HISTORY OF ODM

Open Door Ministries has grown over the years as an extension of Open Door Fellowship Church. Open Door Fellowship was started in 1984 for the express purpose of reaching the low income populations in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The church has always had a desire to help people with basic needs such as housing, food, clothing, education, job opportunities, etc. With these goals, it wasn’t long before specific people in the church were starting programs that helped people in these ways. In the early 90’s a ministry to at-risk youth developed. Tutoring and mentoring were key components of the youth ministry. TRYAD, a ministry to the disabled, started around this time as well. In 1996, the Treasure House, a home for single moms, and Teen House, a home for girls living on the streets began. In 1997, a weekly meal for the neighborhood began to be served. With all of these programs starting in a grass roots fashion, the church realized they needed a structure to manage them, so in May of 1997 Open Door Ministries was created. A board was constituted in December 1997 and the new organization received its 501c3 in 1999.