Pastor Steven Palmer, Executive Director of Neighbors of Hope, was our speaker today. He is a lifelong resident of Lenawee County having been born and raised in Tecumseh where he graduated high school. He did his undergraduate studies at Siena Heights University, earning a BA in Religious Studies. He received his Masters of Art degree from the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. He has been a licensed minster since 1994 and has served in pastoral ministry at two churches in Lenawee County. He has served as an adjunct professor of religious studies at Siena Heights University for four years. For the past fifteen years he has been serving as the Executive Director of Neighbors of Hope where he has grown a one-year old nonprofit with less than 300 donors and a budget of $95,000 that served the male homeless population in 2006, to a multi-facility and bi-city ministry serving all of Lenawee county and is supported by more than 6000 donors and has raised more than $7million dollars to help men, women and children suffering from the pains of hunger, homelessness and addiction.
The ministries of Neighbors of Hope include their flagship Men’s Ministry which began in 2006 and will be opening a new facility in the near future; the Women & Children’s Ministry Center in Tecumseh which opened in 2019; Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry which began in 2010; Third Day Farm program began in 2015; their weekly Word Made Flesh radio ministry has been airing since 2010; Blessings & More resale store since 2013 and their Baling & Recycling program has been operating since 2016.