Ministry Purpose: We were incorporated as a religious organization to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Body of Christ in this specialty ministry of alcoholics, drug addicts and ex-offenders. It is our goal to train one member of your church to be an Ambassador to the Mission Gate so that we might pass on all that we know with all that we have to your fellowship as a resource to your church.

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What you need to do is to set up a Christmas Tree in your church and we will provide you paper angels to decorate it with. Each angel will have the name, age, sex, address, phone and guardian of a child of a Christian prisoner or ex-offender. You call the angel^s guardian and determine what range of gifts the children would like and then purchase and deliver them to the family^s home. It is in the home that the real ministry begins. This is an excellent opportunity for you to share the Gospel with the children and their guardian.

Another way is to have angel decorations that only have the age and gender of a child. What you do is have the members of your church take an angel and then buy a gift appropriate to the information on the angel and then return it to the tree. Have your youth group have a gift wrapping party and then bring the gifts to our gift distribution center the day before the party. We then give out the gifts to the children at our Christmas Party. These are the children and their needy friends that we couldn^t reach with a home visit.

How can our business participate? Retail stores can set up a Christmas Tree in their store and we will provide you with paper angels with the age and gender of a needy child. You then have your shoppers take an angel and shop a gift for that angel in your store. When the gift is purchased from you, the shopper leaves the gift under the tree and then the day before our party, you bring the gifts to our gift distribution center. Offices can do the same with their employees and visitors. And of course, we are dependent on your generous gift to us so that we can afford this outreach.

How can our family participate?

We will provide your family with a family that is in need. You then can shop the gifts that your budget will allow and then bring the gifts out to the family and present the Gospel. Some volunteers have brought out a whole Christmas dinner, some have brought out a fully decorated Christmas tree, and others have given vehicles, etc. This all depends on your financial ability to bless the family.

Another way is to have each of your children purchase a gift that they would like to receive and then come to our party and give that gift to a child of same age and gender. This teaches your child to be unselfish and unconditional. It can be quite a ministry to your family if you do this right.

And another way for your family to help is to volunteer for one of our Christmas parties.

click here to find out to volunteer

Volunteer to help at our Christmas Party! We have Christmas parties in North St. Louis, West St. Louis County and in Steelville MO. All of the parties need volunteers to re-wrap the gifts, outside security, ushers, gift distributors, choirs, and preachers to give the Gospel. We also bless single mothers at the St. Louis Hope House and we bless the children that visit their parent in the Hall Street Workhouse and St. Louis City Justice Center.

WE ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE ANGEL TREE PROJECT OR TREE OF LIGHTS

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FORT GOOD SHEPHERD RANCH

Brief History: In the 1800's the property was an Indian Reservation and was a popular place for community living, hunting and fishing. Until one day two hunters purchased part of the land for their private hunting pursuits and named it Idlewild Lodge. Soon their wives joined them and they had to include indoor plumbing to suit their needs. Mid-1900^s changed the property hands over to a group that made it Broken Arrow Resort and it was successfully marketed as one of the finest resorts on the Meramec River. Well, the Lodge burned down and this group sold out to Ed Powers, a St. Louis businessman. He and his wife developed the land to provide themselves an estate to live at and accomodate their many guests. Ed died and his wife sold the property to Mission Gate in the September of 1999. Since that time we have been in the continuing process of developing the land and improving the buildings and cabins to suit our ministry needs.

Grand Lodge: This is an excellant place to have Adult Meetings and planning sessions away from any disturbances with a fresh country breeze and a warm sun in the presence of the Lord. It was constructed by master craftsmen and its 3,000 sq ft has a living room, dining room, kitchen, 2 offices, great room, 1 guest bedroom, a meeting room, parlor and 2 full bathrooms complete with a sauna and sunken roman tub.

Bunkhouse: A favorite for 9 men that includes sleeping accommodations with a private bathroom and shower, kitchen, and a country decorated grand room. It dates back to the early 1800^s and was brought to the ranch piece by numbered piece for reconstruction by expert craftsmen. It was completely refinished inside and out in the Summer of 2003. Countless numbers of ex-offenders have made it their home they lift up the Lord in their one year aftercare program with us.

