What is the Garden Mission Baltimore?

The Garden Mission Baltimore is a Christian nonprofit committed to relational, place-based ministry in Southwest Baltimore—the same community where our parent church, Crossroads Church of the Nazarene, first began in 1925.

We're neighbors who have chosen to put down roots here for the long haul, creating gathering spaces where authentic relationships can bloom and every person experiences dignity, belonging, and purpose. At heart, we're committed to being good neighbors, as Jesus Christ taught us.

Our approach centers on partnership-rooted programs. We work alongside existing community members, organizations, and businesses while also using our space to invite partners from across the city to invest in Southwest Baltimore's flourishing. Whether serving weekly community meals, hosting recovery meetings, running our thrift shop, or creating opportunities for artistic expression and social connection, everything flows from genuine relationships and mutual respect.

We believe healthy communities are marked by healing and creating. Material, social, and spiritual needs are deeply interconnected. Some of our partnerships focus on healing—helping neighbors through hardship and meeting material needs. Others focus on creativity and connection—universal human desires that transcend circumstances.

We believe Southwest Baltimore is good soil for growing people. Our mission is to tend that garden—not by imposing from the outside, but by walking alongside our neighbors as we all flourish together. We're here because we believe God is already at work in Southwest Baltimore, and we're honored to join what He's doing in this community.

How did we
get started?

We started with partnership not programs.

The Garden Mission Baltimore represents a homecoming—a return to the Southwest Baltimore neighborhoods where our church first took root over a century ago.

Our story began in 1910 as a gathering of Christians who met in homes weekly around Southwest Baltimore. The first recoded address of Baltimore City First Church of the Nazarene (the original name) was on Hollins Street in Baltimore City.

In 1925, a building was acquired on Doswell Avenue in Baltimore’s Rosemont neighborhood. Like many urban churches in the 1950s and 60s, we relocated westward—first to Edmonson Village in 1950, then to Howard County in 1970, where we built our current campus in Ellicott City and have thrived for over 50 years.

Our defining moment came in 2024.

Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, God prompted us with a clear calling to return to the city we once called home. When we departed Baltimore, God did not. God loves this city and is actively working here, and we feel a renewed responsibility to return. We began asking, “What would it look like to humbly re-enter neighborhoods we had left?”

We joined hands with BeMoreCaring, a Baltimore nonprofit serving homeless individuals and vulnerable populations. Using our church's commercial kitchen, our volunteers began preparing and serving meals without interruption. Since 2022, we've served over 50,000 meals—the equivalent of 31 meals per day.

The following year, we expanded our commitment by partnering with Young Life Baltimore City, connecting our members with middle and high school students in West Baltimore through long-term mentoring relationships. About a dozen of our members now travel weekly into the Franklin Square neighborhood, and each semester Crossroads hosts a 3-on-3 basketball tournament bringing together Young Life mentors and mentees from across Baltimore.

By 2023, Pastor Randy Clay and our missions director, Patti Hewat, were leading regular prayer walks throughout Southwest Baltimore, feeling increasingly drawn to the original neighborhoods our church had served in the early 1900s. A local establishment in the Hollins Roundhouse neighborhood invited us to use their space as we explored what authentic, long-term presence could look like. We were adopted into local neighborhood traditions, like hosting a Fall Block Party each October, serving over 150 meals at our Friendsgiving event each November, and hosting cookie decorating and Christmas caroling each December.

Crossroads established The Garden Mission Baltimore as a nonprofit ministry with Pastor Randy Clay as executive director. But knowing that words without action ring hollow in communities that have seen many organizations come and go, we made our most significant investment: purchasing two buildings side-by-side directly across from historic Hollins Market—Baltimore City's oldest continuously operating public market, established in 1836.

The Garden Mission Baltimore is not about charity from afar. It's not even about planting a new church. This is about coming home, being neighbors, and walking alongside a community with deep roots and tremendous pride. We're here for the long haul, committed to listening, learning, and serving in whatever ways God opens doors for genuine partnership with our Southwest Baltimore neighbors.

Why Hollins Market?

Our focus on Southwest Baltimore isn't arbitrary—it's rooted in both history and calling. This is where Crossroads Church began in 1910 on Doswell Avenue in the Rosemont neighborhood. When we felt God calling us back to the city during the pandemic, we weren't looking for just any neighborhood to serve; we were drawn back to our roots.

But beyond history, we believe deeply in the power of place-based ministry. True transformation happens when organizations commit to specific neighborhoods for the long haul, not when they scatter efforts across an entire city. By concentrating our presence in Southwest Baltimore—and particularly around Hollins Market, Baltimore's oldest continuously operating public market—we can build the authentic, trust-based relationships that make real partnership possible.

