Mission Lexington, a faith-based community non-profit dedicated to serving individuals and families in crisis, told the Chronicle that they are looking to grow their impact by expanding into a larger space.

With the population of Lexington County quickly growing, Mission Lexington leaders said that they are limited in capacity for how they serve the needs of the community. 

The nonprofit moved into its current 14,000-square-foot space about 12 years ago. The current space, off of Harmon Street, is staffed by 31 people, about 200 weekly volunteers and a fully operational social services center, food pantry, donation center, administrative offices and thrift store.

“Out of this one property, we are meeting over 40,000 different needs a year, including feeding over 2,000 people a month, and providing social services to more serving over 250 people a month and add in our bustling thrift store and donation center... all of that is happening every single day in that 14,000-square-foot building,” Director Amy Reeves said. “When Mission Lexington first occupied this building, we never thought we would expand like we have; however, with Lexington growing, the large number of needs we are meeting has risen as well.”

Due to the rising cost of groceries and rent, Mission Lexington has received a massive influx of clients who seek assistance just to make ends meet.

“There are weekly occurrences where we have to turn people away and ask them to come back the next day because we are at max capacity and our space can’t hold any more people,” Reeves said. “With our limited space, we are not serving the Lexington community like we need to be. It’s heart wrenching. We know that God is calling us to more.”

Mission Lexington leaders say they are prayerfully seeking a new space of about 25,000 square feet to be able to serve the growing needs of the community. Whether that be renovating an existing building or pursuing a new construction, they said they are hopeful that the Lord will rightly lead them to where they will call home base next.

“We want to stay in the Lexington area so we are easily accessible for our clients,” Reeves told the Chronicle. “While we call downtown Lexington home now, we are open to being a little bit further out of town limits but still in the Lexington area.”

With more space, the non-profit hopes to keep up with the steadily rising volume of individuals and families that come to their doors daily, often seeking help in crisis. They plan to expand their social services department, which would provide more private settings where clients can discuss sensitive situations if they are seeking help.

“It is our top priority to give hope and serve with dignity,” Reeves said. “With more space in the social services department, we will be able to have more intake counselors and provide even more privacy to those who may be in difficult situations.”

With the rising cost of groceries, they plan to expand their food pantry.

Reeves also shares that they will expand their thrift store and donation center.

“We have so many generous donors in the community that give to our thrift store. We don’t ever want to turn away donations with meaning that will have an impact on our clients and our mission.”

So, with the community’s needs in mind, Mission Lexington is in the market for their new space. They would hope to locate the new space by fall 2025 and to be in-house by fall 2026.

“This group is stepping out in faith," Reeves said. "Not only are we thinking about the community’s needs currently, but we must think about what the needs will be in the future. We strive to build something that will last and continue to serve Lexington well for generations to come.”

While the need for more space is pressing, Mission Lexington leaders say they refuse to be impulsive in their decision.

“We want to be good stewards of what God and the community has entrusted us with,” Reeves said. “We know that the Lord will lead us to where we are supposed to be next. We are praying for such a miraculous answer to prayer that it brings many people in the community to faith.”

Reeves invites the community to help them with their endeavor to find more space to further serve Lexington.

“We can’t do this alone, and we are calling on our faithful supporters to help us. Come take a tour of our current facility and see the true need that this is. We will need the help of our community to make this happen, whether that be a monetary donation, a donation of time to help with building renovations, a donation of supplies, or prayer. We can’t do this without you.”

Mission Lexington's current space is located at 216 Harmon St. in Lexington. More information about the non-profit can be found at missionlexingtonsc.org.