The Work of Selah Creek: A Place for Mothers to Pause, Heal, and Begin Again

If you have been around Redeemer Church for a while, you may have heard the name Selah Creek. Maybe you heard it during corporate prayer. Maybe someone in your life group mentioned volunteering there. Perhaps Ashly McCabe knocked on your door asking if your particular skill set could help meet a need. Or maybe you’ve seen one of the Selah Creek moms or babies sitting next to you during a Sunday service. As our partnership with Redeemer has continued to grow, we wanted to take a moment to share more about the work of Selah Creek with the church family that has faithfully supported us.

Where Selah Creek Began

Selah Creek was founded in 2015 as a residential program for women facing unexpected or unsupported pregnancies—women who need a safe place to focus on themselves, their babies, and their futures. That sentence explains what we do, but inside it lives an entire world of life and growth. 

Let’s start with the women. Our moms range anywhere from 18 to 38 and beyond. There is no age limit. For some, this is their first pregnancy. For others, it is not. Regardless of age or circumstance, every woman who walks through our doors shares one thing in common: They need a safe place to pause and figure out what comes next.

Our moms come from all over—sometimes from Rockwall, sometimes from outside Texas entirely. Some are escaping abusive relationships. Some are working to stay sober for the first time in decades. Some have no housing at all. Others come from seemingly stable families but were told that parenting was not an option and suddenly found themselves alone in crisis, needing support.

Becoming pregnant has a way of zooming both in and out of the picture of our lives at the same time. It zooms in by bringing immediate needs into focus—medical care, baby supplies, housing—while also forcing us to zoom out and ask bigger questions about the life we want to build and the environment we want our children to grow up in.

For many women, pregnancy is filled with joy, excitement, and dreams. But the women who come to Selah Creek often arrive in the middle of fear, uncertainty, and crisis. They don’t have the resources for a newborn. They don’t have family support or mentors to guide them. They don’t want to bring a baby into environments marked by homelessness, addiction, abuse, neglect, or isolation. They want something different for their children than what they experienced themselves. They need more than encouragement.

They need a place to live, a bed to sleep in, and tangible items for their baby. That’s why the first thing we focus on at Selah Creek is meeting immediate needs. It’s very difficult to ask someone to dream about their future when they don’t know where they will sleep that night or where their next meal will come from. At Selah Creek, we give women the time, space, and resources they need to become the mothers they want to be.

Creating Stability

When a mom moves into Selah Creek, she receives her own fully furnished bedroom to begin to feel safe and move out of crisis mode. From there, we begin helping her stabilize the practical areas of life. We assist with applying for food stamps, WIC, and Medicaid, scheduling medical care, obtaining identification documents, and addressing urgent health needs. It is not uncommon for our moms to have gone months without seeing an OB due to lack of access or transportation. Simply getting connected to medical care can be a huge step forward. Once those immediate needs are addressed, we begin the deeper work.

Healing and Preparing for Motherhood

This stage focuses on helping moms heal, grow, and prepare for the arrival of their baby. This includes counseling and emotional healing, identity and life skills development, labor and delivery classes, newborn care education, financial literacy training, and educational and employment support

Each mom is also paired with a mentor, and together they work through the Boundaries book and workbook while building a relationship of trust and encouragement. For many of our moms, this is the first time someone has walked alongside them in such a consistent and personal way. They begin setting short-term and long-term goals. They begin working toward education or employment if they are medically able.They begin saving money for the future. And perhaps most importantly, they begin to dream again. We also make sure there is plenty of joy along the way—from baby sprinkles to celebrations of milestones big and small.

When Baby Arrives

Then one of the most beautiful moments happens. Their baby is born. We hear heartbreaking stories of women who went through labor and delivery completely alone. One of our greatest privileges is simply showing up. We hold their hands. We encourage them. We remind them they are not alone.

After their baby arrives, we continue walking with them—helping establish rhythms of life with a newborn, setting up pediatric care, arranging childcare, and navigating the balance of work, school, and parenting. Throughout this season, moms continue participating in classes and mentoring while celebrating life’s milestones—birthdays, graduations, holidays, and everything in between.

The Heart of Our Program

Moms can stay with us up to one year after their baby is born, and during that time we continue helping them prepare for independence. But the most important thing we do at Selah Creek is point our moms to Jesus. The Gospel is the foundation for the generational change we long to see. We believe that when mothers encounter the love of Christ and discover their identity in Him, it changes everything—not only for them, but for their children and future generations. We live this out through weekly church attendance, Bible studies, and one-on-one spiritual mentorship that meets each mom where she is in her faith journey. We take every opportunity to replace the narratives the world has told them with the truth of who God says they are. Our vision is simple but powerful: To see women transformed by the Gospel, thus changing lives for generations to come.

Stories of Transformation

One Selah Creek mom shared:

“When I found out I was pregnant, I had never felt so alone or unworthy of love. I was so nervous to ask for help, but I knew I needed it—and so did the baby growing inside me. Selah Creek met me with nothing but love and support every step of the way.”
— Mama L

Another mom put it this way:

“If I hadn’t found Selah Creek, I’d probably be in jail, or in rehab, or not alive. My relationship was severely abusive, and I was numbing myself before I was here. Because of this place, my eyes have opened up to a lot of things. They’ve made me feel like I’m worth something.”
— Mama J

What Happens Next

Every mom’s next step looks different.

Some experience family restoration with relatives who had previously stepped away. Others move into educational programs or workforce opportunities as they continue building stability.

No matter where they go, our moms are always welcome back as Selah Creek alumni. Throughout the year we host gatherings where moms and their children return to reconnect and continue receiving encouragement and support.

How Redeemer Is Part of This Story

So that’s Selah Creek in a nutshell—a place for women facing unexpected or unsupported pregnancies to focus on themselves, their babies, and their futures. But the story would not be complete without talking about how this work happens. It happens through people like you. Selah Creek operates just like any household—with rent, utilities, gas, insurance, groceries, house supplies, and countless other needs. Faithful monthly supporters make it possible for our team to keep doing the work God has called us to.If you would like to learn more about financially supporting Selah Creek, we would love to talk with you. You can reach out to us directly or stop by and talk with Ashly McCabe anytime.

Just as importantly, we need volunteers. Redeemer volunteers are incredible. They mentor, tutor, plan parties, help with home projects, drive moms to appointments, and support our families in countless ways. Because we provide 24/7 care, there is always room for someone new to step in and serve. While Selah Creek serves women and babies, there are still many ways for men to get involved, and their presence is incredibly important. Our moms and children benefit greatly from seeing examples of healthy, supportive male role models. Just this past week, a few of our male mentors took one of our little guys out for some much-needed “guy bonding time.” Moments like that matter deeply for the families we serve. If you’d like to explore volunteering, we would be honored to help you find a place where your gifts can bless our moms and babies.

Join Us

And if you want to learn more about Selah Creek while having a great time, we would love to see you at our Community Concert on April 18th. Tickets are available now at: selahcreek.org/concert

Thank You

To our Redeemer Church family—thank you. Through your time, energy, generosity, and prayers, mothers who once felt alone now have the support they need to build a beautiful future for themselves and their children. You are part of every story of hope that begins at Selah Creek.