As the smell of ribs, brisket, and chicken floated through the Texas air, people gathered to support a new initiative to help Dallas’ homeless by offering all-encompassing support.

The Joshua Center, operated by Bring the Light Ministries, will become an all-in-one institution to help people get off the streets by bringing them into a community and equipping them with the skills necessary to build a new life.

Founded by Pastor Earl Fitzsimmons, Bring the Light Ministries focuses on assisting the homeless by not only meeting their immediate needs such as nutrition and hygiene but by discipling people to help them get back on their feet.

The ministry “is dedicated to bringing the light to the lost, broken or starving through spiritual discipleship, the word of God, and meeting human needs.”

A Christian organization, Bring the Light’s guiding verse is Matthew 5:16, where Jesus instructed His followers to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

On August 20, Bring the Light hosted a Barbecue cook-off on the grounds of the future Joshua Center to raise awareness and money for its completion. The building is currently in the process of being gutted and renovated, but upon its completion, it will house people as they learn vocations and begin the process of becoming self-sufficient.

On a tour of the facilities, Pastor Fitzsimmons told The Dallas Express that the Joshua Center “will house 70 people, half men, half women.” As residents go through the program, they will begin on the first floor before moving to the second floor as they develop more skills and responsibilities.

After that, Fitzsimmons explained, “they’ll move to local areas in clusters, in a department. So they’ll still have support, and they’ll still stay involved with the center.” Altogether, the Joshua Center programs will last roughly three years.

During their time at the Joshua Center, people will have the opportunity to learn a variety of trades and skills. “By providing vocational training, education, and life skills,” the center explained, “our residents will be given the tools they need to create a new life for themselves. Our residents will reenter society as empowered and successful individuals who can provide for themselves.”

Pastor Fitzsimmons noted that residents could learn to become welders, plumbers, electricians, chiefs, at-home entrepreneurs, IT specialists, and even receive academic training to go to college.

The center will house a full kitchen, a robust medical department, a library, and opportunities for residents to begin earning money for themselves by working in the planned bakery or coffee shop.

A central aspect of the Joshua Center is its focus on spiritually ministering to the homeless people they assist. “They need a place that not only provides for their physical and educational needs,” the center noted, “but where they can find new life in Christ.”

Pastor Fitzsimmons had himself destitute and struggled with addiction earlier in his life. He explained his personal experience in overcoming those hardships, informed his approach, and enabled him to meet people where they are.

He told The Dallas Express, “I’m on a rescue mission because somewhere behind a dumpster, hitting a crack pipe, and drinking out of a bottle of Jack is another Earl, and I’m going to find him.”

The Joshua Center is currently in Phase 1 of its building program, requiring roughly $3.2 million. Phase 2 will focus on providing a safe house and necessary support for survivors of sex trafficking, and Phase 3 will target homeless veterans in the area.

On October 22, Bring the Light Ministries will hold a fundraising gala to raise support for the Joshua Center.

The city of Dallas has struggled with a growing number of homeless and vagrant individuals with concerns about the effectiveness of the government programs being raised. Groups of armed activists have even driven off police and city officials as they attempted to clean encampments in recent weeks, as reported by The Dallas Express. Roughly 4,000 people are homeless, or vagrants in Dallas County, and despite initiatives by the city to get people off the streets, little progress appears to have been made through those means.