Our Programs & Services

Zoe’s Place became a non-profit business when we incorporated in the summer of 2016. When we opened Zoe’s Place in the fall of 2009, we always knew God wanted us to do more. We just didn’t know when or how to do all of what He put in our hearts to do. While we are still in the assessment and planning stages for some of our programming, there are great things on the horizon! Remember: Little by little, a little becomes a lot!

Our Mission: To show God’s love in practical ways that bring hope, restoration, and wholeness to our community.

How we’re doing this now:

Community Closet

The Bible says in James “ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well’ – but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?” One practical way we endeavor to show God’s love, and bring hope to those around us, is through our Community Closet. Our Community Closet is a needs-based program that is open weekly to provide FREE clothing, shoes, baby equipment, toys, books, linens, safety gear, diapers, wipes and more. What’s available each week depends on donations. Expired consignment items are also donated to our community closet. Anyone is welcome to come and take whatever they need during our Community Closet hours. Please call/text 610-392-2934 for our current hours (usually Tuesday evenings). If our closet gets too full, we partner with other local organizations and donate items to them to help reach even more people in our community (American Family Services, Care Net, etc).

Small Group Bible Studies:

You are invited to join us for small group Bible Study either at Zoe’s Place, or off-site at a partnering church in our community! We provide free refreshments, and at Zoe’s Place, we have a playroom where your children can hang out while we delve into God’s word together. There is a quiet play area in our Bible Study room if you prefer to keep your child(ren) with you too. At off-site locations, child care may be provided. No matter the topic, there is always time for discussion and we encourage everyone to share their thoughts and experiences, and to ask questions.

The purpose for these Bible Studies is to help you grow closer to God, and to bring you into relationship with others. Too often we feel alone in life. While salvation is meant to be a very personal and individual experience, life is meant to be lived as part of a community. God saves us individually, but He designed us to live corporately. We need each other! We are here to love you, support you, pray with you, and help you in any way we can. Don’t go through life alone. Come and be a part of our family!

Please JOIN our Zoe Life Ministries Facebook group to keep up to date on our current Bible Study topics, times, location, and other important information about the community programs we offer.

Where we are headed in the next 3 years:

Mentoring Programs:

A good mentor is one who cares for, believes in, and encourages you. It is a person who you enjoy being with, who has more experience than you have in one or many areas, and wants to see you win in life! Rich and Niki have mentored many individuals and couples in the past, and through Zoe’s Place, their desire is to also train others as mentors to produce a mentoring program that will reach and help many more than they could on their own.

As part of their mission to bring restoration and wholeness to communities, this program will extend to individuals and families, and can focus on spiritual matters, education and career goals, family issues, finances, relationships, business, work apprenticeship, ministry, parenting and more. Once this program develops more fully, those looking for a mentor will be asked to complete an application to see if an appropriate mentor-mentee match can be assigned for them, and to see if they are ready for the commitment which a mentoring relationship requires.

Housing Initiative:

While still in our community needs assessment stage at this time, we desire to provide Phase II transitional, rehabilitative and safe housing to women recovering from dangerous situations (such as abuse and sex-trafficking).

Domestic Violence awareness is fairly widespread today, but not as many people are aware of the massive amounts of human trafficking that are also happening. The Super Bowl is known to be the single largest human trafficking incident in the U.S., but this modern day slavery is happening every day, and even in our own backyards. According to the NHTRC, there were at least 116 trafficking cases reported just last year in Pennsylvania (many more go unreported), and more than half of those were sex-trafficking cases. Think it’s not happening here in the Lehigh Valley? Think again. In March 2016, a 35-year old man was charged with trafficking 3 women who he forced into prostitution in Allentown.

So far, we have found that while Turning Point has housing for those fleeing domestic violence, their program lasts only 30 days. We have also found that sex-trafficking survivors often spend time in prison being criminalized for something they were coerced into doing, or going into drug rehab because of addictions either forced on them or used to numb the pain of their ordeal. Once these prison and rehab stays are over, there is currently only one housing program available to them in the Lehigh Valley, and it only has four beds. The need is greater for both types of survivors, and these women really need longer-term support if they are going to be able to fully heal and become independent of their abusers. This is where we hope to come in and make a difference.

We are currently meeting with other non-profit organizations, city officials, and church leaders to better assess the needs that exist, and looking for others to partner with us to get this project off the ground. If you can help, or if you know someone who can, please contact Niki. If you would like to donate to help this cause financially, checks can be made out to Zoe Life Ministries and mailed to 924 N. 19th Street, Allentown, PA 18104, or donated through Paypal securely HERE. All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Men’s Prison Ministry & Transitional Living Program:

We desire to bring hope and encouragement to men who are incarcerated and in work release programs through prayer, Bible Study and group talks about tough issues – the issues that led them to prison, the choices they made, what it means to be a man in today’s world, what God’s word has to say about it all, and how God’s word can equip them and help them as they re-enter society and their families. Our vision though is more than just visiting and teaching these men once or twice a month while they are behind bars. More than 75% of prisoners released in the U.S. will find themselves back in jail within 5 years. Our ultimate goal is to provide a long-term (12-18 mos) transitional housing program for these men that will help them beat those odds and stay out of jail for the rest of their lives. It is the success stories of a few that push us forward in apprehending success on a much greater scale. A specialized housing program will make the difference. If you are interested in helping us with this project which is still in its infancy research and planning stage, or if you are interested in donating to help us with funding, you may “GO HERE TO DONATE SECURELY ONLINE” or you may send checks to: Zoe Life Ministries at 924 N. 19th Street, Allentown, PA 18104. Please write “Men’s Ministry” in the memo line of your check so we can properly allocate the funds.

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