Services are held 3 times a day and are open to anyone. Many of those who come are hurting and some have no home to go to. Therefore, the services are designed to be uplifting and encouraging and are always Christ centered. They are led by volunteer speakers, local church groups, and Faith City Ministries staff. Meals are served after the chapel services for those who need a meal.

Faith City Ministries invites the public to attend their chapel services each day at 6:15 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 5:30 p.m. If you would like to speak at a chapel service, please contact Faith City Ministries to schedule a date and time to speak.

New Mural Brings Chapel to Life at Faith City Mission
By Lori Yount
The Amarillo Globe-News
Publication Date: 06/05/04

A newly installed mural in Faith City Mission not only brings its chapel back to life, but could bring viewers a little closer to heaven, mission officials say. The calm sea and soft blue sky in the background emit tranquility, while a colorful array of biblical characters with sunlit, smiling faces welcome chapel visitors.

"It's like you literally could just walk into it and start talking." mission Executive Director Rick Phillips said. "It's so real."

Phillips, however, wasn't always a believer in the mural. When he arrived at Faith City at the beginning of the year, he thought the $13,000 project initiated by Jena Taylor and Paula Avirett was a bad investment of the shelter's money, he said.
"But now that I've seen it, I know it will pay many more returns," Phillips said.

No mission operations funds were used to pay for the mural. Taylor, Avirett and others raised funds specifically to pay for the project, and Taylor and Avirett contributed costs associated with one-third of their time, Phillips said. The mural is an added bonus to a $28,000 six-month renovation of the shelter's chapel, funded by a grant from the Brumley Foundation of Amarillo. Shelter guests are invited to attend evening services in the chapel before receiving dinner. Taylor and Avirett said the new green ceramic tile, soft chairs that replace wooden pews and brighter lighting have made the chapel a much more welcoming place. A pictorial representation of the Gospel will make the service more vibrant, especially for those who can't speak English, Avirett said. Taylor tried to make the central, beaming Christ figure more real by having her son model for the part. Her son ran away from home when he was a teenager and stayed in homeless shelters until he finally decided to return, she said.

"We really wanted to make it real" to those who view it, Taylor said. "We wanted them to realize that Jesus is not mad at you." The women, who have been painting together for almost four years, first became involved with Faith City Ministries by teaching Bible study classes to some of the women clients. The top of the mural is unfinished due to a lack of funding, but once the funds are raised, the artists hope to complete the work within two weeks. This would enable them to extend marble columns in the work to the top of the ceiling, making the chapel appear more spacious and giving them room to write scripture, Avirett said. When finished, the oil painting should measure 36 feet long and 9 1/2 feet tall. Although it's only been installed for a few days, the painting has won fans; viewers use words like "soothing" and "happy" to describe it, the artists said. With as many biblical figures placed in as possible, the painting exudes life and movement, including festival banners streaming from the sky.

"We just wanted it to be a celebration," Taylor said.

Faith City guest Glenna Pickett said the mural has impressed her greatly. Pickett was happy just to see the flowers painted on the pink walls of the woman's side of the shelter when she arrived in 1999. Now, the renovation of the chapel and other parts of the shelter show the compassion of those who help run it, she said.

"They're full of love," Pickett said. "It's like they take pride in what they're doing."

The Amarillo Globe-News Online.