RMA Central Coast Director, Luke Johnson.

Together, we’re turning compassion into action

I cannot believe it’s already February! Here, at Rescue Mission Alliance Central Coast, we have been busy in all the appropriate ways. Our programs for men and women are bustling. Both have seen tremendous wins in residents’ lives, whether it be through vocational growth, recovery growth, graduations, college success, relational reconciliation, and the list goes on.

Our men and women have continued to pour into important community relationships with Santa Maria Mental Health, The Community Health Centers of Central Coast, church partners, Celebrate Recovery, volunteers, donors, community advocates and local trade schools and colleges. I am overjoyed with thanks, as I think about all the individuals and organizations who partner with us to change the lives of men and women dealing with addiction, homelessness, human trafficking, mental health concerns, and economic insecurity. Without you, none of this is possible.

Of course I would be foolish not to mention the Lord. He is the one who ministers to our residents and brings healing to their wounds. He is the one who binds us all together in this singular mission to see the lost and RMA Central Coast Director, Luke Johnson. It takes a village: Thank you for being part of ours hurting transformed into fruitful, free, God-fearing citizens.

On top of all that, we are thankful for the many opportunities we have had to serve our community. Our amazing church partners team with us to bring restoration to the many hardworking families struggling just to make ends meet. Every week, we provide meal boxes for hundreds of struggling families, seniors, and the homeless. It amounts to a whopping 1,000-2,000 individuals served weekly. That number never ceases to blow my mind. But God has a way of multiplying the fish and the loaves.

Our residents play a major part in these opportunities to serve. They learn how to give out of their own need, a major steppingstone in addiction recovery. This steppingstone breaks chains of apathy and propels them onward into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the Lord, the world and themselves. They discover selflessness, the nuances of love, servant-leadership, and hope. They see the impact they can have when not bound up by drugs or alcohol.

Most recently we served our community for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We provided meal boxes for their holiday food and blessed the children with a visit from Santa and the Grinch. Vida Church actively invited our neighbors to their Spanish speaking service and had opportunities to pray for those who were hurting. It was a tremendously spirited season, giving us excitement for what God’s up to in 2026.

Please keep us in prayer as we navigate new challenges, those seen and unseen, and continue to steward what God is doing here through us on the Central Coast. There are so many opportunities for a greater more lasting impact on our community. We would love to be an answer to those needs and to see God move in an even greater way.