A new service organization officially opened their doors in Elizabethton on Friday morning and the Chamber of Commerce celebrated the event with a special ribbon cutting ceremony.
Free Will Baptist Family Ministries, which is based out of Greeneville, opened its first Family Ministries Resource Center in Elizabethton located at 1439 W. G St. FWB Family Ministries formed in 1939 and began caring for children through an orphanage. Since that time, the ministry has grown and spread across Tennessee and into Virginia and Arkansas and now offers a variety of programs and services to provide for those in need in the communities they serve.
“This is the first of three Resource Centers we will be opening,” said Frank Woods, President and CEO of FWB Family Ministries.
The second center is slated for Erwin while the third will be in Greenwood Arkansas, Woods said.
“This one will do the personal home care and the foster care program will operate from here and we will have Christian counseling,” Woods said. “The difference between the one here and the one in Erwin is the one in Erwin will have a crisis pregnancy center.”
Woods praised the experience and knowledge of the staff that will operate the newly opened Family Ministries Resource Center. Cindy Ketron, LCSW, will provide Christian counseling. Joy Scalf, BSW, will be the coordinator for the foster care program and family services. Eva Gregg will serve as the director for the personal home care program. In addition those services, Michele Henegar, the Administrator of Marketing and Corporate Development for FWB Family Ministries will make her home at the Elizabethton location.
Having a location in Elizabethton was important to the organization, Woods said.
“We wanted to come and try to be more of a part of this community because we have a large part of our church base here,” Woods said, adding that 57 Free Will Baptist churches in the Elizabethton area belong to the FWB Family Ministries program.
In addition to providing their own services, Woods said he would like to assist other service agencies.
“We hope to be able to partner along side some of the other groups that are already here,” Woods said. “It’s not about the individual, it’s about coming together to help people who are hurting, and I have never seen a time of hurt like we are experiencing now.”
Woods credited the community and several individuals and groups with the success in making the Resource Center in Elizabethton a reality.
“We’ve had a lot of people chip in and help,” he said.
Among those who assisted with the remodel of the Elizabethton Resource Center are Mullican Flooring, Precision Plumbing, Crawford Drywall and Design, A to Z Rental in Elizabethton, Rob Loftis electrical, Tony Jones, Redi-mart, Valley Forge Free Will Baptist Men’s Group & Seniors ministry and many other individuals who donated time and finances.
For more information on the FWB Family Ministries Resource Center, contact them at 423-518-1800 visit their website at www.fwbfm.com or visit them at their office at 1439 W. G St., Elizabethton.