It was an idea born of necessity, forty years ago.

In the early 1980’s, Katy area churches struggled to meet the changing needs of a rapidly growing population. With the downturn in the Houston economy, members of the Katy Ministerial Alliance realized that Katy churches were increasingly being asked by longtime residents as well as newcomers to provide food and emergency financial resources. First United Methodist Church of Katy housed a food pantry in the church basement, and St. Bartholomew Catholic Church opened a thrift store at Avenue D and 4th Street.

It was decided a unified effort would offer a more effective use of their resources, and on June 25, 1984, nine interdenominational churches -- Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church, First United Methodist Church of Katy, Kingsland Baptist Church, St Bartholomew Catholic Church, St Peters United Methodist Church, First Christian Church, Katy Church of the Nazarene, Living Word Lutheran Church, and St Paul’s Episcopal Church -- incorporated as Katy Christian Ministries.

The original mission statement of the organization was “Making a difference in the lives of others through God’s grace and the goodwill of the community,” said Jeannette Trejo, KCM’s business development manager. That mission has evolved over time to the current mission: “Transforming lives through God’s grace and the generosity of the community.” The service area covered by KCM now reaches into three counties, Harris, Fort Bend, and Waller. KCM services are offered to everyone in the community regardless of religious background or affiliation.

During its 40 years, the nonprofit has served the community during challenging times, including Hurricane Harvey, COVID-19, Tax Day Flood, winter freezes and many other natural disasters. But the organization has always found a way through tough times, and it continues to make a difference in the lives of those in the greater Katy community.

A glance at Katy Christian Ministries impact in 2023:

· 3,192 victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse received help through the KCM Crisis Center.

· 22,141 households received help for basic needs for housing stability through KCM Social Services.

· 59,640 hours were served by 4,196 volunteers at KCM.

· 1,726,798 lbs. of food were distributed to families in need by the KCM Food Pantry.

KCM operates under the guidance of its board of directors:

· Don Flowers, President-Kingsland Baptist Church

· Anita Mancini, Vice President-Member At Large

· Stan Simmons, Secretary-Kingsland Baptist Church

· Stephen Blackmun, Treasurer-Emmanuel Episcopal Church

· Alfred Castillo, Parliamentarian-Family Life Assembly of God

· Kent Black-Living Word Lutheran Church

· Debbie DeLuca-Grand Lakes Presbyterian Church

· Barney Harris-The Fellowship

· Chris Harris-First United Methodist Church

· Richard Huebner-Grand Lakes Presbyterian Church

· Patti Lacy-Westland Baptist Church

· Rodolfo Lobera-Member At Large

· Iain Murray-Grace Fellowship

· Jason Smith-Resurrection Church of Katy

· Kay Sword-First United Methodist Church

· Miranda Ware-Holy Covenant UMC

· Penny Whited-St. Edith Stein

The organization’s leadership team is composed of:

· Deysi Crespo-Executive Director

· Carolyn Chandler-Director of Programs and Grants

· Mariana Gaines-Social Services Director

· Debbie McGilvra-Food Pantry Director

· Celina Wells-Crisis Center Director

· Jeannette Trejo-Business Development Manager

· Diana Miller-Volunteer Coordinator

· Kate van Poppel-Resale Manager

· Luz Soto-Finance Director

· Barry Ochsner – Director of IT & Communications

Currently, KCM has 65 Coalition Churches and numerous business and community partners.

Under Crespo’s direction, the organization has become a trauma-informed care agency, achieved the top 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator and has received other valuable recognitions and accreditations from GuideStar, Better Business Bureau of Greater-Houston, and the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability, all which validate transparency, ethical standards of responsible stewardship, and outcomes-driven approach, according to the KCM website. Crespo’s focus is aligned with the mission of transforming lives with an emphasis on alleviating poverty, addressing food insecurity, and providing immediate and long-term crisis interventions.

KCM has four core programs designed to achieve those goals (social services, food pantry, crisis center and resale stores) and 20 sub-programs centered around specific events and initiatives.

