PHOENIX — Approximately 7,000 abandoned mothers and children remain in Colorado City after the leader of their polygamous sect, Warren Jeffs, was sentenced to life plus 20 years in 2007 for his child bride sexual abuse with some victims as young as 12 years of age.

After his sentencing, one of Jeffs’ nearly 80 wives offered to buy Jeffs’ compound and was granted approval to purchase the property. Within a few months, she began working with Dream City Church and the Phoenix Dream Center to see if the organization could help turn the place of horror into a place of healing.

Pastor Luke Barnett shares,

“As one of the leading non-profit organizations in the world, The Dream Center addresses the human trafficking crisis, while also serving struggling families, addicts, homeless and the disadvantaged, we could not say no. This is who we are. This is what we do. Our compassionate, non-profit organization transforms buildings to transform lives and communities.”

Named the Short Creek Dream Center after a sandy wash that runs through the community, the church mobilized volunteers and repurposed Jeff’s 29,000 square foot compound, which includes two kitchens, dining rooms, conference rooms, and 44 bedrooms. Also, the ministry partners with several food banks to feed the residents of the community with a weekly distribution of food, even delivering boxes of food directly to the homes of those in need. Even though much work has been done, much work is left to do to rebuild both the new Short Creek Dream Center and the Colorado City community.

Today, the ministry challenge is to support and expand the ministry of the Short Creek Dream Center so that they can continue to provide refuge to those who need housing, hope, and healing. But the need is much greater. Left behind or excommunicated by the sect, 70% of the women are 17 years of age or younger with an average 4th-grade education, and an annual income that consistently ranks as the second poorest city in the state.

“Our goal is to raise $1,000,000 or more to continue this ministry of offering crisis housing, trauma counseling, feeding the hungry, creating an education center, and developing skills training and commerce for jobs,” Pastor Luke states.

Pastor Luke and his daughter, Annalee, are hiking the 800-mile Arizona Trail beginning September 27th at the Utah/Arizona border. The moniker for this endeavor is “Adventure Your Life,” and their goal is to hike twenty miles per day over the next 40 days to reach the Arizona/Mexico border, completing the trek.

They are asking for support by donating any amount per mile. To donate go to Dream City Foundation’s Adventure Your Life website: https://bit.ly/2QGIRvS. Dream City Foundation is an Arizona 501c3 organization.

Dream City Church led by Senior Pastor Luke Barnett and Co-Pastor Tommy Barnett. The church has four campuses in Arizona – Phoenix, Scottsdale, Glendale, and Lakeside in the White Mountains. Dream City Church has a mission to lead people into a fully devoted relationship with Jesus Christ by loving people, cultivating community, and inspiring hope.

Short Creek Dream Center is an AZ non-profit organization led by Angel Barnett and the Dream Institute, a UT nonprofit organization, with operations in Hildale UT, Colorado City AZ, and the White Mountain Dream Center near Show Low AZ.

CONTACT: Pastor Franklin Santagate, Director of Marketing, 602-404-7454

Read more news on Women’s Issues and the Abandoned Children on Missions Box.