A Ministry Born in the Margins
There is a passage in the Gospel of John where the risen Christ turns to Peter and issues a simple, profound command:
“Feed my sheep.” — John 21:17 (KJV)
It is a charge that has echoed through two thousand years of Christian history, calling believers to care for the vulnerable, the lost, and the forgotten. In West Fresno, California, one man heard that call and answered it — not from a position of comfort or privilege, but from the depths of his own brokenness. That man is Pastor Bruce Hood, and the ministry he founded in 2005 — Feed My Sheep Ministries — continues to be a transformative presence in one of California’s most economically distressed urban neighborhoods.
Located at 117 E. Lemon Ave., Fresno, CA 93706, Feed My Sheep Ministries is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Christian organization that addresses the spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional needs of West Fresno’s residents. It is not a ministry that operates at a safe distance from the community it serves. It is planted directly in the center of it.
The Neighborhood: Understanding West Fresno
To understand Feed My Sheep Ministries, one must first understand where it operates. West Fresno is a historically significant community located west of Highway 99 and southwest of downtown Fresno. While the area carries deep cultural roots and a strong sense of community identity, it has also faced decades of economic hardship and systemic neglect.
Crime rates in West Fresno run significantly above national averages, with estimates of roughly 3,800–3,900 incidents per 100,000 residents annually — meaning approximately 1 in 26 residents may experience some form of crime each year. Drug trafficking, gang recruitment, and substance abuse have long been documented concerns. Law enforcement and community organizations have noted the presence of multiple gang factions in the area, including groups that have historically recruited children as young as six years old.
The church building at 117 E. Lemon Ave. sits at what Pastor Hood describes as one of the highest-watched locations in the neighborhood for gang activity. Five of what he calls the most dangerous gangs in Fresno — the Modoc Boys, Fairway, Strother, Southerners, and Bulldogs — have historically operated in the surrounding area. The church was established there on purpose. The location is the mission.
The Founder: Pastor Bruce Hood’s Redemption Story
No account of Feed My Sheep Ministries is complete without understanding the remarkable journey of its founder. Pastor Bruce Hood was born in 1958 in Caruthers, California, and grew up doing farm labor and training racehorses. As a teenager, he descended into drug and alcohol abuse and was shot twice by a security guard during a burglary. Rather than serving as a turning point, that violent encounter launched him deeper into a life of crime — one that would lead to 49 arrests over the course of his life.
Despite the chaos, Hood managed to attend a vocational rehabilitation program and enrolled at Fresno City College. He worked at the Vendo Corporation as a supervisor of welders. In late 1982, a severe car accident left both his arms and legs broken — scars he still bears today. The downward spiral continued until 1990, when, while incarcerated in the Fresno County Jail on drug sales charges, Bruce Hood committed his life to Jesus Christ. That moment changed everything.
The apostle Paul wrote:
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
For Bruce Hood, those words proved literally true. Upon his release, he took the position of Senior Chaplain at the Fresno Rescue Mission, a role he held for ten years. He also served as a Fresno Police Chaplain for eight years, and he became the first former inmate to be hired as a paid Chaplain’s Assistant in the Fresno County Jail — a historic milestone that reflected both his transformation and his credibility with incarcerated men and women.
In 2005, Hood stepped away from the Rescue Mission to found Feed My Sheep Ministries, Inc., answering a calling he believed had been laid directly on his heart by God.
The Origin of the Feeding Kitchen: A Neighbor Lady and a Grocery Bag
The genesis of one of the ministry’s most essential programs — the feeding kitchen — came from an unexpectedly ordinary moment. As Pastor Hood describes it, he was raking the yard in front of the church one day when an elderly woman in her mid-sixties stopped to speak with him. She was leaving a neighbor’s house carrying a bag of food. She explained that every month, after her Social Security check ran out, she had no money left for groceries. The neighbors had been quietly helping her survive.
“Right then,” Pastor Hood recalls, “I knew that God was saying open up the back of the church for a feeding kitchen — and that’s what we did.”
That simple, divine prompting gave birth to a soup and sandwich kitchen that today serves free hot meals to community members — particularly those enslaved by gang activity and drug addiction. It is a model of ministry that finds its roots in the words of Jesus himself:
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” — Matthew 25:35 (ESV)
Programs and Outreach: A Holistic Model of Ministry
Feed My Sheep Ministries operates under the broader umbrella of Fresno Innercity Outreach, Inc., and its programs touch virtually every dimension of human need.
Food Distribution
The food ministry is among the most expansive aspects of the organization’s work. Each week, Feed My Sheep operates seven food drop-off locations throughout the West Fresno area, currently serving 1,200 families — a number that continues to grow. A dedicated Food Warehouse is also being developed to further expand capacity and serve the community more efficiently. For individuals or families in need, Pastor Bruce can be reached directly at (559) 978-5469.
Gang Intervention
Gang intervention is not a peripheral concern for Feed My Sheep — it is central to the ministry’s identity and location. Surrounded by some of Fresno’s most active gang territories, the church offers a counter-cultural presence: a place of safety, mentorship, and purpose. The ministry participates in marches against gangs, drugs, and violence and organizes community events designed to offer young people a positive alternative.
Boxing Lessons for Youth: Swapping Guns for Gloves
In partnership with 501 Box of Fresno, CA, Feed My Sheep Ministries now offers boxing lessons for sponsored youth from West Fresno. The program, part of the broader “Guns Down and Gloves Up” initiative, gives young people a structured, disciplined sport as an alternative to gang involvement. Pastor Hood has long believed in meeting young people where their interests lie and redirecting that energy toward positive pursuits.
Job Assistance and Workforce Development
Since 2005, Fresno Innercity Outreach has operated a Job Placement and Job Training Office at 963 ‘E’ Street in Fresno. A Thrift Store and Banner/Printing operation assist with job training for program participants. The goal is economic self-sufficiency — helping formerly incarcerated individuals, recovering addicts, and at-risk community members gain the skills and connections needed to find and maintain employment.
Community Events
Feed My Sheep believes that community transformation happens not just in crisis intervention but in celebration. The ministry regularly hosts car shows, carnivals, block parties, basketball tournaments, bicycle giveaways, and music-oriented events. Through an association with Toys for Tots and various supervised activities for teens, the ministry builds relationships and trust that open doors for spiritual conversation and support.
The “Guns Down and Gloves Up” Car Show
One of the ministry’s signature community events is the annual “Guns Down and Gloves Up” Car Show, held in partnership with the Fresno Police Department. The 2026 edition is scheduled for May 23, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at 1484 S. Arthur Avenue, Fresno — the site of the grand opening of the new Feed My Sheep Ministries Church Complex.
The event features lowriders, custom cars, hot rods, motorcycles, and bicycles, along with live boxing demonstrations by 301 Boxing and sponsored youth boxing lessons. Admission is free for guests; vehicle entrants pay a $10 registration fee that funds trophies for winners.
The grand opening of the new church complex will also highlight a dedicated Food Warehouse and a double-wide mobile office trailer housing offices for up to seven nonprofit organizations, offering services including employment assistance, food distribution, family and substance abuse counseling, funeral repast meals, and housing placement for homeless families.
The Church: Worship, Word, and Welcome
At the heart of all these programs is the church itself — a body of believers that gathers every Sunday for Bible Study at 10:00 a.m. and Church Service at 11:00 a.m. at 117 E. Lemon Ave. The congregation worships, studies Scripture, and serves together, reflecting the early church model described in Acts:
“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” — Acts 2:42 (KJV)
The church operates with an openly evangelical faith statement and extends a welcome to anyone regardless of background — including those who have been incarcerated, are struggling with addiction, or are caught up in gang life. Baptisms — often held at a nearby lake — are celebrated as joyful, family-inclusive occasions.
Pastor Hood’s ministry can also be heard on KRDU 1130 AM Radio, with broadcasts airing Saturdays at 8:15 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., and Sundays at 12:30 p.m., extending the reach of the Gospel across Central California.
Recognition and Community Standing
Pastor Hood is widely recognized throughout Central California for his decades of tireless service. He has made countless court appearances as an advocate for inmate release and transition to recovery programs, and has traveled extensively with Prison Fellowship to share his testimony. He has received numerous awards and commendations for his community work, and his ministry is respected by law enforcement, the courts, and civic organizations alike.
His story — from 49 arrests to founding a multi-program, court-recognized ministry — is itself a powerful testimony to the transforming power of the Gospel and the potential of faith-based organizations to address systemic social needs.
How to Support Feed My Sheep Ministries
Feed My Sheep Ministries accepts support in multiple forms:
- In-person giving at Sunday services during the offering
- Mail-in gifts to: Feed My Sheep Ministries, 4239 N. Gilroy, Fresno, CA 93722
- Vehicle, boat, and trailer donations
- Asset-based contributions including stocks, mutual funds, charitable gift annuities, and real estate
- Volunteer service with food distribution and other programs
As the ministry’s giving page reminds supporters, drawing from Luke 6:38:
“Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together and running over, shall men give into your bosom.” — Luke 6:38 (KJV)
For more information, contact Pastor Bruce Hood at (559) 978-5469 or visit fresnofeedmysheep.com.
Conclusion: A Shepherd in the City
The name “Feed My Sheep” was not chosen casually. It reflects a theology of incarnational ministry — the belief that the Church is most faithful when it is present among the suffering, not merely offering aid from a comfortable distance. For more than two decades, Pastor Bruce Hood and the volunteers of Feed My Sheep Ministries have embodied that theology in West Fresno.
They have done so by building a food warehouse in a food desert, planting a church in a gang corridor, offering boxing gloves instead of bullets to young people, and walking alongside men and women in the darkest chapters of their lives. In doing so, they have demonstrated what the prophet Isaiah described as the very fast that God chooses:
“Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?” — Isaiah 58:7 (KJV)
Feed My Sheep Ministries is not a perfect institution — no human organization is. But it is a faithful one. And in a neighborhood that has too often been overlooked, that faithfulness means everything.
