As the temperatures in Austin cool a bit and calendars turn to October 2025, the Move-In Ministry has served its 300th household. Beds. dressers, couches, coffee and end tables, bath towels, pots and pans, cups and plates, and other household necessities have been donated, stored and inventoried, and delivered to people exiting homelessness or at risk of entering into it.
To help combat homelessness, Austin City Lutherans established the Move-In Ministry as a pilot program in early 2022. None of the various service providers in the city—dutifully placing unhoused or at-risk clients into apartments—had regular crews to provide furniture and households items. ACL filled the void and has been steadily partnering with a dozen service providers for three years running. To date, we’ve helped out 300 households: 10 in 2022, 70 in 2023, 114 in 2024, and 106 (so far) in 2025. We are projected to serve 140 household by the end of this year.
Furniture donors, crew volunteers (half of them owning pickups), financial contributors, and storage facility providers make this ministry hum. Holy Cross Lutheran Church has faithfully provided storage space where we organize donations and fix up furniture as needed. Triumphant Love Lutheran Church, through its grant endowment program, has provided more than $7,500 for ACL to purchase mattresses and bed frames. These purchases are the main expenditure for the Move-In Ministry.
As the program’s coordinator, I can’t give enough thanks to our crew of volunteers: Cal, Mark, Mike, Gail, Barry, Derek, Daniel, Randy, Bob, Garth, Glenn, Milt, and – a first this past summer – our initial female crew member, Cordelia. Every Wednesday and Thursday morning, we “harvest” furniture and then deliver it. I coordinate donation pick-ups and schedule move-ins with service provider clients. Along with delivering furniture, our crews put together bed frames, hang TV mounts, and hook up washers and dryers (when we have them). The folks we serve are almost always extremely grateful.
From one of our recipients: “Thank you all so much for everything! I am so grateful, especially for the bed. I got a good night’s sleep for the first time since I moved into my apartment. Thank you all very much for your kindness!”
From another: “Thank you so much again for everything. Keep doing what you are doing!”
We serve people who have been living on the streets (including families), women fleeing domestic violence (usually with children), handicapped individuals, and others who have experienced some type of traumatic event.
This link will take you to the ACL webpage that describes what we take for donations and how it works. We’re always looking for more storage space to help expand these efforts—let me know of any possibilities. And, there’s always room for another crew member or two. Our crews generally have a good time doing what we do. Along with movers, we also need volunteers who can sort out donations (bed sheets, kitchen items, towels) at our storage facility. This activity can be done anytime that is convenient to the volunteer.
Jesus tells us to love our neighbors. The Move-In Ministry is precisely such an opportunity to do so.
Pastor Tim Anderson