Highlands, NJ, It’s amazing that we still have people working behind the scenes looking for no self-recognition that are willing to give their lives to help the needy of our communities.

Last year 40,000 lbs. of free food were given to the needy, over 50 families were clothed and countless others helped with Social Services such as housing, family counseling, and crises intervention was provided to anyone who entered the doors of New Life Community Development Corporation, a New Jersey Non-Profit. Many came with addiction challenges and were provided with counsel and alternatives, as well as, free placement in various rehabilitation facilities throughout the country at no cost whatsoever. Affordable Housing issues are being worked on daily and churches and other non-profits are being mobilized to partner and take action within their respected communities.

It all began with the purchase of a closed Episcopal Church located in Highlands, New Jersey just thirty-six (36) months ago. The Reverend Martin D. McGrail, Jr., was stationed at the Federal Housing Authority in Long Branch, New Jersey for six (6) years and was the volunteer Director of Pastoral Care for the Drug Elimination Department. Reverend McGrail worked daily with the Monmouth County Probation Department and provided alternative counseling to such matters as gang activities, drug intervention, abuse, and after-school care for children and teens. In addition, Reverend McGrail funded and provided tutoring, daily feeding programs and alternatives to incarceration for both the youth and adult offenders. As the program grew Reverend McGrail could hardly continue the work alone and through correspondence and prayer the minister known as “The Hoodlum Priest” reached out to Missionaries he had worked with before to come and help. One who answered the call was the Reverends very own housekeeper, “Sister Jessica”.

McGrail purchased the historical Saint Andrews Church and totally rebuilt it with the help of the mission sisters. To fund his work McGrail had a friend who is a practicing Anesthesiologist in a nearby hospital who needed a medical billing service. McGrail and the mission sisters remembered as they served overseas how the missionaries would bake bread or make wine or provide interpretation services for the government and fund their respective ministries. After long prayer and counsel McGrail accepted the challenge and sent the mission sister to school to learn medical terminology, anatomy, medical coding and third-party billing and the team was off and running. For the past several years their efforts have paid off and they have supported the needs of the community 100% funded through their medical billing efforts.

The missionaries also saw a need to help those on government assistance or unemployment so they began a work training program and have employed and taught over a dozen individuals medical billing and other office skills, and each individual has gone on to work either in a healthcare providers office, hospital or medical insurance company, as well as, other medical billing companies.

Neither Reverend McGrail, nor the sisters are paid for their endless hours of work, yet they continue to build upon their vision and dream to provide for the needy of the community the have been sent to serve in.