Only so many mattresses, dressers, piles of books and shelves of food can fit into 5,000 square feet.

Roddy Cooper said he knows that because many times God has been faithful enough to supply Oak Mountain Missions with more donations than its current warehouse can handle.

“It’s like feast to famine. Some days you can come in there ,and we’ve got sofas stacked on top of each other,” Cooper said. “Right now we’ve got 30 beds stored at Christian services.”

The organization broke ground Sept. 8 on a new 10,000 square-foot building – double the mission’s current space.

Cooper said the last thing he wanted to see was the organization not reaching enough people because it didn’t have enough space.

From January to June alone this year, the mission serviced 1,337 clients. One of those clients was Linda Kathy who has been raising her three grandkids, ages 5 months, 5 and 8, off the money she receives from a disability check. Kathy said she heard about the organization through Asbury Church in 2005.

“That place has been a miracle for me and my kids,” Kathy said. “I got a washer and dryer, diapers, clothes for my kids, a couch. We was right at the bottom and probably would have ended up in a shelter if it weren’t for Oak Mountain Missions.”

Sheiley Reid said the ministry rushed to her aid earlier this year by providing her with a vehicle.

“I needed a car because both of my sons have asthma and might have to go to the hospital at the drop of a hat if it flares up. I called my social worker who referred me to Oak Mountain Missions,” Reid said. “Oh my gosh, it might have been only two weeks later that he called and said we’ve got you a car –– it was such a blessing.”

Oak Mountain Mission Ministries incorporated in 2001 with the purpose of providing food, clothing, household items, furniture and limited financial assistance to those who really needed it.

“This thing started just feeding grain to deer,” Cooper said of the group’s humble beginnings. “God has taken it a lot further than I ever imagined it. It’s all about Jesus Christ and showing the love and compassion that he has showed us. To me that’s what Oak Mountain Missions is all about, and I hope it continues to be.”

The mission plans to cut the ribbon on its new facility by spring of next year. It’s annual fundraiser Harvest of Hope is scheduled for Sept. 17. The luncheon will feature speaker Jeremiah Castille, founder and director of Castille Ministries and chaplain of the University of Alabama football team. Oak Mountain Missions hopes to raise $120,000 from the event. All of that money will go toward gas for trucks, financial assistants for clients who can’t pay rent or their electric bill and for food when the pantry gets low.

For more information about the luncheon or the ministry itself, visit www.oakmountainmissions.org.