Association’s Good Samaritan Center meets needs
- Mar 15, 2009
DOVER, Tenn. — The Good Samaritan Center is located in downtown Dover on a main street of the town in a very nice building.
It seems like a nice clothing store which has very reduced prices, but recently it has drawn not just frugal shoppers but more and more people who are desperate, said William Gray, director of missions, Judson/Stewart/Truett Baptist Associations, based in Dover.
Usually the center helps 25 families a week with food or money for utilities or other needs. Recently the center has helped 70 families a week, said Gray.
About 85 percent of the people asking for help recently have never asked the center for help before, said Gray.
Thankfully donations from individuals and churches in the area, especially Baptist(s), have picked up too, he added.
The area which includes Stewart County is a rural, resort area adjoining Lake Barkley and Land Between the Lakes National Park. Many residents are retired and were attracted to the area by the lakes. The county only has a couple of small manufacturing plants. Many residents who work travel to Clarksville or Nashville to do so, said Gray.
Many of the 14,000 residents of the county are needy, reported Gray. He observed that they began to suffer financially when gasoline prices rose last year. Now residents are reeling from the very cold weather and a TVA increase in electric bills. Many people report their electric bills doubled recently. Other residents have lost their jobs or suffered a crisis of some kind, Gray and volunteers agreed.
Shocking needs
Joe Shannon, pastor and founder of Grace Baptist Church, Dover, serves at the center as a chaplain and leads members of the church to serve as volunteers. The center is open Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“People in our county are a lot worse off than I ever realized,” said Shannon, who has lived in the area all of his life. He also is ministry assistant, Judson/Stewart/Truett Baptist Associations.
For instance, at the center he learned of a family whose trailer was damaged by a fire. They had no water and some electricity provided by a generator. They were renting a portable restroom.
Each person who asks for food or money must meet with a chaplain of the center, fill out a form, and if the need requires money and isn’t an emergency, the response is approved by the center’s executive committee. The committee meets weekly.
Misuse of help from the center is controlled by Linda Gray, office receptionist for the associations, who checks Charity Tracker, an online service for the area.
Shannon and Gray also helped an elderly man they learned about who lived in a shack without electricity or running water. Shannon’s father delivered firewood to the man for a year before the man died.
Good Samaritan volunteers have helped people who are homeless, noted Gray. In 2008, the center served about 24 people who were homeless.
“I serve because I get to help people and have the opportunity to share the gospel with everyone who comes in for help,” said Shannon.
Ginny Mudge said she enjoys serving at the center because she fellowships with a lot of people while there and helps a lot of people. The center has a great relationship with the community, she added. For example, the center works with public school teachers to help children. Volunteers have delivered coats requested for children to a school. The center also provides work for people who are developmentally challenged, Mudge said.
She praised William Gray who she said understands the ministry, is very generous and is fun to work with.
Roland Mudge, Ginny’s husband, serves at the center as a chaplain. He is pastor, Corinth Baptist Church, Dover. The couple serve about 40 hours a week.
The ministry is “a wonderful springboard to share the Lord,” said Roland Mudge. The center also provides a “wonderful atmosphere” for people who may be depressed, he added.
Because of their ministry at the center, four people have joined their church, reported the Mudges.
The chaplains have seen several people make professions of faith. Also a long-time volunteer who had never attended church joined a church because of her experiences at the center, noted Gray.
Miracles, help
The current site of the center was made possible by the gift of a local woman who operated a clothing store out of the facility. A Christian, the woman sold the space to the Good Samaritan executive committee for a very low price, said Gray.
The provision of food, items, and money is a miracle, he said. In 2008, $35,579 was given to people to help them pay for necessities and 752 food boxes were distributed. A total of 4,000 people were helped.
The about 35 volunteers who serve are another miracle, said Gray. He noted people like Lucy Phillips and many others make the center possible. Phillips, who attends Walnut Grove Baptist Church, Dover, has served as a volunteer for 13 years.
Because of the long history of the Good Samaritan Center — 17 years — Gray is told of needy people by people working in social services and at the electric company. Gray and others founded the center. He has served as DOM of the three associations for 23 years.
Personal view
Gray said when he counsels folks seeking help he often uses tough love. He tells them that “I’ve never seen a Christian begging for bread.” If they are Christians, he explains that “they are not surrendered to the Lord.”
Gray speaks to the needy from experience. He grew up in a family who were poor tenant farmers in Kentucky.
He also tells people they need a job and has helped people find jobs.
He hopes the center can offer financial training and job placement in the future. He also sees a future when because of lack of help from families, the church is “going to become more relevant as it is needed to do more and more ministry.”
This ministry “makes a difference in people’s lives,” said Gray.
This article is reprinted from the March 4, 2009, issue of the Baptist & Reflector, the newsjournal of the Tennessee Baptist Convention.
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