By NICOLE LOGGINS/ Staff Writer

VINCENT – The Shelby Baptist Association’s new mobile ministry unit visited Vincent for the first time on May 8. The association’s mobile food pantry was set up at First Baptist Church Vincent to help meet needs in the community.

Volunteers from the host church, the Shelby Baptist Association and various other community churches assisted more than 20 families in need.

Families made appointments and provided financial information to allow the ministry to evaluate their needs.

Ministry Center Director Keith Brown said the mobile unit benefits those who can’t afford to drive to Columbiana for assistance.

“If people don’t have money for groceries, they certainly don’t have money for gas, so we’re trying to get the services we offer closer to them and the Vincent/Harpersville area is somewhat isolated from the services available in the county,” he said.

Vincent resident January Stevons has seen both sides of the Shelby Baptist Association, as a volunteer and as an individual in need.

Stevons, a former Shelby Baptist Association volunteer, receives groceries for her family and help obtaining medicine for one of her three children from the Shelby Baptist Association. Stevons said her family has had to miss meals to keep the power on in their home.

“There’ve been times when we wouldn’t eat in order to get the power back on or to get my son’s medicine. There were times when we wouldn’t have eaten at all without the help of the Baptist Association,” she said.

Stevons and other families in need can now better access the services provided by the Shelby Baptist Association thanks to the new mobile unit ministry they started in January.

First Baptist Church Vincent’s pastor Darryl Wood said the church wanted to host the mobile unit not only to help those in need but also to let them know churches in the area care about them.

Brown said the ministry will evaluate the response they got, and the unit could come back up to once a month if needed.

Those interested in receiving assistance from the Shelby Baptist Association mobile ministry are encouraged to call 669-7858 and set up an appointment.