To ring in the new year this weekend, Impact Ministries, a church in Boonville, Indiana, announced an audacious goal for 2026: Raise $1 million to build a homeless shelter.
“There is not a homeless shelter in Warrick County, and we firmly believe there should be,” the church’s pastor and director, Brad Shuck, said in a social media video announcing the campaign.
The church itself has already been a place of shelter and respite for people in the community facing homelessness, with a makeshift warming center set up during the winter, and a 15-day program for anyone who enters the church’s door in need of help.
During that period, the church works with individuals to help them find a job and start receiving an income. Once this milestone has been achieved, they are able to stay at the church and save their money so they can find a permanent home.
“In the course of one year,” Shuck said, “we have been able to take 24 people who were living on the streets and get them into homes.”
The fundraising campaign is a natural next step for these efforts, the church shared on social media, calling their future shelter “a place of safety, dignity, and life-changing support for our neighbors in need.”
The fundraising campaign asks 2,000 Impact Ministries congregants and supporters to give $500 to make the homeless shelter a reality.
“I’ll be the first,” Shuck said in the video. “My wife and I will give $500 toward this endeavor.”
Although the $1 million goal seems out of reach, he is firm in the belief that it can be raised by the community.
“We believe this goal can be reached, because we’ve already seen what God can do through the generosity of this community,” the church shared on Facebook, reminding readers about the 24 individuals they already helped in 2025. “That’s the power of compassion in action.”
Those who want to donate can contact the church at 812‑641‑0067 or give directly at People’s Bank in Boonville, Indiana by asking to donate to the Impact Ministries Building Fund.
“Every dollar placed in that fund will go only toward the construction of the new shelter,” Shuck emphasized.
While a location for the shelter has not yet been determined, Shuck said they want to stay within the city of Boonville in Warrick County.
“We are looking right now for a place where we can either build, or an existing structure we can utilize as Impact Ministries,” he said.
Once a location has been identified and built, the church added, the shelter will not just provide beds to people in need but will also offer mental health support, life coaching services, job coaching, and day-to-day assistance for people facing poverty and homelessness.
This endeavor comes as a growing number of churches use their properties and congregations to confront the housing crisis across the United States, stepping in to bridge gaps in services local and federal governments cannot — or will not — fill.
“Impact Ministries is taking the lead because we’ve been doing the day‑to‑day work with our homeless neighbors for a while now, and we feel a responsibility to move forward instead of waiting for someone else to do it,” the church shared in a comment on social media.
“That said, we’ve already had churches, organizations, and individuals express interest in partnering with us as the project grows. This isn’t something we’re trying to do alone — we’re simply the ones willing to start.”
And with the generosity of members of the community, Shuck said, transformation is possible.
“With your help, we can begin construction this year or early next year,” Impact Ministries concluded on Facebook. “Together, we can — and we will — make a difference.”
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Header image by Jonny Gios on Unsplash
