Our mission is to build community and maintain relationships, providing essential and transformative services to those in need. From food to friendship, we aim to meet the physical, relational, and spiritual needs of the whole person. The Mustard Seed Street Church has been essential in fighting hunger and restoring faith to a large portion of people living in poverty, as well as the working poor,
in greater Victoria since 1975. The Church ministries are nearly 100 percent community funded and include Vancouver Island’s largest food bank, a family center, hospitality programs, and addictions recovery at Hope Farm Healing Centre as well as more traditional church services. The Mustard Seed Street Church positively impacts, on average 5,000 individuals per month, with more than 50 volunteers keeping things running. Above all, the Mustard Seed is a place of acceptance and unconditional love. We cultivate a community of compassion where all are welcome. As we fight hunger and poverty together, our staff and volunteers meet our guests where they’re at. We strive to break the cycle of poverty in our guests’ lives by offering them a hand-up, reminding everyone of their human potential and worth. Over 35 years ago, a community of people began asking questions about how to best reach our city’s local poor. The Mustard Seed was an answer to this question. Wanting to meet the deepest needs of mankind, our founding members desired to respond to Jesus’ commands to feed the hungry and clothe the poor. Established in 1975, The Mustard Seed began as a small Street Church and outreach ministry in Victoria’s urban core. Thirty-five years ago, The Mustard Seed was operating out of a prayer closet tucked away on Government Street. The need of our under-privileged brothers and sisters was so great that we soon moved to a larger building on Pandora. But our facilities and ministries have expanded considerably since 1975. Moving to Queens Avenue in 1995, our ministry has significantly evolved since those initial years. The Mustard Seed has expanded to become a multi-purpose agency that meets the needs of the whole person living in poverty. Today the Mustard Seed is comprised of a vibrant Street Church, an active Food Bank, and a number of other dynamic ministries. We provide advocacy services, counseling, nursing services, a clothing bank, a drop-in center, a prison ministry, and more. We recently planted another seed of hope in the Cowichan Valley. Located 50 minutes north of Victoria, our Hope Farm Healing Center is a recovery center for former addicts. Expanding 32-acres, Hope Farm connects recovering addicts with the land while offering healing counseling services. We provide training and work experience to benefit our participants and the surrounding Cowichan community. Future Dreams
We recognize that poverty is a draining cycle. We don’t want to just offer hand-outs to our community. In everything we do, our staff and volunteers strive to break down social boundaries and meet the physical, spiritual, social, and relational needs of the whole person. Our dream is to work together as a community to lead our clients out of poverty. We desire to empower and educate our clients in order to offer these valued community members a way out of the cycle. We long to offer more expansive classes on everything from nutrition, budgeting, cooking, and employable skill training. We dream of larger facilities where we might host classes, child-care, temporary housing, and more. We invite you to dream big with us as we plan carefully to meet these goals. Together we can break the cycle of poverty in Greater Victoria.
