A town in Pennsylvania was once the producer of eighty percent of the world’s glass. The Three Stooges got their start there. The city was booming and productive. Now, that same city is run down; the best students in the local education system are, on average, three grades behind; and the racial disparities and segregation are stomach turning–a huge, long building was placed as it was in order to separate a large section of town deemed to be worse from the rest of the town. This town is Jeannette, a sprawling city that is now considered rural because of qualifications such as not having a grocery store.

In the midst of the fallen glass city, Mosaic Community Church helps to take up the pieces and build God’s church–a beautiful mosaic of diverse people, talents, and cultures.

Mosaic Community Church has many programs that are meant to be redemptive: to restore dignity and to empower residents of Jeannete. They have an afterschool program that includes homework help and activities that build character, a Christmas program in which parents can buy gifts at a heavily reduced price for their families, and a program in which families can buy fresh grown produce at a low price. Their philosophy of having families participate in helping themselves, such as through paying a small price for goods, is effective in giving dignity instead of giving dehumanizing handouts. The ministries are not meant to be a band-aid in relieving the pains of poverty, but to restore people holistically and slowly develop the community.