NASHVILLE, TN — Celebrating 40 years of ministry, Mercy Multiplied—a vision birthed when Founder and President Nancy Alcorn launched a single residential home in 1983 to share the hope of Christ with women in need—has now grown to include six locations throughout the United States and abroad. In addition to the Residential Programs, the ministry’s Outpatient Programs and respected resources, including the popular Keys to Freedom discipleship study, have impacted thousands from all walks of life.
Mercy Multiplied supporters will gather for Mercy’s 40th Anniversary celebration on Friday, December 8, at the Music City Center in Nashville, TN. The Merry Mercy Christmas Benefit will highlight stories of transformation, and longtime friend of Mercy, GRAMMY award-winning Gospel Music artist CeCe Winans, will provide musical entertainment.
Headquartered in Nashville, TN, the ministry’s Residential and Outpatient Programs are offered free-of-charge, with locations in Nashville, TN; Sacramento, CA; St. Louis, MO; West Monroe, LA; Canada; and the United Kingdom, and other international locations that facilitate many of Mercy’s Outreach Services. The organization also owns property in the panhandle of Florida for a future location. The ministry was built upon three founding principles: provide Residential and Outpatient Programs free-of-charge, tithe as a ministry to other organizations that are helping people, and do not take any state or federal funding that restricts the freedom to share about Jesus Christ.
Founder and President Nancy Alcorn spent a total of eight years working for the government in the state of TN. The first five years she worked in the Department of Corrections in a juvenile girl’s prison. For the next three years she worked in the emergency child protective services unit in Nashville, TN investigating child abuse cases. Working for the state on a daily basis gave her direct encounters with government programs that were not producing permanent results that exemplified changed lives. She recognized the inadequacies of these programs, and that true transformation would never come as the result of any government system.
“Women were given no hope at these facilities,” says Alcorn. “They were told they were damaged goods because of all the things that they had done wrong and the things that had been done wrong to them, that they would never change. Because of my own faith, I knew that just wasn’t true. I knew with Christ, they could change, but because of the separation of church and state, I could not share the one thing that could bring healing and transformation to their lives.” She adds, “I decided to start Mercy so hurting young women could be given hope and a future.”
The foundation of Mercy Multiplied is built upon its free-of-charge Residential Program with residential homes in Nashville, TN, and Sacramento, CA. These services are offered to women ages 13-32, and the program lasts 6-9 months. At the Nashville location, residents who are minors can continue their education, so they do not fall behind in school. It is also the location where women facing an unplanned pregnancy are housed. Pregnant residents participate in a series of decision-making classes so they can make their own informed decision to parent or place their child for adoption. They also receive free prenatal care, parenting classes, and more. There is also an in-house licensed adoption agency where adoptions are facilitated should a resident choose to place her child for adoption.
The average age of entry of Mercy is 26 years old. In a recent former resident survey 87% of respondents said would recommend Mercy, while 9 out of 10 of them said their hope was restored. More than half of the former residents reported that their family and/or friends have experienced their own personal life transformation or restored hope as a result of their time at Mercy.
After seeing thousands of lives transformed through its Residential Programs, the decision was made to develop a discipleship study incorporating the same principles that had proven successful in the program. Keys to Freedom is an eight-week discipleship study that was launched in 2017. This study is a means to get those principles into the hands of every person who wants to live free and stay free in Christ. Today it is available in five different languages, and groups or individuals in 26 countries have completed the study.
Mercy also offers resources and training to better equip those who have a heart to help those who are struggling and hurting, including the MPower workshop. At this workshop, men and women learn specific ways to help hurting people, engage in real talk with ministry and mental health professionals, and learn how to have healthy boundaries for themselves and those they are helping.
In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization was called to help even more people and transitioned the West Monroe, LA location into the first free-of-charge Outpatient Program. The Mercy Multiplied Center for Wellness and Counseling initially offered outpatient counseling to women ages 13 and older. Today, due to the great need for these services, Mercy also offers outpatient services to men; a Mercy first! In 2022, part of the St. Louis location was converted to a Center for Wellness and Counseling, serving women 13 and older. Plans are underway for more outpatient locations in the future.
Today the ministry continues to expand its reach launching new initiatives. In the summer of 2023, the organization launched its Keys to Freedom Retreat on the St. Louis property. This short term, weekly retreat gives women 18 and older the opportunity to step away from the daily demands of life to focus on their relationship with the Lord and spiritual healing. Just like the Residential and Outpatient Programs, this intensive is offered free-of-charge.
For more information about Mercy Multiplied watch the short video here or visit MercyMultiplied.com
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Contact: Natalie Moore, nmoore@mercymultiplied.com
Source: PR Newswire, Mercy Multiplied Celebrates 40 Years of Ministry and Thousands of Lives Transformed