ABOUT US

Learn about our history, mission and leadership

OUR HISTORY

Ransom Ministries was founded in 2010 by Matt and Tara Armbruster after they attended a Bible study urging Christians to stop playing church and start living a life of true faith and dependence on God.

The Armbrusters asked God to show them how they could use the gifts He had given them to bring glory to Him. God gave Matt the idea of a café where anyone could get a hot meal and pay whatever they could afford and Tara the word “ransom” with the scripture Matthew 20:28. When they began to dissect this verse, they discovered the Greek word that is translated “to serve” actually means “one that waits on tables,” and “ransom” meant “to liberate many from misery.” They opened the first Ransom Café in October of 2010 to meet the immediate need of a fresh warm meal. Since then, the churches have taken on the responsibilities of the cafes and Ransom has expanded into other projects and programs that empower people to overcome barriers to success and break the cycles of poverty.

Matt & Tara Armbruster
Founders of Ransom

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Through the years, the cafes and other projects, the leadership of Ransom Ministries found that the services that were being offered to provide for individuals’ basic needs were allowing people to remain in their dependent state rather than helping them get to a place where they could provide life essentials for themselves and their families.

Knowing that the initial mission of providing food opportunities for the poor had been fulfilled allowed Ransom Ministries to refocus its efforts and establish Ransom ReProgram, a job readiness and life skills training course that was designed to help participants move out of dependency and into fulfilling careers. ReProgram was first offered in the fall of 2015 with the vision of breaking the cycles of crime, poverty, and addiction in which many of those in the program found themselves trapped. It soon became evident that if participants were going to experience true life success, they needed to earn an income while learning job and life skills in the classroom.

To that end, Ransom Ministries began offering on-the-job training in January of 2019 through Ransom Recycling, an electronics recycling business. As a natural extension of the services currently provided, Ransom Ministries established Ransom Staffing in 2021. Acting as a temporary employment agency, Ransom Staffing Services enables participants to continue on the path started through Ransom ReProgram, and to gain the knowledge and skills needed to re-enter the workforce. In partnership with the City of Mobile and the Waterfront Rescue Mission, Ransom started Road to Work in 2022 to give individuals currently experiencing homelessness an employment opportunity removing trash and debris from the roadsides of our community. After 90 days on the job, participants have the option of becoming a trainee at Ransom and continuing in our programs.

All of our projects and programs are designed to enable us to fulfill our mission to empower individuals who have experienced homelessness, addiction, and/or incarceration, to provide innovative solutions for community issues, and to conserve our environment for future generations.

OUR BOARD

Oversight of organization is provided by a dedicated team of volunteers who believe in our mission and advocate for our participants. Our current Board of Directors is: