A person going down Shore Street on a Thursday evening may see cars pulling to the side of the road, children running to a gated backyard and a re-creation of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion out of car mufflers.

Three houses along the street and their conjoined backyard are owned and maintained by Fishbone Ministries, a Butler-based Christian 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving youths and families in the region.

The nonprofit operates three activities each week: a youth group for children in grades five through 12 on Tuesdays; a program for children in pre-K through fourth grade on Thursdays; and family chapel services on Sundays.

Tom Bowser said he and his wife founded the ministry in the early 2000s in reaction to the ongoing opioid crisis.

“A friend of mine died of a heroin overdose. That just prompted my heart to go into the hard-luck communities and reach out to the children. We try to instill in them values in their own life and in the community, and the saving grace of Jesus Christ,” he said.

He said Fishbone Ministries started off small and scrappy, with the first attempts to make contact with families taking place through door knocking.

“That’s a pretty safe thing to do, right? Walk around communities with a bag of candy and knock on doors and invite kids to play with you in the park,” Bowser said sarcastically. “But literally, that’s how it happened.”

He said they did not immediately have a place to call home, so the organization met on the streets or found indoor spaces it could borrow for its sessions. Later, the group managed to purchase a house on Shore Street in Butler’s Island neighborhood, where Fishbone is still based today.

Bowser said the organization eventually welcomed teen groups who would come in for weeklong mission trips. One of those teens, Anna Wright, returned to Fishbone and now serves as ministry director.

“She fell in love with Butler and she grew up and decided she wanted to come here and serve with us. She lives here in this house and has lived here for seven years,” he said.

Wright said she knew after coming to Fishbone that she wanted to aid and serve a cause like this.

“I came for the summer, and halfway through I was like, ‘why would I be going back?’ But I was still young,” she said.

The organization continued to grow through its interactions with the community. Bowser said he met another ministry leader, Jimmy McCaslin, as the camp director of Pine Valley Camp in Ellwood City.

“We would take our teens from in the community and Pine Valley would give them scholarships so they could go there for a weeklong camp at no or very minimal charge,” Bowser explained.

McCaslin said Thursday’s children’s program starts with playtime in the backyard, which features swings, a gaga ball pit, picnic tables and open space for play.

“Sometimes there’s as many as 50 kids here on a Thursday,” he said.

“Most of them walk, but there are some kids who were in the community who have moved outside of the West End, but their parents still choose to bring them,” Bowser added.

McCaslin said another important aspect of every program — not just the children’s program — is the incorporation of a meal into the activities.

“The meal is really important because it fosters community and it’s a time to just rub shoulders with people. It’s key for building that sense of community,” he said.

After that, the bunch of youths splits into four groups so volunteers can teach a lesson or Bible story to them. If there’s time left, the children will get more playtime afterward.

On Sundays, the organization instead hosts a family chapel service in hopes of bringing the family unit together for worship. Most services consist of Bible stories, lessons and some worship songs.

Bowser said one of the most wonderful experiences around Fishbone is giving parents exposure to the Bible stories they may not have heard themselves.

“It’s interesting. You start telling some of these stories to some of the children. Their parents are within earshot and they become captivated. I’m like ‘oh my gosh, I never had an option.’ But a lot of these parents now were in the generation where they never heard the Gospel or who Jesus is,” he said.

Outside of the three weekly activities, Bowser and McCaslin said most of their and other volunteers’ time is spent building relationships with members of the community.

Sometimes that comes through events such as an August partnership with Drone Fleet Academy. Other times, it comes through direct interaction with the families.

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“We’re always looking for ways to be with them more. The families will call on us for help for all kinds of things — moving is a popular one. We’re always ready and willing to help,” McCaslin said.

Bowser said the organization is always looking for volunteers and is willing to work with any church or person who believes in “salvation by the blood of Jesus Christ” and can pass the necessary background checks.

But working with the community is not always sunshine and rainbows, he said.

“(Children) start to grow into a different place in their minds where they need to be popular, or they need more excitement or whatever. They need love. Some parents aren’t loving them like they should, so they start chasing these things,” he said.

Bowser told the story of one woman who used to attend Fishbone’s kids program. While her mother dealt with addiction, she found solace in Bowser and his weekly program.

“She grew up in that community and culture and she started chasing those things. She went from this little girl who would see me a block away and run down the street and jump into my arms,” he said.

He said he saw her when she was about 14 and attempted to speak with her, but she ran away to avoid the conversation.

“It tore my heart out because I know why. It’s because she knew I knew what she was doing, and she probably thought I didn’t like her anymore — that I was mad at her,” he said.

Bowser said a few years later, she called him and asked him to take her to her senior prom.

“The day of the prom, my wife went down and picked her up, brought her to our house and did her makeup and her hair. She was just absolutely beautiful,” he said.

While he was involved in a few interventions for her after that point, he eventually saw her for the last time at her funeral.

“Oftentimes I tell people, in this ministry and culture, you’re going to have to cry at a lot of funerals before you can dance at a wedding. We’ve seen that. I’ve done weddings, I’ve married some of our kids. And I’ve orchestrated funerals,” he said.

Bowser said his ultimate goal is to be obedient to God’s word and profess the name of Jesus, even if he doesn’t always understand the way it works. However, there was another element that shaped his mission into what it is today.

“When we first started doing the ministry, the local churches I originally went to and asked if I could participate in what they were doing, they all told me ‘don’t go to The Island.’ Well, when I hear ‘don’t go to The Island,’ I’m going to The Island,” he said.

He said he feels he found one of the most beautiful places on Earth with an unwritten connection between community members.

He recalled when his son died and the community held a prayer vigil for him, which he said was attended by 200 to 300 people.

“I had cards and flowers all over my truck, in a community where people say ‘don’t go, the people are nasty there,’” he said. “But when you come in and you just love people with the love Jesus Christ put into you, they receive that and they love you back.

“To go into a place where you’re a stranger, a place where everybody tells you not to go, and in the end you become their friend, that’s rewarding.”

He said the group is always looking for more volunteers or donations to support the cause. Information about Fishbone Ministries, its social media and ways to donate can be found at its website, fishboneministries.org.