Shelter the Homeless

As a partner of the Housing Development Alliance, our Church acts as a host for those groups coming into the area to lend a helping hand. Basing their operations from the Mission Cottage and the Church’s Fellowship Hall, college-age students from the University of Virginia, St. Joseph University, and Chester College serve during Alternative Spring Break. As summer comes, the Hill-Murray School and workers from a number of churches located in cities as diverse as Allendale, Michigan, High Point, North Carolina, and Manchester, Connecticut, have worked to provide more adequate housing for those in need in our Appalachian Mountains.

Our work with the Housing Alliance results in improved housing for many of the area’s needy. In many instances small repairs-- building a porch, repairing a roof, re-plumbing leaky pipes—let current householders live in an improved situation that brings comfort to their lives. In some instances, new houses are built that provide a new start to a life. Futures that once seemed desolate are brightened because those citizens living in a new house realize God has worked within their lives in a more visible way.

Many members at First have learned building and repair skills as we participate in Repair Affairs, House-Raisings, and on-going housing projects throughout the year. It’s one of our most beloved ministries!