Video: When it’s cold, Missouri church turns on the heat for the homeless

KOLR10 News in Missouri reports:

About 45 homeless men made a Springfield church their sanctuary from the frigid temperatures on Tuesday night, thanks to the church’s shelter ministry. 

When it’s freezing, at or below 32 degrees, the doors of Springfield’s Church of Christ are open. 

“We do it to love people and this is a tangible way to show it,” volunteer Darren Smith said. “We do it for Jesus.” 

About 10 volunteers work during the coldest nights of the year to keep dozens of homeless men warm. The church is already part of safe-sleep shelter for women year round. 

The cold weather ministry is in its fourth year and runs on the support of its church community. 

“This ministry is funded almost completely by donations,” volunteer Ann Stagges said. 

The ministry works with Salvation Army to fill a temperature gap, since the Salvation Army’s Extreme Emergency Cold Weather Shelter opens once temperatures fall to 14 degrees or below.

Read the full story , and see our blog post from 2011 about the ministry.