Appalachia Service Project

What is it: Appalachia Service Project (ASP) is a  home repair ministry affiliated with the Board of Discipleship of the  United Methodist Church. It responds to the housing needs of the disadvantaged people of central Appalachia from a Christian perspective. The motto of ASP is that we accept people right where they are, just the way they are.    Based in Johnson City, TN, ASP serves 40 counties in southern  West Virginia, western Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and eastern  Kentucky. ASP operates year around  from four permanent centers and then ramps up during the summer with several more summer centers operating out of local schools in the service area.
Who are we: St. Luke’s has been involved with ASP since 1992,  supporting, organizing, financing, and sending teams to work on summer ASP projects. This is fundamentally  a youth mission, supported by interested adults. We have sent as few as 28 and as many as 63 volunteers on summer mission trips. Our ASP team is open to high school age youth and to adults of all ages. Adult volunteers have spanned the range from college age to retirement age, and both men and women are welcome. A typical ASP work crew has 2 adults and 4 or 5 youth. While the work at ASP is related to home repair, no prior construction knowledge is required. Any necessary training will be provided in the months prior to the trip, or on the job site. All that is required of volunteers is a willingness to serve, basic sound health, and a tolerance for heat, dirt, and hard work.
What we do:  The St. Luke’s ASP work teams go and live for a week at a school in the assigned county in central Appalachia. At night weworship and fellowship together at the center.   During the day each work crew goes out and makes repairs on its assigned house in the community. This may include roofing, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, insulation, siding, ditching, or concrete work. The experiences are varied, but always rewarding. The feelings of working hard together to help make some home warmer, safer, and drier are very satisfying. The bonds developed between the teams and the families being assisted are surprisingly strong after only 5 days on the job. The friendships that develop among the team members last long after we return to St. Luke’s. ASP is one of the few opportunities in the church for youth and adults of all ages to work, serve, study, and grow together.

For more information about the Appalachia Service Project,  visit the ASP Headquarters Web Site (asphome.org). For additional information on St. Luke’s involvement contact ASP leader Keith Bird at 890-2738 or  ASP volunteer Joe Vallow at 898-3912.