Jesus invites you to follow him to the margins of our society, into places of suffering, where hope is born. Come bear hope with us and our friends struggling with poverty in rural Appalachia. Come, and experience God’s transforming power in and through your life. Create with us a community of hope.
“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”
From that time Jesus began to proclaim,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”Matthew 4:16-17
Do you hear this radical call of Christ to follow him into the daily labor and joy of loving your neighbor in the context of Christian community? As an Appalachian Immersion intern, you will experience the people and places of rural Appalachia deeply as you spend 9 to 12 months in the Good Works community. Our philosophy of ministry states:
The vision of Good Works is to create a loving COMMUNITY OF HOPE where people who are homeless and poor in SE Ohio can sense God's love and presence through us. Good Works' intention is to improve people’s quality of life through meeting felt needs, building trust, strengthening human dignity and self-worth, and providing opportunities for education and employment. We seek to nurture those we serve in an atmosphere of tough and tender love, compassion, and responsibility.
In your year as an intern you will gain a broad experience of Christ-centered ministry among people struggling with poverty. Participating in and giving leadership to several different contexts for service will stretch you! We seek to give you a balance of responsibilities that will be enjoyable, energizing, empowering and challenging. The internship is flexible regarding each individual’s areas of strength and weakness.
You will also become a vital part of the Hannah House community, home to a diverse group of people over the years. The Hannah House is a large farm house a mile outside of Athens, Ohio, surrounded by beautiful rural scenery. The first floor holds Good Works offices and dorm rooms for short-term volunteers as well as a big, well-used kitchen. Upstairs offers private living space for Hannah House residents, along with several guest rooms.
As a community, we commit to building honest, trusting relationships with each other. We believe that living in community with other believers is a true catalyst for personal and spiritual growth. And if we open our eyes, we may glimpse the body of Christ, where people come together across society’s boundaries.
One intentional way we seek to become the family of God across these societal boundaries is by inviting people who are transitioning from homelessness to live with us. A majority of these individuals have lived at our emergency shelter for a period of time and are ready to continue steps toward personal growth. We seek to provide affordable housing, support and accountability in this formative period of their lives. Appalachian Immersion interns have a unique opportunity to become friends, mentors and occasionally, roommates with a Life in Transition resident. Each of these individuals completes a thorough screening, application and interview process prior to moving into the Hannah House.
During the months of June-August the Hannah House undergoes a transformation, as it becomes the epicenter of the Good Works' Summer Service Program. Volunteer “worship teams” come live with us in the Hannah House and allow their work of service alongside our community to glorify God. During this final stretch of your internship you will provide significant leadership to these teams in your focus areas. In addition, you step up to mentor the interns that join the community just for the summer.
AT A GLANCE: The Appalachian Immersion Internship includes:
- Hannah House Community: This involves building honest, trusting relationships with your housemates through eating, praying, sharing, meeting, working, resting and having fun together.
- Life in Transition: Open your home to people transitioning from homelessness. You could potentially be a mentor, friend or roommate with someone in this long-term residential program.
- Hospitality: This includes welcoming short and long-term guests into the community through the gift of your presence. Each person is assigned hosting responsibilities each week. Interns also communicate the vision of Good Works to visitors.
- Work Retreats: Interns provide hospitality, leadership and most importantly, relationship, to short-term teams. This involves modeling and teaching about a mission-focused lifestyle through leading devotionals, practical outreach projects and reflection times with the groups.
- Education and Discipleship: We place particular emphasis on spiritual growth as individuals and a community. Formally, this happens through weekly gatherings which include: one-on-one time with a staff person, meeting with Hannah House community, study and reflection with other interns, and Good Works staff meetings and retreats. Our gatherings often include worship through music, prayer, bible study, discussion or an educational presentation.
- Relationships: Build relationships of mutual dignity with people struggling with poverty from the Friday Night Life community, Timothy House, Samaritan Projects or Transformation Station. Celebrate the opportunity to share hope—the good news of Jesus—through these relationships.
- Leadership: You will be asked to take leadership in different aspects of Good Works’ ministry, especially during the Summer Service Program. Each person, depending on his or her gifts and interests, will be asked to choose a major and minor focus area, described below:
Focus Areas:
Create your own: Do you have unique gifts that you feel would benefit the ministry of Good Works? Do you work on computers, build websites, do promotion, public speaking…? We want to gear this year as much as possible around your interests, desires, and gifts.
