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Nancy Alcorn, the 47-year-old founding director of Mercy Ministries, is sitting in her suburban Nashville office holding a framed painting—and beaming. It's a simple watercolor of a ballerina painted by a girl living in one of the Mercy homes, part of the ministry Nancy established to help girls ages 13-28 who struggle with eating disorders, abuse, addictions, and unwed pregnancy. There's something about the painting—the innocence of this young dancer, her arms reaching heavenward—that prompted Nancy to have it framed to hang in her office. Perhaps it's that this hopeful image came from the brush strokes of a teen who had been impregnated by her sexually abusive father, the same man who beat her body into aborting the baby when he discovered she was going to have his child. Despite this young woman's traumatic circumstances, through Mercy Ministries she's discovering the healing that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Nancy's seen enough such stories of God's redeeming mercy to fill a hundred office walls.
But she hasn't always had the joy of seeing such hope come from such dire circumstances. Before the launch of Mercy Ministries, which celebrates its 20th anniversary of transforming young women's lives this spring, Nancy spent five years as the athletic director at a Tennessee correctional facility for juvenile delinquent girls. Following that, she supervised foster care in Nashville for three years. In these government-run programs, Nancy saw girls involved in prostitution, drug use, abuse, and crime return to their destructive patterns as soon as they were released from custody. As a Christian, Nancy knew that because she wasn't allowed by the government to offer these girls the only source of true transformation—Jesus—she couldn't get to the root cause of their illegal actions.
Tired of not being able to share the saving Truth that ended her own teenage rebellion—including a five-year battle with bulimia —Nancy left government-run services to become director of women for the Nashville branch of faith-based Teen Challenge. There she sensed God lead her to launch a ministry for young women caught in destructive habits and homes. Armed only with a $1,000 going-away gift from Teen Challenge, Nancy moved to Monroe, Louisiana, where she sensed God calling her. She was sure of four things: The ministry was to refuse government funding so she'd be free to share the gospel; she was to tithe on all contributions to the ministry; she was to take in girls free of charge so they'd know the only motivation for reaching out to them was God's unconditional love; and, somehow, God would silence skeptics by providing for Mercy Ministries' every need.
Bit by bit, Nancy saw God provide such things as the low-priced home outside city limits (away from stringent zoning laws) with lots of bedrooms; local media coverage that prompted donations; even a local doctor who gave Nancy $4,600 to pay off the remaining debt on her car. Additionally, her friends introduced her to various business and church leaders in the area who gave her money and opportunities to spread the word about Mercy Ministries. The fresh coats of paint were barely dry on the house when Nancy started receiving calls from parents of girls in desperate situations. Their first resident was 19-year-old Theresa, who was suicidal and heavily involved in drugs and alcohol. Theresa was followed by countless other hurting girls urgently in need of God's healing and hope.
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