About The Gospel Mission
History & Background
The Klamath Falls Gospel Mission, Inc. ('KFGM') was founded and
incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1958 and recently celebrated its 50th anniversary of
service to the community. The Klamath Falls Gospel Mission's founder, John Pederson, served as the
Director for many years.
The current building was a Covenant church that was built around
1933. In 1959 the basement was extended and a men's dorm was built. In 1976 the current dining hall
and kitchen was added to provide needed facilities to expand services to prepare and serve
meals.
For many years, individual community donors provided support for
the Klamath Falls Gospel Mission. For the first several decades, services were primarily provided
for single, typically transient men who were coming to Klamath Falls on the rails.
By the 1990's, numbers dropped significantly. The rail companies
began to arrest men riding the rails and water shortages in the area resulted in a reduced need for
migrant and transient workers. The number of 'beds' provided dropped from a high of just over
23,000 in 1996-1997 to a low of 8,200 'beds' in 2003.
Over the past decade the Gospel Mission began to see women,
children, and families seeking services. The Gospel Mission not only expanded who it served, it
also added new services to better meet the basic needs of the homeless. Meals, educational classes,
and support services were added. With these changes, the numbers began a steady climb and over
16,000 'beds' were provided in 2008.
This increase in the numbers served and the offering of several
programs and services has resulted in a need for increased operating funds and an expansion of
facilities. The KFGM expanded its funding base from nearly sole reliance on individual donations to
diversified funding, including grants and a recently-opened Thrift Store. To meet increased
facility demands, the KFGM is in the beginning stages of developing a facilities plan and a capital
campaign.
By developing more substantial and diversified funding, and by
providing expanded facilities. The KFGM is positioning itself well to meet the current and future
needs of those it serves.
The Klamath Falls Gospel Mission has been a member of the
Association of Gospel Rescue Mission's since 1960.
