Appalachian Ministries of the Smokies: Forty Years of Quiet Faithfulness
In Jefferson City, Tennessee, there's a ministry that started with a handful of college students on a Saturday morning — and forty years later, it's still going strong. One repaired roof, one grocery bag, one family at a time.
Where It All Started
Appalachian Ministries of the Smokies — everybody just calls it AMOS — began back in 1984 through Carson-Newman University's Campus Ministries. Picture it: students with hammers and paintbrushes, building wheelchair ramps and freshening up tired old houses on their weekends.
That's it. That's how it started. And it never stopped growing.
Today AMOS reaches across whole counties, touching homes, pantries, and an awful lot of hearts along the way.
What They Do Now
The Home Repair Ministry still serves families across Jefferson, Grainger, Cocke, and Hamblen counties — same spirit as those first Saturday mornings, just a whole lot more of it.
And then there's the Food & Clothing Pantry, which we absolutely loved. It's set up more like a small grocery store than a handout line, so neighbors get to walk through and choose what actually fits their family. Such a simple thing. Such a dignifying thing.
Samaritan House: A Place to Land
Tucked inside AMOS is Samaritan House Family Ministries, a shelter for women and children walking through a housing crisis. It's been a steady presence since 1987, and moved into its current home in 2013 thanks to the generosity of the community.
But it's so much more than a bed for the night. Inside, residents find Bible study, budgeting classes, and gentle encouragement toward whatever comes next — a job, a savings goal, a place to call their own again. Staff and volunteers walk right alongside each family, checking in, cheering on every bit of progress, and helping however they can even after a family moves on.
In 2023, Samaritan House was named Jefferson County's Non-Profit of the Year — a well-earned honor for nearly three decades of showing up.
Still Faithful After All These Years
Here's what we took away from AMOS: ministry doesn't always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like a roof patched in the summer heat. Or a pantry shelf restocked one more time. Or a mom given just a little more room to breathe.
As Executive Director Jean-Ann Washam has put it, it all comes down to faithful volunteers, dedicated donors, God-called staff, and a willingness not just to hear God's voice but to actually follow it.
Forty years in, they're still doing exactly that.
AMOS — 511 Municipal Drive, Jefferson City, TN 37760 | (865) 475-5611 Samaritan House — 165 Jericho Way, Jefferson City, TN 37760 | (865) 475-5032