This neighborhood chose us as much as we chose it. Local residents and business owners invited us to use their spaces, adopted us into neighborhood traditions, and welcomed our investment. When we purchased our buildings directly across from Hollins Market, it wasn't just a strategic location—it was a declaration that we're here to stay.

Southwest Baltimore has deep roots, tremendous community pride, and incredible potential. Rather than spreading ourselves thin, we're committed to being excellent neighbors right here, believing that deep roots in one place create more lasting impact than shallow presence in many places.

What do we do?

Neighborhood Traditions

Engagement Programs

Community Enterprises

We organize our work around three main areas that reflect our commitment to being good neighbors and walking alongside our community.

We help sustain and enhance beloved community events that bring neighbors together throughout the year. Working alongside our neighbor Noble from Black Cat Bakery, we now organize six annual traditions: a public Easter service at the Love Lot in April, a tent at SOWEBO Fest in June featuring cold brew coffee and a neighborhood message board, a Back-to-School event in August, a Fall Block Party at the Love Lot in October, a Friendsgiving community meal in November, and Christmas caroling with cookie decorating in December. Most of these events existed before we arrived, but when longtime organizers needed support, we were honored to step in and help make them even better.

We host regular weekly gatherings that build ongoing relationships and meet both social and spiritual needs. Every Friday, about 40 neighbors join us for Soup @ 6, our free community meal at 42 S. Carrollton. On Wednesdays, we host Celebrate Recovery meetings for those working through life's challenges. We also offer Alpha, a 14-week course for anyone curious about Christianity. All programs are free and open to anyone living or working in our neighborhood.

We're developing businesses that serve both economic and social purposes. In November 2025, we launched Threads in Hollins, a thrift shop that provides affordable clothing while creating community connections. Looking ahead to 2027, we're fundraising $400,000 to renovate our main floor into The Table in Hollins, a cafe designed as a social enterprise that will serve as a neighborhood gathering space.

Everything we do flows from relationships - with neighbors like Noble, organizations like Breadcoin and Helping Up Mission, and the broader community. We also transformed a former city parking lot into the Love Lot, a neighborhood park with string lights, shade, artificial turf, and picnic tables where many of our outdoor events take place.

What impact are we making?

Building Community Connections - Since 2022, we've served over 50,000 meals, but the real story is in the faces that have become familiar. Maria, who started coming to Soup @ 6 during a difficult period, now helps set up tables each week and has connected with three other neighbors who've become close friends. At our Fall Block Party, we regularly see 150+ people, including families who tell us it's the one time each year they meet neighbors from blocks away. The Love Lot has become a daily gathering space where kids play after school and adults stop to chat - something that wasn't happening when it was just a parking lot.

Strengthening Neighborhood Pride - Local business owners report increased foot traffic during our events, with several noting that Hollins Market sees its busiest days when we host activities at the Love Lot. Our SOWEBO Fest "Neighborhood Message Board" revealed that residents want more green space, youth programming, and local business support - insights that are now shaping both our planning and city conversations. Noble, owner of Black Cat Bakery says the collaborative approach to neighborhood traditions has "brought back the community spirit we had years ago."

Creating Economic Opportunity - Our Threads in Hollins thrift shop will provide affordable clothing while creating volunteer leadership opportunities. The planned Table in Hollins cafe represents a $400,000 investment in the neighborhood and will eventually create several local jobs and a vital “third space” for neighbors and families to gather and connect.

What We're Still Learning - We're honest about what we don't yet know. We're developing better ways to gather neighbor input on programming decisions, and we're working to ensure our presence amplifies existing community strengths rather than overshadowing them. Success, for us, isn't measured just in numbers but in whether longtime residents feel their neighborhood is becoming more connected, more hopeful, and more their own.

Supporting Individual Growth - Through Celebrate Recovery, we're currently walking alongside 14 neighbors each week as they work through life's challenges, with the hope that several completing the program will become mentors for newcomers. Our Alpha course has introduced 4 people to Christianity over this fall, with three choosing to continue their faith journey at local churches. But beyond spiritual growth, we've seen neighbors gain confidence - like James, who started volunteering at events and recently launched his own small business selling artwork at Hollins Market.

Fall Fest @ the Remodeled Love Lot

What makes us different from other nonprofits?

We are good neighbors, not visitors.

Unlike organizations that serve communities from a distance, we've made the significant investment of purchasing buildings and putting down permanent roots. This isn't about charity from afar—it's about becoming a part of the fabric of Southwest Baltimore for the long haul. When neighbors see our lights on every day and know we're not going anywhere, it changes the nature of every conversation and relationship.

