Appalachia Mission Project

Day 1

On this first day your group will travel to the mission center in Johnson City, Tennessee, and immediately begin your orientation with the staff of the Appalachian Service Project (ASP) where you will learn about the center, the community and the assignments on which you will be working. Many of the families in Appalachia struggle with extreme poverty, and their modest houses are the only real possessions they have. There is little money for basic needs or to even keep shoes on their kids' feet, so maintenance on their homes becomes a very low priority. As a result, the homes are crumbling — walls are buckling, floors are sagging, holes exist in the roofs — creating a dangerous living environment for elderly and young alike. During the evening your group will enjoy dinner together at the center and then travel to the home sites to meet the families you will be serving over the next several days. The night will conclude with devotions back at the mission center.

Days 2-6

Each day will begin early with breakfast and morning devotions at the mission center, and then you will load up your supplies and head out to individual work sites. You will spend the week providing much-need repairs, such as installing insulation, mending floors and porches, reinforcing foundations and structures. Teams will stay on-site to enjoy lunch, then continue working until late afternoon. Your group will return to the mission center in the evening for clean-up, dinner and some free time for recreation activities. One night there will be a special Culture Night with local families, and on another night your group will enjoy a community picnic with the families. Later you will also take some time for planning and preparing supplies for the next day's work, then close each night with devotions at the center.

Day 7

Following breakfast at the mission center it will be time to pack up and say your goodbyes to the staff of ASP before your group departs for home.
 
 
 

ABOUT THE MINISTRY
Within the intersecting region of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, one in four people lives below the poverty level, and nearly half of the families have annual household incomes below $20,000. The area has little employment to offer its residents, and families struggle to meet basic needs of food, clothing and safe housing. A great number of homes in the area are substandard for living, with crumbling walls, holes in roofs and floors, inadequate kitchens and incomplete plumbing. Appalachia Service Project brings thousands of volunteers from around the country to rural Central Appalachia each year to assist in home repair for these families, thus providing safe living environments and easing some of the financial burdens of home maintenance. Your service will not only bring relief to these families but will also share the love of Christ to people in need of hope and comfort.