The Allentown Rescue Mission rescues, rehabilitates and restores men in crisis across the Greater Lehigh Valley.
Founded in 1900, we are a Gospel Rescue mission serving with compassion and the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.
“Ten years ago I was called to be a Rescue Mission Worker. I said I could not do it. When I wrestled with the Lord, He laid it on my heart to work for the cause of rescue missions-a poor drunkard to wrestle with the work of God.”
This is what Obadiah Becker, the Allentown Rescue Mission’s founder, said at a National Federation of Gospel Missions convention in 1908.
“About that time our little baby fell and struck the back of her head. Three weeks after the accident, she fell over, and one side of her body was completely paralyzed. I prayed to God that our baby might be saved.”
Obadiah told God that if his daughter would get well, he would take it as a sign to dedicate his life to rescue work. “My prayer was answered,” Obadiah explained. “The little girl is now running around, and I have consecrated my life to the work of God.”
For the last 125 years, the Allentown Rescue Mission has addressed the changing face of homelessness, offering Christ-centered compassion to men in crisis throughout the Greater Lehigh Valley.
The Allentown Rescue Mission is founded by Obadiah and Rose Becker in a kitchen on Hall Street between Turner and Chew Streets. In 1906 the Mission moved to North Third Street.
The Mission opens a new facility at 25 North Fourth Street that welcomes battered and wounded soldiers returning from World War I.
The Mission serves victims of the Great Depression, and then veterans of the Second World War and Korean War.
The Mission moves to its current facility at 355 Hamilton Street in the early 60s. Over the next two decades, the Mission takes in many returning veterans of the Vietnam War.
The Mission also adapts to the rising popularity of dangerous drugs, striving to meet the needs of each man who comes for help.
The problem of homelessness becomes more visible, due in part to the "de-institutionalization" of the mentally ill. Highly addictive crack cocaine and the AIDS epidemic continue to increase the complexity of homelessness.
Founded in 2008, the Clean Team Workforce was modeled after the New York based program Ready Willing Able which combines social services with paid work to help men ascend the economic ladder and become self-sufficient. The Clean Team Workforce trains its employees, evaluates their skills, and matches them with local employers.
The Mission keeps its doors open throughout the entire COVID-19 Pandemic, ensuring that men in crisis have safe shelter during unprecedented times.
The Mission celebrates 125 years of rescuing, restoring, and rehabilitating men in crisis throughout the Greater Lehigh Valley.
