Disciple Partners offers several programs for men who have already overcome a chemical dependence or who never had one. These men are dealing with the bad decisions and other circumstances that made them homeless and keep them homeless. As with other Mission clients, their goal is to break the habit of homelessness and return to self-sufficiency.

Disciple Partners recruits from two primary groups: recent DoorWay graduates and transient Mission clients. Men leaving the Healing Dorm after their recovery are also encouraged to apply. Many applicants already have jobs or can return to their last job; others need life skills or job skills classes before returning to work. We increasingly encounter men who have never been homeless before but now need time and space to catch their breath before resuming their normal activities.

Vocational Development: Many men already have jobs, have been promised jobs, or have successfully completed a job search on their own. Disciple Partners allows them to continue to live at the Mission while working off-property and saving at least 50% of their net pay to prepare them for the time when they will be ready to return to independent living with sufficient resources to remain independent.

 
Career and Technology Education: Other applicants recognize that poor decision-making, poor management skills, and/or inadequate job skills have contributed to their becoming and remaining homeless. Disciple Partners assists them in refining their goals and developing a plan to achieve them. Life skills classes are offered on the property. Some men enroll in full-time academic or vocational education programs at the Houston Community College or at other institutions. The Houston Area Urban League, WorkSource, and other agencies participate in helping men enhance their skills and look for satisfactory employment.

Community and Accountability: Learning necessary job skills, finding and holding a job, and saving money to achieve stated goals is only part of what we try to do in Disciple Partners. It is also important to practice living in community and living under accountability. The men are encouraged to help one another and to learn from one another. They share job leads, job skills, and job experiences. They participate in group Bible studies five times a week. They are encouraged to become active in local churches, and many of them do. Acquiring these habits now will make them more productive and more stable after they leave us.