Faith That Does Something

Mountain Heart Ministries is a Christian ministry.

Our faith isn’t simply part of our name or something we mention on a website. It is the reason we believe serving others matters.

Scripture repeatedly calls us to notice people who are hungry, struggling, forgotten or in need—and then to do something about it.

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
— 1 John 3:18 KJV

For Mountain Heart Ministries, those words are simple instructions:

Faith should be lived.

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Meeting the Need in Front of Us

Jesus did not ignore people’s physical needs while speaking to their spiritual ones.

He fed people who were hungry.

He noticed people others overlooked.

He showed compassion to people who were hurting.

He treated people with dignity.

That example matters to us.

When someone needs food, we believe feeding them matters.

When a senior is struggling, we believe noticing matters.

When a child needs something the family cannot provide, we believe helping matters.

When someone has lost hope, sometimes simply knowing another person cares matters.

“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:”
— Matthew 25:35 KJV

Christian ministry should not require us to choose between caring for someone’s physical needs and caring about the person.

We can do both.

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No Religious Test for Compassion

Mountain Heart Ministries serves people because they are people—not because they belong to a particular church or denomination.

A person will not be required to attend church, profess a particular belief, listen to a sermon or participate in religious activity in order to receive assistance.

We will never want someone wondering:

“Do I have to believe what they believe before they’ll help me?”

The answer is no.

Our Christian faith determines why we serve.

It does not determine who deserves compassion.

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Sharing Hope

While assistance will never be conditional upon someone’s faith, neither will Mountain Heart Ministries hide ours.

When appropriate and welcomed, we hope to provide opportunities for people who want prayer, Scripture, Bible study materials or other Christian resources.

Sometimes people need groceries.

Sometimes they need someone to pray with them.

Sometimes they need both.

We believe those decisions should be made with respect for the individual—not through pressure or obligation.

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Caring for the Whole Person

Poverty and hardship affect more than a bank account.

They can affect confidence, relationships, health, opportunity and hope.

That’s one reason Mountain Heart Ministries wants to look beyond the immediate request whenever possible.

We may not be able to solve every problem.

But we can listen.

We can treat people respectfully.

We can help meet needs when resources permit.

We can encourage rather than judge.

And sometimes we can help someone see that today’s circumstances do not necessarily have to determine tomorrow.

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
— Galatians 6:2 KJV

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Working With Churches

Local churches are already among the strongest resources in many Appalachian communities.

They know their neighbors.

They know their communities.

And often they know about needs long before an organization outside the community ever hears about them.

Mountain Heart Ministries hopes to work alongside churches whenever possible—not compete with them or duplicate the work they’re already doing.

Churches may become ministry partners, help identify needs, collect supplies, provide volunteers, participate in community projects or simply help us understand what is happening in their communities.

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More Than Bread

There is another reason the spiritual side of Mountain Heart Ministries matters.

Scripture speaks of another kind of hunger:

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:”
— Amos 8:11 KJV

We believe people need physical nourishment.

We also believe God’s Word matters.

Mountain Heart Ministries therefore hopes to make Scripture and Christian resources available to those who want them while continuing to provide practical assistance without religious conditions.

Feed the body when it is hungry.
Help meet the needs of everyday life.
And make the Word of God available to those who hunger for it.

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Faith for the Journey

The words on the Mountain Heart Ministries homepage say:

Hope for Today.
Help for Tomorrow.
Faith for the Journey.

Those aren’t three separate missions.

They belong together.

There will be times when someone needs immediate help today.

Whenever possible, we want to help create a better tomorrow.

And through all of life’s uncertainty, we believe there is something greater than either one:

Faith for the journey.

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:13 KJV

That’s the kind of ministry we want Mountain Heart to become.

Not merely something we say we believe.

Something we live.