 The
Mission in Oakland was known as Peniel Mission
from its founding in 1897
until
1998 when CityTeam became involved. This
was a unique ministry for a group of single women
who found it their calling to reach out to the homeless
society of Oakland.
At the turn of the Century, sailors from around the
world would come to the Mission. Sailors were not
only poor but also notorious for being a riotous lot,
and would often end up hungry and depressed.
It has always been the mission of Peniel and now
CityTeam Mission to offer food for the body, and also
food for the soul. The good news is that there is
a God who loves us all deeply, and who is eager to
forgive us, and reestablish us back into society to
serve him and our fellow man.
In the last
half of the 20th century, significant changes occurred in Oakland. People of wealth and means moved
out to the suburbs, and the sixties ushered in a "do
your own thing attitude". In some cases this
meant drug use, and eventually serious addiction problems
began on a large scale. Addiction always flourishes
where there is a high level of despair and hopelessness.
 The
drug addiction and abuse continue to this day, with
the primary drug of choice in our city being crack
cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines. The Mission has always made an
effort to meet the needs of the people as they becomse
apparent, so our emphasis in the last 20 years has
been to not only offer food and shelter, but also
offer a well-structured residential recovery programs.
Our highly successful programs has changed scores
of lives, and continues to grow in scope and effectiveness.
We at CityTeam in Oakland are determined to move
ahead with aggressive plans to expand the scope of
our work to include reaching out to the fastest growing
sector of homeless people in our city - battered and
underprivileged women with children, many of whom
are being eliminated from welfare rolls, and not making
a successful transition to independent living. We
intend to help women face this life transition successfully.
Our Mission Statement says:
"In obedience to Christ, passionately transforming individuals, their families and communities throughout the world "
We are thankful and privileged to be able to step
into the gap, and assist the poor and homeless people
of our city. We will continue to do so as long as
there is need, and God gives us strength! |
