4 minute read
Tiny Homes, Big Possibilities
Tiny Homes, Big Possibilities More Than a Place to Live in Shelby County
Time seems to move quickly when you are in the midst of doing ministry. Catching the wind sometimes happens sooner than we might think. That is so true for Dr. Pippin—or Doc, as he is fondly referred to by many who know him—and a small group of fellow veterans serving the Shelby County community. This group of men founded Veteran’s Rural Outreach (VRO) and brought their vision of the Veterans Village to Awake Ministries, whose board and leadership embraced the ideas of expanding their areas of service to their local heroes. That is when ministry began to move quickly.
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A Sense of Home
On October 1, 2019, ground was broken for the Veterans Village, a small plot of land for six tiny homes. Fast forward to October 1, 2020 and the first person moved into one of the six finished homes. When you step on the grounds of this village, you get a sense of home. Although the roads still need to be
The Veterans Village features six tiny homes that, through a partnership with Awake Ministries, help veterans in the Shelby County community achieve self-sustainability.
paved and the Community Center is a wellthought-out plan moving toward completion, the feeling of true transformation in the lives of the men and women living there is obvious.
John (not his real name) agrees. He is one of the first residents and knows he still has many challenges ahead of him. He also knows that God is faithful. He is proof the village is not just a place to live. It’s the partnership between the Veterans Village and Awake Ministries as they stand in the gap with wraparound services for these men and women who gave so much that will help him achieve his goal of self-sustainability in the near future.
Also on the property is a building that used to be The Palace—a local nightclub where, as Doc would say, “nothing good happened.” One day When you while Doc was walking step on the the grounds, he heard a loud noise. As he moved grounds of closer, he saw a small this village, group of men and their you get a motorcycles planted in front of the building sense of discussing the days they home. used to visit The Palace. Doc shared with them his dream of having a Community Center in the building where veterans could gather to hear the Gospel and get the help they needed. When leaving, one of the men asked what he needed. Doc mentioned TVs for the homes and a projector and screen for movie nights at the Community Center. The next morning all of the items were ordered and ready for delivery, courtesy of the guys on the motorcycles!
One of the veterans who helped found Veteran’s Rural Outreach, Dr. Pippin—or Doc, as he is known to many—is pictured with his granddaughter on the porch of one of the tiny homes.
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As the Veterans Village website states, the Community Center will foster relationship building, help with job search and readiness assistance, on-site Veterans Affairs counseling, and food insecurity assistance. Or as better said by Doc: “A hand up, not a handout.”
The Community Center— a renovated nightclub— will foster relationship building, help with job search and readiness assistance, on-site Veterans Affairs counseling,
Community Engagement
Awake Ministries and VRO are catching the wind at every turn of this journey. One of their main goals is to continue to engage community churches to help with counseling, Bible studies, worship nights, and fellowship at the Community Center. and food insecurity assistance.
Southeast Christian Church Shelby County Campus is already highly engaged in serving alongside Awake Ministries and the many wrapround services
they offer to the community. In fact, a group of individuals from the campus joined with other Southeast members on a local mission trip to help renovate the Community Center this past October 22-24. The team was briefed on community transformation, shared devotions each morning, and debriefed each night on how they saw God move during the trip.
Learn More
To learn more about Awake Ministries and the Veterans Village, including how you can help, visit awakeky.org. To take a mission trip, even a local one, text MISSION TRIP to 733733.
Prayer Requests
• Praise God for the six homes being completed in such a short time, allowing residents to move in and relationships to begin being developed.
• Pray that the lives of the men and women living at the Veterans Village will be transformed.
• Pray for God to continue to bless the partnership between Veteran’s Rural Outreach and Awake Ministries. The first person moved into the Veterans Village on October 1, 2020, exactly one year after ground was broken for the six tiny homes.
