By DON STINE
The Jersey Shore Dream Center now has a new location thanks to a little help from its friends.
A New Year’s Eve fire at the original Dream Center headquarters, at the Shore Christian Church at 1301 Corlies Ave., Neptune forced the organization to move out for renovations, storing many items at Dream Center Founder Pastor Isaac Friedel’s home in Wall Township.
“It was crazy. There was not a ton of damage to the property but the entire place was in shambles. We had to move all of our stuff out,” he said.
Friedel said he was approached by the Neptune Tabernacle of Glory, at 1710 Columbus Ave., about merging the two churches together and using the Tabernacle’s church for a headquarters. It was a deal.
“I am so happy because it is a great space for us and gives us more flexibility and more community to minister. It is very cool to see churches working together like this (and) in such a powerful way,” he said.
The Shore Christian Church now has about 250 to 300 members and the new church only holds about 100 people. Services are now held at the House of Independents in Asbury Park.
“Everything is up and running now,” Friedel said.
Committeeman Robert Lane Jr. said he is glad to see the organization move to a larger space
“They do a lot of good for the communities they serve and I am 100 percent behind them. They are a welcome addition,” Lane said.
The mission of the Jersey Shore Dream Center, which opened in 2012, is to provide sustainability through Godly restoration of men, women, children, seniors, and veterans who are overcome by life controlling issues, such as chronic homelessness, addiction, poverty, abuse and hunger. It serves residents mostly in Monmouth County but also extends its services into other counties to people living under the poverty line and battling life-controlling issues.
“Our mission is to give hope to the hopeless, food to the hungry, clothes to the needy, and freedom in Christ Jesus to those bound by addiction. We want to see the restoration of every broken dream,” Friedel said.
It is considered one of the largest outreach centers in the area, with multiple weekly programs including food trucks, food pantries, soup kitchens, adopt-a-block programs, diaper pantry, and family home restoration. These programs impacted over 40,000 people in 2016.
For more information go to www.jerseyshoredreamcenter.org
