When Shepherd Community first began, it wasn’t the impressive organization you see today.

“We were small, intimate, but we were also mighty,” recalls Emilie Balliett who has faithfully served in a myriad of roles at Shepherd Community since 1998. “We ate, slept, lived, everything Shepherd in those days. The kids even called our After-School program, going to ‘church.’ Even our Christmas get-together was in Jay’s home. We were truly like family. We did a lot to build a community with our Shepherd family and I think that’s why we treated our neighbors the same. We wanted them to be a part of the special thing we had going on inside the building and our hearts. ‘The family that prays together stays together.’

“There were countless times we’d circle up right in the office at Shepherd and pray for things and for each other. I remember finances being so very tight that we didn’t know if we’d be paid certain weeks. We’d pray specifically and I would see God direct people to come through our doors that very day stating they felt moved by God to give us a certain large check and it would be for the exact amount that we needed. God moved in such mighty and tangible ways. I was continuously amazed and humbled by God’s extravagant grace that He showered on us.”

With humble beginnings, Shepherd’s heart to serve our neighbors is made possible through the continued faithfulness and generosity of our many partners over the last 40 years. And it’s through this same commitment to being a family and serving our neighbor families that Shepherd looks to the next 40 years with confidence and hope.