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Old Mill Ministries' focus is to be a light by serving and ministering to both the physical and spiritual needs of the people in Eastern Tennessee and the Appalachian Mountains.
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Find Your Birth Verse Ever wonder what your birth verse would be? God has a plan for your life, and you are very important to him. Click here to see your birth verse.
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WELCOME |
Old Mill Ministries is a missionary outreach assisting the people of this part of the Appalachian Mountains. We are working with the owner of the Old Mill Music Park (pictured here) in an effort to acquire this property. In the mean time, they have been so gracious and a blessing to us by allowing us to use when needed. We are a nondenominational Christian Ministry, working along with other churches, schools, private supporters and other Christian based organizations to provide assistance to the needs of the surrounding area. Collectively we will help our brothers and sisters any way we can. The park will also be utilized as a retreat for churches, conduct various Christian music venues from Gospel, Bluegrass Gospel, to more contemporary styles of music, community choir and drama's.
All of our programs are staffed with volunteers. |
Back To School Bash We hope you'll mark your calendar and join us for the 2nd Annual Back to School Bash at Old Mill Ministries on Saturday July 25, 2009! With the economic climate as it is, many people are in need of assistance, and folks who never thought they would be affected are reaching out to ministries such as ours.
Our event will take many volunteers; whether you are able to come and volunteer for the day, sponsor a child by giving a $35 donation for school supplies, making a donation toward other expenses, promoting the event by talking to your Sunday school class, church or workplace about our needs or ALL of the above. wherever you feel the Lord leads you.
Praise God we have been called to Tennessee to show them unconditional love and grace that only Jesus can provide.
It is going to be a great day! A day filled with great music, horseback rides, bouncy houses, games, food, snacks, drinks, school supplies, prizes and the list goes on and on and on. Also, back by popular demand, the hilarious, the funny, the most loving and light hearted Preacher you will ever meet. Pastor Eddie Karriker really connects with our youth, and he will serve as our key note speaker from Freedom Christian Ministries, Mooresville, NC. We'll also welcome UMC Pastor David Locke from Hickory, NC, who will also share an encouraging message. Pastor Dave is humorous, cheerful and all kids from 8-80 will enjoy hearing his message.
More information will be posted soon, so check back often for updates and if you have questions about getting involved, please contact us!
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The weather was great this past Saturday, May 23rd, for the Yard Sale Fundraiser Old Mill Ministries had at the Old Mill Music Park on Hwy 91 in Laurel Bloomery. First customers arrived at 7AM and it was a steady stream until about 3PM. Because We had been so blessed with clothing donations over the past year, and we had worked to make sure the families we support had received things they needed, we took the opportunity to place those donations in the yard sale at a very reasonable .25 per item. This blessed the people in the community, and gave us an opportunity to get the items into peoples hands so they could be used. We calculated that over 700 items were sold!
We want to thank everyone that came and supported the sale, and especially want to thank our special neighbors, Jackie, Amanda and Alaina for the help they provided, as well as the calls they made to send customers our way. It was a lot of fun and work. We plan to do it again in the future!
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Why Old Mill Ministries?
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives...Isaiah 61:1
The people of Northeastern Tennessee have little to live on, few opportunities for employment and struggle to survive. Due to various factors most like large timber companies moved on as land owners sold off the land to the federal government's Cherokee National Forest and iron ore mines that were once a major contributor to the local economy are no longer in operation. These industries were drastically and negatively impacted many years ago but in more recent years many manufacturing operations have moved to third world countries for cheaper labor or closer to customer base. Because Johnson County only has twisting and winding roads and no real easy access to Interstate-81 or Interstate-26, it makes it difficult for heavy truck transportation. With no rail system within the county it makes this area less attractive to industry when factoring in the demand for meeting the needs of their customers at a competitive price and timely deliveries, companies are just not moving to the area. This action has caused extreme poverty, economic distress to the area, high unemployment or forced to work menial jobs at low wages or forced to commute out of the area which is not feasible for many and this has gone on for years, generation after generation. This condition is called generation poverty but we call it a generational curse.
We see children and the elderly go to bed hungry and without medication. Governmental housing and social programs exist but they cannot fill the need. These programs are designed as stopgaps, not a solution to the problem. Just in Johnson County, TN alone the average annual income is below $18K per household with a poverty level of over 27% per capita (2008 U.S. census and U.S. Labor of Statistics). If we remove the income from people who relocate to the area for retirement and to take advantage of lower taxes, the average household income would be much less. To see the impact to the community even further, 75% of our school children are on a state funded reduced lunch program with 48% on the state free lunch program. School lunches are the only hot meal some of these children get. For the average person living in this area, we are talking about many people who heat their homes with wood because they cannot afford a furnace or if they have one, they cannot afford the oil or added expense to operate it and in some cases people cook with wood and have poor or no indoor plumbing. We see children who don't own a coat or hat to wear in the winter. They wear hand-me-down clothes and shoes. These people see no hope, they live in darkness and they live under the curse. Sure most believe there is a God, many profess Christianity yet their situations remain the same. Our focus is to be a light by serving and ministering not only to their physical needs but also to their spiritual needs.
They physically need our help but just as important they need to be set free and to experience the love of God and receive all the gifts our Savior has for us.
Won't you help us break this generational curse of poverty? Fight the spirit of depression, condemnation and addiction? Visit our Partnership page to become an OMM Partner or make a one time donation.
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. John 12:46
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