We start with relationships, not programs.

 Rather than arriving with predetermined solutions, we began by asking existing community members and organizations how we could support what is already working. When our neighbor Noble from Black Cat Bakery needed help sustaining beloved neighborhood traditions, we stepped in to help rather than creating competing events. Our programming emerges from relationships and genuine community needs, not organizational agendas.

We practice place-based ministry.

While many nonprofits spread efforts across an entire city, we've chosen to concentrate deeply in Southwest Baltimore. This allows us to build the authentic, trust-based relationships that make real transformation possible. We know our neighbors by name, understand the unique history and assets of this specific community, and can respond quickly when needs arise.

We integrate spiritual and community development.

As a Christian organization, we're open about our faith while serving the whole community regardless of belief. We don't require attendance at our Alpha course to receive a meal at Soup @ 6, but we also don't hide the spiritual foundation that motivates our work. This integration allows us to address the full spectrum of human need—material, social, and spiritual—in ways that many secular nonprofits cannot.

The result is an approach we call "cultivating good soil for growing people." We believe Southwest Baltimore has tremendous assets and potential. Our role isn't to impose solutions from the outside, but to tend to the conditions where individuals and community can flourish together.

How are we funded?

Community Driven Priorities

Our Growth Strategy

Foundational Partnership

Crossroads Church of the Nazarene provides crucial founding support, including an initial $375,000 property investment and $5,000 in monthly support. While we report to our own board of directors, this partnership reflects the church's long-term commitment and allows us to focus on programming while building additional revenue streams.

Community Enterprises

We generate $21,600 annually through our residential apartment. Threads in Hollins is projected to add $12,000 annually in 2026. Once The Table in Hollins opens, we anticipate nominal revenue that will be poured back into our ministry. These social enterprises serve community needs while building financial sustainability.

Individual Supporters

Our growing community of 55 individual donors contributed $48,000 in 2025, with supporters both within and beyond Crossroads Church. We're actively developing a Founding Funders Society to expand this base among Baltimore-area individuals, families, businesses, and foundations who share our vision for Southwest Baltimore.

Targeted Grants

We've secured $67,500 in project-specific grants, including $60,000 for the Love Lot transformation and $7,500 for building improvements, demonstrating external validation of our community impact. Our grants team continues to explore and apply for public and private grant opportunities.

Our programming responds directly to neighbor input gathered through quarterly surveys at Soup @ 6, feedback from our SOWEBO Fest "Neighborhood Message Board," and informal listening as we participate in daily neighborhood life. For example, weeks of conversations with neighbors during Soup @ 6 in early 2024 revealed that families wanted better opportunities for children to enjoy public space. We brought this feedback to Southwest Partnership meetings, which led to our successful grant application to add playground equipment to the Love Lot. Community requests also shaped our decision to open the thrift shop and focus on creating more gathering spaces.

Our goal is to reach 100 individual donors contributing $100,000+ by spring 2026 and achieve 50% funding independence within three years through earned revenue and diversified supporters. We're committed to expanding our board with community voices and achieving greater funding diversification while maintaining our foundational partnerships.

How do I get involved?

  • We need consistent volunteers for our weekly programs. Help serve at Soup @ 6 on Friday evenings, assist with setup and cleanup, or join our kitchen prep team earlier in the week. Our Celebrate Recovery meetings welcome co-facilitators, and we're always looking for people to help with our annual neighborhood traditions like the Fall Block Party and Friendsgiving meal. Most volunteer opportunities require no special skills—just a willingness to build genuine relationships with neighbors.

  • As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, donations to The Garden Mission Baltimore are tax-deductible. Monthly giving helps us plan sustainably, while one-time gifts support specific projects. Every contribution—whether $25 or $2,500—helps us maintain our programs and invest in our community.

  • Shop at Threads in Hollins or sow into The Table in Hollins to help us reach our $400,000 fundraising goal for our café renovation. Both enterprises will create jobs and vital community gathering spaces.

  • Follow us on social media, invite friends to our public events like the Easter service at the Love Lot, and help us connect with others who might want to support our work. Sometimes the best support is simply helping people discover what's happening in Southwest Baltimore.

  •  We welcome partnerships with businesses, churches, and other nonprofits. Local restaurants can donate food for our community meals, contractors can offer services for our building projects, and other organizations can collaborate on programming. We're particularly interested in partners who share our long-term commitment to Southwest Baltimore.

  • Contact Pastor Randy or stop by during Soup @ 6 any Friday evening at 42 S. Carrollton. We'd love to show you around the neighborhood and help you find the best way to get involved based on your interests and availability.