CHARITY OVERVIEW
WHO WE ARE
Mercy United Kingdom (Mercy UK) exists to provide opportunities for young women to experience God’s unconditional love, forgiveness and life transforming power in partnership with her local Christian church.
We are a national charity, based in West Yorkshire, serving the church across the UK with our sought after services, which include:
· A free of charge, residential, Christian discipleship programme for women aged between 18 and 28 years old who are struggling with life controlling issues such as self harm, eating disorders or abuse in any of its forms.
· A free of charge support service to pastors and those who are seeking help in overcoming life controlling issues.
· Key note addresses, conference sessions or seminars sharing a message of freedom and hope, with a focus on (but not exclusive to) women’s ministry within churches.
· Training for pastoral teams and those who are helping or have a desire to help others in challenging situations.
Our global vision, as part of Mercy Ministries International (know known as Mercy Multiplied), is to be known as an effective and well-respected organisation dedicated to transforming lives of generations searching for truth and wholeness.
We are a registered Charity (Mercy Ministries UK, registration number 1111377), a company limited by guarantee (registration number 5373316) and a member of the Evangelical Alliance (membership number 187498).
THE STORY SO FAR
A Global Organisation
Founded in 1983 by Nancy Alcorn, Mercy Ministries has grown into an internationally respected charity delivering the unique Mercy Ministries residential Christian discipleship programme in homes all over the world.
The following timeline summarises our international story so far:
1983 - Mercy Ministries of America (MMOA) opens its first facility in Monroe, Louisiana, USA.
1996 - Mercy Ministries of America home in Nashville, TN opens
2005 - Mercy Ministries of America home in St. Louis, Missouri opens. Australia affiliate opens
2005 - Mercy Ministries of Canada office opens
2006 - Mercy Ministries UK home opens in Bradford, United Kingdom
2007 - New Zealand affiliate opens in Auckland, NZ. Land acquired in North Carolina and Florida for future homes
2009 - Mercy Ministries of America home in Sacramento, CA home opens. Australia affiliate closes
2010 - First Mercy Ministries of Canada home opens
2011 - MMUK Extension opens taking the MMUK home to a 20 bed facility
2015 - Mercy Ministries UK changes its name to Mercy United Kingdom (Mercy UK) and Mercy Ministries International is now known as Mercy Multiplied
A National Ministry
The vision for Mercy Ministries UK was launched in 1999 after Pastor Paul Scanlon, from LIFE Church Bradford met President and Founder Nancy Alcorn and heard about the work of Mercy Ministries. Convinced the UK needed homes too and passionate about reaching the broken, he acted as a guardian to protect and nurture the growth of Mercy Ministries in the UK.
Arianna Walker is the Executive Director of Mercy Ministries UK and had been intricately involved in the development of Mercy Ministries in the UK since its earliest beginnings in 1999. Her younger sister became the first girl from the UK to graduate the Mercy programme in America years before Mercy Ministries UK existed. Seeing her sister’s life utterly transformed became a catalyst for Arianna’s continued fervour and passion to pioneer the work of Mercy Ministries in the UK.
Five years later, in 2004, MMUK became an independent charity, registered with Companies House and the Charity Commission, governed by a UK Board of Trustees.
In 2006, we opened the UK’s first Mercy Ministries residential Christian discipleship programme and have since seen hundreds of incredible, courageous young women enter through our doors.
In September 2015, Mercy Ministries International became known as Mercy Multiplied and Mercy Ministries UK is now known as Mercy United Kingdom (Mercy UK).
As we approach our ten year anniversary, we are armed with plans for more homes across the UK and remains focused on continuing to make a difference to broken lives in the UK and Europe.
WHY WE EXIST
‘There is always a why behind the what’ Nancy Alcorn (MMI President and Founder)
The statistics for life controlling issues in the UK are alarming and these statistics include young women found within the walls of the local church.
· The UK has the highest rate of eating disorders and self-harm in Europe.
· Recent figures suggest that 1% of women in the UK have had a clinically diagnosed eating disorder and over 50% have a ‘serious issues with food’ that, would not, be clinically diagnosed but causes them significant trouble.
· 1 in 4 women will require treatment for depression at some time (National Institute for Clinical Excellence, 2003).
· Women are twice as likely to experience anxiety as men are. Of people with phobiasorOCD, about 60% are female. (The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity report, 2001).
Mercy UK exists to provide opportunities for young women to experience God’s unconditional love, forgiveness and life transforming power in partnership with her local church.
We look to address the root causes of issues young women face rather than merely medicating the symptoms or addressing the external behaviour.
We seek to help break the cycle of destruction by helping others find freedom and restoration through the services we provide. This in turn will positively affect the generation they will parent and drastically reduce the chances of history repeating it’s self.
WHO WE SERVE
He has sent us to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, to provide for those who grieve, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes’ Isaiah 61
Our range of services are designed to equip and empower the local church with expertise, support and resource to meet the needs of their congregation and community.
Our residential Christian discipleship programme is for women aged between 18 and 28 years old.
OUR FOUNDATIONS
The organisation has been founded and built on three core principles:
1. Our residential, Christian discipleship programme is provided completely free of charge.
2. We give away at least 10% of all our unrestricted donations received to other Christian ministries.
3. No money is accepted from any Governmental Body or other source that will compromise our practice of Christian principles within the residential discipleship programme or other services provided.
OUR CORE VALUES
· Passion for God
· Passion for People
· Passion for Excellence
OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH
· The Bible is the accurate and authoritative Word of God and applicable to our everyday lives.
· There is one God, the Creator, who exists in three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He is totally loving and completely holy.
· That Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only one who can reconcile us to God. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross in our place and rose again to prove His victory and empower us for life.
· In order to receive forgiveness for our sins we must repent and believe in Jesus Christ who equips us to live a new life.
· That God wants to heal and transform us so that we can live healthy and prosperous lives in order to help others more effectively.
· That our eternal destination is determined by our response to Jesus Christ and that He is coming back again.
Charity Overview 2015
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