The Klamath Falls Gospel Mission, Inc. (KFGM) was founded and incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1958 and in 2018, celebrated our 60th anniversary of service to the community. The Klamath Falls Gospel Mission's founder, John Pederson, served as the Director for many years.

The former mission building was a Covenant church that was built around 1933. In 1959 the basement was extended and a men's dorm was built. In 1976 a new dining hall, kitchen, and classrooms and more office space on the floor above, was added to provide needed facilities to expand services.

For many years, churches and individual community donors provided support for the Klamath Falls Gospel Mission. For the first several decades, services were primarily provided for single, typically transient men who were coming to Klamath Falls on the rails.

By the 1990's, numbers dropped significantly. The railroad companies began to arrest men riding the rails and water shortages in the area resulted in a reduced need for migrant and transient workers. The number of 'beds' provided dropped from a high of just over 23,000 in 1996-1997 to a low of 8,200 'beds' in 2003.

Over the past decade the Gospel Mission began to see women with children and families seeking services. The Gospel Mission not only expanded who it served, it also added new services to better meet the basic needs of the homeless and those in need. Meals, educational classes, and support services were added. With these changes, the numbers began a steady climb and over 13,000 'beds' were provided in 2018.

This increase in the numbers served and the offering of more programs and services has resulted in a need for increased operating funds and an expansion of facilities. The KFGM expanded its funding base to a more diverse funding base, including operational funds through our Thrift Store sales. To meet increased facility demands, after several years of a planned capital campaign fund drive to build a new facility in a new location, we completed and moved into our new facility, located on the Klamath Works Human Resources Campus, in November 2018.

By developing more substantial and diversified funding, and by providing expanded facilities, the Gospel Mission is positioning itself well to meet the current and future needs of those it serves.