREET OUTREACH:

• Provide materials and education to the public about current epidemics, testing, and available vaccines.

COMMUNITY HEALTH MINISTRY:

• Devoted to collaborating with various health service providers.