- Timothy House: This is a community that offers emergency shelter for people who are homeless. Your time here would include supervising the house and building relationships with the residents.
- Samaritan Projects: Groups of volunteers, under the supervision of Good Works' staff and interns, do home and property renovation and maintenance for people who are elderly or have a disability in Athens County. This includes supervising work groups in carrying out the projects and visiting with homeowners (a very important ministry of presence).
- Transformation Station: Interns supervise, work alongside and build relationships with these local volunteers, who are often struggling with poverty. They give their time and skills to serve others and in exchange, receive a resource such as a vehicle, food or an appliance.
- Farm Project: Provide labor and leadership in raising nutritious, local food for our community.
- Property Management: Help with the upkeep of the two Good Works properties. This includes overseeing and building up volunteers.
- Friday Night Life: Each intern finds a niche in this community event centered around dinner each Friday. You may build relationships with community members, orient the sponsoring group, run the shuttle vans, or organize events such as food distribution, music and the arts, or gardening.
- Senior Friends: This involves building a relationship with an elderly person in the community by visiting them once a week. Many stories in store!
- Service Living: This new initiative with Ohio University first-year students will offer hands-on leadership development opportunities working with students as they engage in service to the rural poor.
- Kids Club: Help organize our weekly program with at risk kids during Friday Night Life. This may include meeting with volunteers, planning activities and games, and building relationships with the children and their families.
- Small Businesses: Work in and develop our fair-trade gift store (Good Gifts), or the Good Works Country Bed and Breakfast.
- Administration: This may include answering the phone, updating records, grant writing, mailings, or fundraising.
What can I hope to gain from this experience?
Essentially, we desire for each person in this community to become a mature follower of Jesus. We pray that the Holy Spirit would mold us together to be His active, compassionate, suffering and victorious Body of Christ on the earth. We hope to boldly share the good news in word and deed with our friends. This is a slow and beautiful process!Appalachian Immersion could be such a year for you: experiencing full-time ministry with people struggling with poverty, testing out your spiritual gifts, and discerning your vocation. We hope that you will leave saying, "We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us." (1 Thess 2:8)
What is included in the curriculum?
Along with your experiential learning we want to equip you and challenge you academically and spiritually with a curriculum including studies of justice, spiritual disciplines, community, simplicity, reconciliation, hospitality, evangelism, God's heart for the poor, worship, and Appalachian culture. This includes various books, discussions, speakers, trainings, and Bible studies.
Is there a cost for this internship?
Good Works’ ability to offer the Appalachian Immersion internship depends, in part, on participants raising financial support. This allows us to provide housing, utilities, food, support staff, curriculum materials and a monthly living stipend to you.* You will be given guidance in raising this through support letters and meetings with your friends, relatives, churches, or social organizations. Good Works, Inc. is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization and your supporters will receive a tax-deductible receipt. We are committed to walking with you in trusting God to provide for your needs. If you have questions about the specifics, please contact us.
*Good Works’ will provide a monthly stipend to each A.I. approved intern of $300.00 per month regardless of your ability to raise support.
How do I apply?
You are encouraged to come and visit us for a few days and explore Good Works at a time that works best for your schedule and ours. To begin the formal process of applying to the A.I. internship, e-mail us at goodworks@good-works.net or call us at 740-594-3336 and ask for Paul Richard. You may request an application, and we will ask that you return it to us by a certain date but you can also wait until you visit if you prefer. After we receive your completed application, we will contact you for a formal interview with several Good Works staff members. This includes staying overnight at the Hannah House and participating in some part of the Good Works community such as a staff meeting. You are encouraged to come to this interview asking questions about Good Works. Although we are interviewing you, you are also interviewing us. We will then contact you after careful consideration and prayer to discuss the result of the interview.
When does this internship start?
While the internship is flexible enough to welcome you at any time during the year, we do formally begin the internship the first of September. Interns can choose to stay either 9 or 12 months, finishing the beginning of June or the end of August the following year. Interns staying for the full year offer a key leadership role in the Summer Service Program during their final months.
What about time off?
Good Works allows for 10 vacation days per year. We prefer that you do not take these during the summer due to the heightened intensity of ministry and community at the Hannah House.
What do I do about my Student Loans?
Because you have no income but a stipend, you may qualify for a deferment. Talk to us for more information.
What about...?
We have tried to come up with a few questions, but you probably have more. Please do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail or phone and we will try to answer any you may have.
Paul Richard
PO Box 4
Athens, OH, 45701740-594-3336
