Program Overview

 Quick facts on the weekly meetings of The Bridge:

The Bridge meets every Tuesday night, regardless of weather or other obstacles, as it has since February of 2004.

Three pastors each bring a 10-minute sermon on the same pre-selected topic to give the attendees a sense of how each pastor preaches and teaches the Word.

These pastors are from a variety of mainline denominations and represent churches from key strategic geographic areas. As a group, they are also ethnically diverse.

Participating pastors and their corresponding churches are hand-picked by Mission:USA staff, who attend services and conduct on-site evaluation of the service and congregation to ensure quality and their commitment to "the least of these.”

Our Bridge service features our House Band, with music written specifically for our Bridge services.

A different church provides childcare, refreshments, greeting and ushering each week, acting as a "Host Team.”

Assistance, advice, and expertise regarding jobs, food, and housing needs can be obtained from our staff members after the service, during the meal and fellowship time.

Response to The Bridge:

Over the past decade, there have been tens of thousands of instances of ex-offenders coming to The Bridge and being fed, both spiritually and physically.

Attendees report a strong sense of welcome, and they find the preaching to be high quality and relevant to their specific struggles.

Pastors have eagerly recruited well-discipled ex-offenders to their churches, and are coming back for more. Pastors report that they have been spiritually fed during the meetings, and have returned to be fed again.

Host teams report having a "short-term missions" style experience, and are eager to return. The multi-racial makeup of the service turns out to be a source of excitement and energy.