The organization now has four locations: one that houses administration, social services, and a food pantry, another for the Crisis Center that includes the Domestic Abuse Center, and Sexual Abuse Center, and two resale stores in the greater Katy area. In 1984 St. Bartholomew Catholic Church opened the first thrift store at Avenue D and Fourth Street. In 1987 a larger facility for offices, resale shop, and food pantry was acquired. The two existing stores – the First Street Store in Stanbury Plaza at 5510 First Street in Kay and the Kingsland Blvd. store at 23232 Kingsland – opened in 1999 and 2019 respectively.

The administration offices and food pantry were moved to the current location at 3506 Porter Road in Katy in 2022. One of the unique features of the headquarters property is its community garden. Originally the garden was built in the shape of a cross. KCM’s Master Gardener volunteer, Karen Smith, started with the garden in May 2011 when KCM was at Fifth Street in Katy.

“After the sale of that property, they let us keep the garden there until spring 2017.” Trejo said. “Then we moved the garden to Faith West Academy, but we were only there less than a year and we had to find another home. The location we are at now at Porter Rd., previously Christ Mercy Church, they allowed us to relocate here. In 2020, they decided to sell the church and the property and that is when KCM purchased it. So, the garden has been at this property since August 2018. The garden has grown from 18 raised beds to 23 raised beds and 14 fruit trees. The garden provides fresh organic vegetables and fruits to supplement the food pantry. Some of the crops we currently have are tomatoes, green beans, onions, artichokes, radishes, peppers, potatoes, blueberries, and peaches.”

Those seeking to get involved with KCM and its programs can do so in a variety of ways, Trejo said. One of KCM’s major projects -- Red Apple School Supplies & Happy Feet Program is kicking off. “The time of year is upon us once again when we start preparing Katy ISD children for the 2024-2025 school year,” said Trejo. “KCM is working towards alleviating the hardship of arriving at school on the first day with no school supplies. Our annual Red Apple School Supplies Program & Happy Feet Program is currently underway to meet this need. In 2023, with the support of local churches and our community, KCM was able to provide 1392 students with new backpacks and required school supplies. In addition, KCM also provided 1000 children with a new pair of shoes to start the school year. The Red Apple Program has helped thousands of children over the past 30 years. Our goal this year is to increase the number of children served by this program to 1,500. KCM is incorporating our Third Annual Happy Feet and Red Apples to ensure children start the year off on the right foot, by providing all registered children with a new pair of shoes, a backpack and needed school supplies. The total fundraising goal for these two programs is $70,000.”

To support the Red Apple program, visit the website www.ktcm.org/volunteers/special-events to register to volunteer.

The 20th Annual Transforming Lives Gala is also just around the corner, slated for September 19 at Safari Texas Ranch in Richmond. The gala is KCM’s biggest fundraising event that helps it sustain its programs, Trejo said. For more information or to become a sponsor, please email Jeannette Trejo at jeannette.trejo@ktcm.org.

Other volunteer opportunities are available at the two resale stores, food pantry, administration, crisis center, group volunteer projects, community garden, special events, and community food fairs. To get started, visit the volunteer tab on the KCM website at www.ktcm.org/volunteer.

But the biggest event of Year 40 is the 40th birthday party on June 24th at Anthonie’s Restaurant at 9108 FM 1489 in Simonton from 5:30 to 9 p.m. The “Birthday Beach Bash” will celebrate 40 years of “faith, hope and transformation,” according to the invitation. The evening of remembrance is scheduled to include appetizers, drinks and dinner, followed by a presentation and moving on to live music and dancing. Tickets to the event are $125.00 each and may be purchased online at ktcm.org/40-2/.

What will the next 40 years hold for KCM?

The Katy Times tried to catch up with Executive Director Deysi Crespo for the answer to that question, but she was busy leading efforts to help Katyites recover from the unexpected May storms. That action – in itself – is the answer to the question. For the next forty years, Katy Christian Ministries will be helping people.