By Nancy Alcorn –
It was during and after college that Nancy Alcorn, a native Tennessean, spent eight years working for the state of Tennessee at a correctional facility for juvenile delinquent girls and 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; lives weren’t changed. Through her experience, she began to realize that only Jesus could bring restoration into the lives of girls who were desperately hurting and searching for something to fill the void they felt in their hearts.
In January 1983, Nancy followed God’s call on her life to build a home for hurting young women who really wanted help and moved to Monroe, Louisiana to start Mercy Ministries of America. Mercy’s free-of-charge, biblically-based program serves a diverse population of young women from various socio-economic backgrounds, aged 13-28 who are seeking freedom from life-controlling issues such as eating disorders, self-harm, drug and alcohol addictions and unplanned pregnancy as well as those who have been physically and sexually abused, including victims of sex trafficking.
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As she began to lay the groundwork for the establishment of the ministry, Nancy knew that God had put three principles on her heart to which she must always remain faithful: (1) never take any state or federal funding that may limit the freedom to teach Christian principles, (2) always accept girls free of charge, and (3) always give at least ten percent of all Mercy Ministries’ donations to other organizations and ministries. Here is what Nancy had to say about how God blesses Mercy Ministries through their giving:
How to Bring Increase to Your Life
The Power of Giving
There is no greater joy than to give in a way that makes a difference in someone’s life. When you give, you are sowing a seed that in due time will bring a harvest. I grew up on a farm, and there wasn’t one year that my father didn’t sow seed so the cattle would have something to eat. I would have thought he’d lost his mind if one winter he never planted anything and then at springtime and harvest complained that the cattle had nothing to eat. It sounds silly, but sometimes that’s what we do to God. Reaping a harvest all starts with sowing a seed. This is a law and principle of God that works in the spiritual realm as it does in the natural.
There are seeds of greatness in you, but you’ve got to cultivate those seeds. In the very beginning, God told me to give 10 percent of everything that comes in to Mercy to other ministries. It has been especially important to me to bless those ministries whose teachings have blessed our residents. As we have been obedient to give and sow in good soil, God has always provided everything we need. Now, I have come to expect it.
You too can expect a return when you give, because God is a multiplier. He wants to multiply your seed so that you have more to give. When you let go of what is in your hand, then God will let go of what is in His hand to meet your needs. We can be sure of the promise in Galatians 6:9 which says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Not giving up means sowing with consistency. In the early days, God gave me a vision of a water hose. If I let the water flow out, more would keep coming. But if I ever got worried the water might run out and I blocked it to keep the water in the hose, the flow of provision would stop. We have to embrace giving as a part of our lives and never waver from it.
Matthew 25:23 tells us that if we will be faithful with a few things, God will put us in charge of many things. He expects us to take what He has given us and bring increase. It is important to understand how to bring increase to your life so God can use you to be a source of blessing to others. I had to show myself to be faithful with the very first girl who needed my help before God could entrust me with 10 girls and then 100 girls. Now, all these years later, we have helped thousands of young women. As we at Mercy continue to trust Him and obey His call on our lives, Mercy will continue to grow, and we will be able to serve thousands more!
Mercy Ministries has established locations in Monroe, Louisiana, Nashville, Tennessee, St. Louis, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. The organization has grown beyond the borders of the United States, including affiliates in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada. For more information about Nancy Alcorn and Mercy Ministries, go to http://www.mercyministries.com/.
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