Greenhouse Ministries began very simply, with volunteers going out into the community to provide resources and build connections to help those in need. This year, the Murfreesboro organization that has touched so many lives is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Today, Greenhouse Ministries offers various in-house services, free classes for all community members, a grocery store-styled food bank, a residential program for men, and the Garden Patch Thrift Shoppe, where all money made in sales goes back into the ministry.
To many members of the public, the most visible part of Greenhouse Ministries is its thrift shop, open weekdays on Spring Street in downtown Murfreesboro, near the new main Greenhouse Ministries building.
“We are doing all kinds of things to be able to celebrate this year, and all that has happened in the past, and we are also looking forward to what is to come,” said Makayla Sanford, public relations and marketing coordinator for Greenhouse Ministries.
Many individuals walk into Greenhouse Ministries looking for help, and the ministry can indeed offer food and other essentials.
“Usually, people come in saying they need food or resources, or they might have had a house fire and need assistance,” Sanford said. “A lot of times, the driving force of what brings people in is needing food, but we know that is usually a small portion of what is going on, and there is a story behind it.
“When clients come in our front door, the first thing they do is meet with someone we call a peer counselor, who sits down and has a conversation with them. Our peer counselors are able to see what their needs are. They really just spend time talking to them to be able to show the clients that they can have a voice, and that someone is listening to them,” Sanford continued.
The counselor will initially take note of some of the individual’s physical needs.
“Once they finish with the peer counselor, if the client is okay with it, they say a prayer with them to close out, and during that time they fill out a form with some of the physical needs they might have,” Sanford said.
The client then is able to go across the street to Spring House—the Greenhouse food bank set up like a small grocery store—and they may pick out items they need with assistance from a personal shopper.
“Sometimes it is the homeless who come in our doors, but a lot of times we are serving the underserved,” she said. “That definitely includes the homeless and sometimes it just looks like someone who has been through a divorce or it may be a single mom needing help, or whatever the case might be. There are all kinds of different situations.”
In addition to providing food and hygiene items, Greenhouse also offers classes that are free to anyone in the community. These include a cooking class, a sewing class, computer classes, Spanish class and ESL.
The ministry offers a men’s program called Living University for men coming out of various addictions.
“These are men who have been through recovery already, and they are looking to get their feet back on the ground,” Sanford said. “We offer a program where they live here, but they also have a little bit of rent to pay. While they are here, they take classes taught by different teachers, who we have come in, and they work with mentors.”
Greenhouse Ministries exists through local volunteers, with over 500 volunteer hours given each week. They provide relational ministries that are designed to inspire, give hope and change the lives of the individuals who enter their doors, according to information on greenhousemin.org.
Since 1999, the ministry’s goal has been twofold. Its first goal is to move people out of their current situation of hopelessness and help them see their God-given potential. The second goal is to provide an outlet for people in the community to volunteer.
Greenhouse Ministries founders Cliff and Jane Sharp said they started the organization after they noticed a gap in services to single moms and the working poor. The ministry serves many of those who are being overlooked and underserved, showing them hope.
Their mission is to help, educate and connect every client who walks through their door.
Greenhouse Ministries’ website says clients are never asked income questions, and services are not based on employment status or religious views. Their goal is to serve whomever walks through their doors with love and respect.
COMING UP
Upcoming events supporting Greenhouse Ministries include a Bible Reading Marathon set for May 1–5 and the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast on May 2, and Greenhouse is already preparing for and scouting talent for its Live in the ’Boro talent show on Sept. 10.
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Donations including clothing and accessories, household items and personal care items can be dropped off at the receiving area behind Garden Patch Thrift Shoppe, 309 S. Spring St.
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The Garden Patch Thrift Shoppe is open for shopping Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
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Those interested in receiving services from Greenhouse Ministries can walk in Tuesdays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the main building, 307 S. Academy St., also in downtown Murfreesboro.
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For more information, visit greenhousemin.org.