Horse Stables: This three story building was once located in Ladue MO and dates back to the early 1800's and was transported to the ranch by numbered logs and reconstructed by expert craftsmen. Former inmate James Hellyer is the stable master for our 10 well groomed and trained riding horses that include: Tennesee Walking Horses, Spotted Saddle Horse, Paint and Quarter Horses. Experienced residents adopt a horse to care for and ride on our breathtaking trails!

Caretaker Cabin: The "left overs" from the Grand Lodge were more than sufficient to construct a 3 bedroom log home that is occupied by Ed and Rose Radousky and their lovely daughter Nicole. Ed is our right hand man when we need counseling of our residents on a day-to-day basis. He has 22 years of experience as an inmate in the Missouri Department of Corrections and has been a friend of Rick Mathes since 1987  He is well acquainted with the special needs and concerns of our ex-offender residents having been one for so long himself.

Resident Cabins: There are 20 resident cabins that are usually fully occupied by carefully selected Christian ex-offenders and former alcoholics and drug addicts that are in our one year aftercare program. They are supervised by our staff supervisor Ed Radousky who has 22 years experience with the Missouri Department of Corections that makes him ideally suited to meet the needs of our residents. Residents are assigned 2 hour weekly work projects for the property upkeep.

Club House: A wonderful place for our residents or visiting guests to shoot some pool, play foozball, cuddle up in front of the fire place or just snuggle in a cozy chair to study the Word. It is the place where many Bible studies and worship services are held. It includes a fully equipped kitchen and private bathroom for guest and resident use. As well as the washer and dryer that is mostly frequented by the residents as they do their wash. Recently refurbished inside and out, it is the central location of all that is going on and always humming with praise music and fun, food and fellowship.

Pavillion: We recently had constructed a 40 by 40 outdoor and covered pavillion for picnicing and to have praise teams plug in their instruments and bless the residents, guests and those floating by in their canoes, rafts, and floaters down the Meramenc River with music that lifts up the name of Jesus.

Trailblazer: This building has 10 individual units for residents that includes a galley kitchen, living area, full bathroom and private bedroom. (Constructed 2004)

Pathfinder: This building has 8 individual units for residents that includes a full kitchen, large living area, full bathroom and private bedroom. (Constructed 2004)

Meramec River: Canoeing and fishings are real popular along our half mile of river frontage. Many go upstream and canoe one hour down stream to the Fort or continue another 2 hours to Bird^s Nest Resort where we drive down and pick them up for their return to the ranch. A special time is when a local church has a baptism service at our 20 cross and then walk down into the river to baptize. Passing visiting canoers can be heard saying, "Praise the Lord" as they witness these special services and hear us singing praise songs as loud as we can. The canoers and floaters are a mission field all by themselves!

Stillwaters Pond: The fishermen residents put the fish they don^t take home for dinner into our pond so that visitors may fish off of the dam and really enjoy a great catch. It^s been rumored that the fish actually jump on the shore in the joy of blessing God^s faithful. The pond is in the center of our future "Mission Village" project that we are currently planning and promoting.

Scary Cave: We recently discovered a scary cave that you can walk in. The first thing you will notice is the bones of many animals that were apparently dinner for some as yet unknown beast. The ceiling is smudged with soot from camp fires that some say were first used by the indians when this ranch was an indian reservation. One brave soul went quite a ways into the cave but lost his nerve when he heard weird animal sounds ahead of him. Oooooooo!

Rick and Strawberry click here to see more photos

Trish and Little Thunder

We exist to bless the Body of Christ at NO CHARGE with:

1. Youth Group weekend retreats and work projects.
2. Church special services and baptisms.
3. Ministerial Alliance meetings for member churches.
4. Chamber of Commerce meetings for Cuba and Steelville MO.
5. Weekend visits by the residents families.
6. Short retreats for weary pastors and visiting missionaries.
7. Quarterly open-house cookouts with fun, food, and fellowship.
8. Praise concerts by various praise teams locally or in transit.
9. Adult Bible study retreats and special events.
10. Weddings, baptisms, funerals or anniversary get togethers

We prayerfully request that you hold this local ministry up in prayer and if so led will include us in your mission giving on a regular basis, one time offering or end of year tax write-off. We can only do what your generous check will provide and we trust in you to support this work for the Lord as we continue to be a blessing to the local communinity and all the participating churches.

Fort Good Shepherd is located in Cuba, Missouri, 4 miles south of Hwy 44 on Hwy 19

Call us to schedule your event: 573-885-1445