Faith Christian Ministries of Spring Hope (FCM) was founded in 2009 by 14 churches in an effort to coordinate benevolent mission work in our community. From its inception to November 2020, volunteers worked to provide food, clothing, and utility assistance to needy families in the southern Nash area. We also operated a Thrift Store of donated items, sold at greatly reduced prices, for the general public. Several years ago, we expanded our ministry by beginning a modest, two-year college scholarship for one student who wanted to attend a community college. Thus far, we have helped two students.
As most of you know, in November 2020, a neighboring building collapsed and damaged our Thrift Store, as well as our adjoining building (which we owned) that we used as a warehouse and areas that we rented out to two other businesses. At the time of the collapse, the town issued a “Do Not Enter” judgment on both properties, and we have been out of business since then. Just recently, the order was lifted.
After much soul-searching, the Faith Christian Ministries Board has decided it is time to transition to other ministry efforts. We made this decision based on several factors, including the fact that there is now an expanded food ministry program called “A Touch of the Father’s Love”, which is serving the area. We have now sold our building and cleaned out the rented Thrift Store.
We have decided to invest our funds in our young people. We hope to provide needy high school graduates with scholarships to attend trade school and community college programs. Our plans are based on the old adage, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” We want to lift our children up so that their lives can be changed.
Mike Rowe, of “Dirty Jobs” fame, has a similar scholarship program. As that program explains, the scholarships are “designed to help people who may not have the best grades or test scores, but demonstrate a strong work ethic and personal responsibility.” [https://scholarsadvise.com/mike-rowe-scholarship/]. We have adopted the same philosophy but on a smaller scale.
We plan to offer scholarships up to $1500 a semester (up to 4 semesters) for as many as three students per semester. We are looking for hardworking students of good character who may even be the first person in their family to graduate high school. For the first time, we will be naming our scholarships after people who meant something to our organization and made significant contributions. This year 2 scholarships will be in memory of Dan Seeger and Elmer Daniel.
We are sharing this with you because we covet your prayers, are needing volunteers to support this change, and your help informing potential scholarship applicants.
In the years since our inception, we have helped many people with the necessities of life, but we are truly the ones who have been blessed. Even though we will no longer have a physical storefront presence, we wish to carry on by having an impactful presence in the lives of our future generations so that they may succeed in life and strive to have a servant’s heart so that they may be able to “give back” someday.
We will still maintain our post office box in town for communication purposes. Also, if you need to speak with any of our board members, please do not hesitate to contact these officers.
Jodell Richardson: President (252) 885-0353
Beverly Wilson: Vice President (252) 904-0509
Mary Jane Perry: Secretary (252) 908-4098
Kay Mitchell: Bookkeeper (252) 908-0722
In Christian Love,
Faith Christian Ministries of Spring Hope
If you know of someone who would benefit from this scholarship, you are asked to reach out to the board of FCM either to one of the board members above or through their post office box. [P.O. Box 592 Spring Hope, NC 27882]