Appalachia Service Project: Restoring Homes and Hope in Scott County

Devotional

Day 1: Building on Faith When Resources Seem Absent

A Methodist preacher rides Appalachian backroads with no construction skills, no budget, and 50 volunteers. Four homes repaired in 1969 become 55 years of transformed lives through unlikely labor. This work defies business logic – teenagers manage budgets, retirees teach roofing, and leaky walls get patched by first-timers. Yet morning by morning, God multiplies five loaves-and-fishes-style. The miracle isn’t in perfect outcomes, but in ordinary hands becoming holy tools. [27:43]

“Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. Everyone ate and was satisfied.”
(Luke 9:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: Where in your life have you hesitated to act because you felt unequipped? How might this story invite you to offer what you have, not what you lack?

Day 2: When a New Roof Becomes a Song of Trust

A disabled musician plays guitar daily for volunteers repairing his unfinished home. His trust mirrors wildflowers clothed in splendor – he knows leaks will stop, floors will hold, and six years of waiting will end. Like birds fed without barns, his music declares that dignity isn’t earned through self-sufficiency. Sometimes the holiest work is receiving help with open hands, letting others hammer while you strum anthems of gratitude. [38:15]

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
(Matthew 6:26-30, ESV)

Reflection: What song – literal or metaphorical – might God be inviting you to play while others help carry burdens you cannot lift alone?

Day 3: Miracles in the Midst of Unlikely Laborers

Termite-riddled floors. Electrified refrigerators. A home deemed impossible becomes a proving ground when 70-year-old contractors show up unannounced. Walls get sheathed in two days, stoves replaced, foundations stabilized – not through human planning, but through hands guided by older hands. The real construction isn’t on joists, but in hearts learning to rely on the Carpenter who needs no blueprint. [45:19]

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations.”
(Ephesians 3:20-21, ESV)

Reflection: When have you witnessed “impossible” circumstances transformed by unexpected help? How might this shape your prayers for current struggles?

Day 4: Beauty as an Act of Dignity and Belonging

Fresh white siding does more than block wind – it lets a man host friends for the first time in a decade. Porch ramps become pride points, repaired floors turn into dance spaces. ASP’s work reveals that beauty isn’t frivolous; it’s the physical form of “you matter.” Every nail driven says, “Your story deserves a safe place to unfold.” [34:00]

“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!”
(Psalm 90:17, ESV)

Reflection: How might creating beauty – in your space, relationships, or community – become an act of honoring God’s image in others today?

Day 5: When Anger at Injustice Ignites Holy Action

A single mother’s collapsing roof sparks holy fury in a young director. She vows to spend paychecks, off-days, every resource to fix what she cannot unsee. This isn’t guilt-driven charity, but love’s wildfire – the kind that rebuilds homes and forges apostles. Once you witness daylight through living room walls, complacency dies. You either walk away changed or become the change. [41:20]

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?”
(James 2:14-17, ESV)

Reflection: What injustice stirs your spirit to action? How can you channel righteous anger into concrete love this week?

Sermon Summary

Romans 12 names the charge with simple clarity: serve God’s needy people and love the neighbor next door. That word sets the pace for ASP’s whole summer in Scott County. A God sized problem sits on the table, and ASP admits it cannot be solved by money they do not have or expertise they do not claim. God’s hand must carry what their odd little “business model” cannot. So the text of the summer reads like this: ordinary people say yes, and homes become warmer, safer, and drier, one porch board, one joist, one shingle at a time.

Tex Evans frames the heartbeat. He called ASP a relationship ministry with construction on the side, not the other way around. Acceptance lands first. People are received right where they are, just the way they are, and hope starts moving. When a crew begins a roof a homeowner could never organize or afford, the homeowner often picks up a brush, pulls carpet, or tears down a non load bearing wall. Shared work restores dignity. The house changes and so does the person who lives in it.

One mobile home becomes a picture of this grace. Insulation from the roof to the ground and new siding do more than cut winter wind. Fresh white siding and a tan roof give a man back something he had missed for a decade. He starts inviting people over again because his home is beautiful. The house is warmer, but the welcome is warmer too.

Trust, like the birds and the lilies in the Sermon on the Mount, keeps showing up on porches. A disabled musician cannot climb a ladder, but he plays his guitar while others frame and sheath and shingle. That song sounds like faith that God will clothe and feed and finish what was started.

The calling also changes those who serve. An initial visit to a single mom of nine, fighting through hoarding debris and a roof giving way, lights a fire that will not go out. Capacity feels small. Need feels massive. Then calling speaks up. “Sign the house.” A teammate says it straight. And God sends just the right crews at just the right time. Four weeks of work happens in one week, and nobody takes credit. In that home, a sturdy floor holds weight again, a sink drains to pipes instead of the floor, and a stove works with the lights on. ASP stands there as a conduit for God’s power and love, not the source.

