Dear friend,
At age 15 in 1958, while taking care of lawns at an apartment complex, the Lord gave me a vision: I saw a map of the Soviet Union in the sky and a voice said: "Remember this apartment complex plan - you'll build it when you're an old man." After serving 40 years in mission work that included 17 years in the USSR and Russia, I'm now in my upper-70s, so I guess I'm old enough to start this new project!
In my previous message, I wrote about our *free* 1-year, 6-course training program "Social Ministry of the Church" that's in English and Russian to train people how to care for the disabled. The purpose of these courses is to prepare people for "Building the ARC" - an Agape Restoration Community Christian housing co-op with a built-in community room / chapel. Most of the units will be wheelchair-accessible because of the aging of the "Baby Boomer" generation: 76 million people born between 1946 and 1965 have reached or are reaching retirement age (10,000/day = 3,650,000/year!), at which time 45% of these people are already disabled.
And as they continue aging, 70% of them will become disabled and require accessible housing or nursing home care before they pass on. This is a huge social concern: 70% of 3,650,000 people = 2,550,000 disabled people per year for the next 20 years = over 50 million people! Medicare will be insolvent by 2026 and Social Security will reach insolvency by 2034, the trustees of these funds report, so they won't be able to care for all these people at present levels. Our basic problem, however, is that like most people, we don't want to think about such things... until it's too late. Then, when we're too old and too feeble to pack up and move, our family may well be too far away or just too busy with their own jobs and family issues.
Christ commanded His disciples to "Bring in the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind, go into the highways and the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that My house may be full" (Luke 14:21-23). This defines our ultimate target audience and our goal, but how can we "compel them to come in" unless they can come in? Why aren't the churches full? In many cases the "maimed, the lame and blind" can hardly get out of their homes, and getting transported to church is difficult or flat-out impossible.
Also, many church buildings aren't very wheelchair-accessible. Solution: "Build the ARC": a 12-unit building that forms an accessible, affordable Christian housing co-op including a community room/chapel, most living units wheelchair-accessible, plus parking spaces just outside wide enough for wheelchair use right next to the buildings. This is called "Aging in Place" or "MAGIC" – short for "Multi-Ability & -Generational Inclusive Communities," not being excluded, sent away to a senior living center or nursing home. And our "Social Ministry of the Church" courses will train the healthier residents as "home healthcare workers" to care for those who need it.
This isn't just one heart-touching story of one child with a disability -- it's Over 50 Million People, a huge percentage of our whole country! Perhaps you have a family member who needs accessible housing, or you're an "empty-nester" in your 50s, 60s, or 70s and you'd like to travel more, maybe do some short-term mission work, but who will take care of your house? Get one of our co-op units! (Hint: it's a lot easier to move when you're healthy than when you're crippled with arthritis, or your back or knees have worn out, or you've had a stroke, etc.) Consider NOW getting a home in our Christian community!
Most homes, condo and townhouse communities in our greater Pittsburgh area have at least 1/2 to 1 flight of stairs, often 2 or 3 flights, creating a nearly-insurmountable problem for people with disabilities: they often can't climb stairs. Why not add an elevator or a stair lift? In an emergency such as a fire or when the electricity goes out or the elevator breaks, they could be trapped if depending on an elevator or a stair lift. Disabled people can't use the stairs and it's awfully hard to carry them in a wheelchair down the stairs - we've learned that the hard way! With most older couples it's the man who ages first and becomes disabled: he very likely weighs more than his wife who often injures her back or knees trying to lift or carry him. Also, we've met many older people - able-bodied and disabled - who have been trapped in an elevator so now refuse to ride them. Armed with such experiences, we aim to change the built environment for these people!
We began functioning since 1998 as Agape Restoration Society, a donor-advised fund of WaterStone.org, a foundation through which people can channel their benevolent donations but only to other non-profits. In 2017, we incorporated as Agape Restoration Society Inc., an IRS-recognized non-profit corporation, so that we can disburse funds to for-profit architects and builders. We are listed with Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Continue reading these pages to see our sketches. Enroll in our free courses to see how YOU can do diakonia-ministry!
Please check out our detailed info about "having a home in the ARC." You can see a preview HERE.
Also, here's how to share this project with others: help us find more people who may need accessible housing and people who can help fund this project. And Join "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum to Build the ARC!
Will you be praying for and pulling for us in this project? If so, please use the Subscribe link below. Thanks in advance!
Yours sincerely,
"Dr. Bob"
Robert D. Hosken, M.Min., M.Th.S., D.Min.
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