By Laurie Lechlitner
InkFreeNews

“I grew up in the Salvation Army church,” stated Mike Perez, the new CEO of Faith Mission in Elkhart. “The whole fabric of life in our church was to serve others, especially those who were overlooked in the community. When I came to Faith Mission, our focus was the same. We reach out to those who need extra help to make it in life. I don’t feel like this is so much a job that I’m doing at Faith Mission as much as a lifestyle. It’s a calling from God.

MIKE PEREZ

“I was born in Niles, and we moved to Puerto Rico. My parents got a divorce; we moved to Michigan City. I grew up in a single-parent home with my mom and grandparents. A single mom raising a couple kids was not as common in the 70s as it is now.”

Perez’s grandparents took him to church. “I remember the time when my mother told us that we didn’t have to go to church. But I continued to go. I dedicated my life to the Lord when I was about 12 years old at a Salvation Army Church Camp.”

He describes his family as poor. “We were also dysfunctional in a lot of ways. I think that gave me a heart for others who are struggling.”

Perez became an envoy in the Salvation Army. “I was a lay minister, serving in both Battle Creek and Jackson, Mich.”

After the tragic death of Bill Shields, an officer in the Elkhart Salvation Army, Perez came onboard to help his widow, Barb, who was also an officer. “I remember the Shields hosting our youth group at their farm when I was growing up in Michigan City. They have always been like family to me.” Perez was the business administrator at the Elkhart Salvation Army for five years.

“Through working at the Salvation Army, I became a friend of Ross Swihart’s, who followed his dad as director of Faith Mission. In January 2004 I became the development director there and was part of the team that relocated the mission from downtown Elkhart to Benham Avenue.”

As development director, Perez was in charge of fundraisers, public relations and special events for the mission. “I was there to listen to ideas from community members and to open doors for new projects and volunteer opportunities.”

In January 2024, Perez moved up to CEO. “When Ross Swihart was director, the mission expanded greatly. We have additional housing and added programs and with God’s help, it’s my job to make these new ventures work along with staff and volunteers who are always welcome and needed at Faith Mission.”

Broken people who come to Faith Mission hopefully leave better than when they got there. “Our hope is individuals and families leave and remain stable. Other times some have to return to us.”

Perez feels that the people who come through the doors of Faith Mission are God’s people. “Some of them struggle with addictions. Some suffer from trauma. I can tell them what God’s done for me. But I don’t know what God will do for them. They need to walk with Jesus and write their own stories.”

Perez and his wife, Kelley, have four kids and three grandkids. “My prayer is that my kids and grandkids will become God-minded. He gives us purpose in life.”