Nine homes across the county now carry stories like this. A backyard is safe for small kids. An underpinning cuts the wind. A ramp makes groceries and doctor visits possible without pain. Next come low threshold showers and a roof that will finally stop the leaks. Hospitality from this church makes all of it possible, and the invitation stands to come and see.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s hand carries the work God keeps making a humanly impossible model bear real fruit. Unskilled volunteers, shoestring budgets, and massive need should not add up. Yet at the right moment, the right people arrive, and weeks of labor compress into days. The outcome feels given, not managed. [47:44]
2. Neighbor love becomes warm, safe, dry Romans 12 does not float in the clouds. It nails down subfloors, patches roofs, frames ramps, and restores bathrooms so the neighbor can live with safety and dignity. Love shows up as insulation, flashing, and low thresholds, and it keeps showing up the next week. The command is simple and the impact is concrete. [31:33]
3. Relationship first, construction on the side Acceptance opens doors that blueprints alone cannot. When people are received just as they are, hope starts working alongside the crews. Homeowners join in, paint brushes in hand, and dignity wakes up while the house dries in. Shared work heals more than wood and drywall. [34:38]
4. Calling outruns visible capacity Fear says the project is too big. Calling says God is already moving and asks for a yes. That yes invites provision that cannot be scheduled or forced. The result is more than a fixed room. It is courage learned, faith stretched, and a story that keeps feeding others. [45:41]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[24:23] - Opening prayer
[26:08] - How ASP serves Appalachia
[27:22] - Founding with no resources
[29:39] - Twofold mission and God sized goal
[31:33] - Love your neighbor as anchor
[33:22] - Warm, safe, dry becomes pride
[34:38] - Relationship ministry with acceptance
[36:56] - Porch guitar and steady trust
[39:26] - Single mom of nine lights a fire
[45:41] - Saying yes to an impossible house
[47:44] - Work only God could orchestrate
[49:04] - Nine homes and specific wins
[51:36] - Ramp already easing the pain
[53:24] - Come see the sites and thanks

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Romans 12:9-13 (ESV)
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Matthew 6:26-30 (ESV)
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Observation questions

According to Romans 12:9-13, what are the practical ways love should be expressed among believers and neighbors? How did the sermon connect this to actions like installing insulation, building ramps, or repairing roofs? [31:33]
In the story of the disabled musician playing guitar while volunteers worked, how does Matthew 6:26-30 help explain the homeowner’s trust in God’s provision? [38:15]
The sermon described a homeowner who began inviting people over after his home was repaired. What specific changes in his home (physical and emotional) made this possible? [34:00]
What practical obstacles did ASP face in tackling the home of the single mother of nine, and what unexpected provision occurred? [47:44]

Interpretation questions

Why might “acceptance first, construction second” (as Tex Evans taught) be critical for building relationships that lead to transformation? How does Romans 12:10-13 support this approach? [34:38]
The sermon emphasized that “shared work restores dignity.” How does working alongside someone in need reflect the biblical call to “serve the Lord” (Romans 12:11) beyond just completing a task?
In Matthew 6:26-30, Jesus contrasts human anxiety with God’s care for creation. How did the story of the team signing a home they felt unqualified to fix ([45:41]) demonstrate reliance on this truth?
Why might fixing a stove, repairing a floor, or building a ramp be described as acts of “genuine love” (Romans 12:9) rather than just charity?

Application questions

When have you faced a situation that felt “too big” for your capacity, like the team signing the single mom’s home ([45:41])? How did you respond, and what might it look like to lean into God’s provision instead of fear in future challenges?
The repaired mobile home became a place of renewed hospitality. What ordinary spaces in your life (home, workplace, etc.) could become places of warmth and welcome if intentionally stewarded?
Romans 12:13 says to “seek to show hospitality.” The sermon highlighted practical hospitality through construction. What is one tangible way you could meet a physical or emotional need for someone in your community this week?
The disabled homeowner trusted God’s care while others worked on his roof ([38:15]). Where do you struggle to trust God’s provision in your life? How might small acts of service (yours or others’) remind you of His faithfulness?
ASP’s work required volunteers to say “yes” despite limited skills. What “unqualified yes” is God inviting you to offer—even if it feels uncomfortable or small?

Sermon Clips

43s

#GodsLoveAtWork

“``you can turn on the lights in the kitchen, and the stove doesn't go out. And these things these things are just incredible to witness. I can tell you right now that there is more at work in Scott County than just Appalachia Service Project. There is all we are is a conduit for God's power and God's love to be at work here. That is all we are. Nothing we can do would solve this God sized problem of substandard housing, but we can do little things, and we can make an opportunity for God's love to do more things than we are able to do. And that's what's been happening.”

43s

#RapidHomeRestoration

“They tore out the entire floor and replaced the banjoists around the outside, replaced the foundation underneath, replaced the subfloor, and added floor coverings. They re sheathed two walls of the house on the outside, removed the siding, and put up new. And they fixed her kitchen floor. They moved the stove and bought her an entirely new stove. And at the end of the week, we had finished the work that would have taken four weeks. And I I had to look back and say that that was not us. That was a godsend.”

36s

#VolunteerVow

“And I was walking down her driveway. I was with one of my coworkers, and I I told him, I I don't care if ASP can help this woman or not. She will she will be helped. I will be here on my days off. I will spend my paycheck. I will come here with two by fours and a hammer, and I will help her rebuild her home. And that that visit and some other ones, but that one mainly lit a fire in me, and I can't I can't go back from that.”

29s

#CalledToServe

“I didn't have I didn't have trust. Frances, who's on my team, told me in that meeting, she said, I feel I feel called to this home. I feel that God is moving here. I know that this is a challenge, and this is beyond what we can do. But I know that if we sign this home, there will be God's hand in it.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Gate City UMC This sermon · AI assistant

What is the mission regarding substandard housing?

What does relationship ministry with construction mean?

How is love of neighbor expressed practically?