Wednesday, January 14, 2026
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Cherryville, NC (WNN) - On the first Thursday of every month, cars begin lining up early, wrapping around the cemetery at St. John's Lutheran Church on N. Dixie St. They are there to receive assistance from the church's God's Work, Our Hands outreach ministry.
The monthly distribution, which runs from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., serves between 120 and 130 families each month, providing bags of nonperishable food, gallons of milk, and access to clothing and household items.
"We've never missed a month, even through COVID," said Kim Eaker, who oversees the outreach program. "Whether rain or shine, we stay out in the weather and make sure we give out regardless."
The ministry is a joint effort among several churches in the area. First United Methodist Church helps supply boxes of cereal. St John's Lutheran Church has a social ministry called Table of Grace, which brings sausage biscuits. Other churches, such as Mount Zion Baptist and Second Baptist, regularly collect food donations for the program.
The ministry began in a single room and has since expanded to occupy three rooms within the church building. What once started as a walk-in event evolved into a drive-through distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic, a setup the church has maintained.
"We didn't want to stop because there was such a need," Eaker said. "We started the drive-through then, and we've continued it."
The ministry runs on the idea of offering help without conditions. Volunteers from the church do not ask recipients to provide identification, require proof that they need help, or share personal details.
"We don't ask any questions or have any reason for them not to get food," Eaker said. "Anybody can come through, no matter what."
Volunteers also offer prayer for those experiencing difficult times and have developed ongoing relationships with many regular recipients. "They've become family to us," Eaker said.
Every three months, the church opens its clothing closet, Saints Clothing Closet. They transform their fellowship hall into what some may call a resemblance to a Walmart. Recipients can fill as many bags as needed with clothing for all ages and sizes, household items, and toys. "A lot of the items are brand new items that people have brought," St John's Lutheran Church Pastor G. Scott Homesley said.
The church plans a quarterly distribution for the back-to-school season in August or September. They prioritize providing clothes for kids. Any remaining items will be donated to the Kidney Foundation.
Each food bag provides enough for approximately three meals, intended as extra food rather than covering an entire week's groceries. The bags contain breakfast foods, two types of meat, two kinds of vegetables, snacks, fruit, rice, peanut butter, and other shelf-stable items.
"We try to do food so that it doesn't take too much cooking," Homesley said, noting that some recipients may lack cooking facilities. The church purchases food from local grocery stores each month to ensure they have enough food.
The ministry operates without a fixed budget. "We just had to have faith that we're going to have enough each month," Eaker said. "So far, we've been very blessed."
The program receives support from Thrivent Financial, an insurance company that sponsors the church when they apply for a Thrivent event. This support provides the church with $250, which they've used to purchase food and milk.
Volunteers also receive assistance from Scouting for Food, as well as drives and collections at local elementary and middle schools. The church previously hosted Second Harvest Food Bank mobile distributions in its parking lot four to five times a year, although that has since been reduced to once a year due to food shortages.
Organizers have reported an increase in demand in recent months, with a rise in phone calls requesting assistance. The church refers those needing help with utility bills and other non-food assistance to Cherryville Area Ministries located at 212 N Mountain St.
Local Cherryville churches, including First Presbyterian Church, and students in need of community service hours, help pack the approximately 150 bags prepared monthly.
In December, volunteers distribute various items, including canned hams, to help families prepare holiday meals. The ministry will hold its last clothing closet of the year before Christmas.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America started the God's Work, Our Hands program as a one-day event in September. They set aside a Sunday in September, inviting people to participate in various projects.
St. John's Lutheran Church took that idea further and turned it into an annual event. "Saint John's here took that project and we do it all year long," Homesley said.
Homesley, who returned to the church four years ago, said he has been impressed by the ministry's impact. "The thing that struck me the most is for somebody to see a smiling face and get a bag of food," he said. "A lot of times, folks that are in need are not in the best places in the world, and so we try to smile, we try to lift them up."
He said the ministry shows the church’s mission to help those in need, explaining that many people it serves have to choose between buying medicine or food.
"I think we need to reevaluate how we help people," Homesley said. "Jesus came 2,000 years ago and is here today to reach out to people who find themselves oppressed and in the margins."
For more information about St. John's Lutheran Church's God's Work, Our Hands outreach ministry, contact the church office at 704-435-9264. Donations of nonperishable foods, clothing, and household goods are accepted year-round.
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