By Grace Thornton
The Alabama Baptist
One day during a staff meeting at Montgomery Baptist Association, something extraordinary happened. Neal Hughes said he could see it on her face.
“I had shared a devotion, and the Lord directed my heart to turn to Jasmine,” said Hughes, director of missions for Montgomery Association.
Jasmine Guthrie had come to the association as an intern through Hope Inspired Ministries (HIM), a local ministry aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty and getting people employed and on their feet.
During her time there, Guthrie had learned job skills, yes — but two ministry assistants, Robin Crowe and Elizabeth Kirk, had been pouring into her spiritually too.
And there in that meeting, Hughes knew God was calling out to Guthrie.
“Tears were rolling down her face, and I knew she was under deep conviction,” Hughes said. “I asked, ‘Jasmine, is there any reason right now that you wouldn’t want to give your heart to Jesus?’”
Guthrie shook her head and said, “Let’s do it right now. I want to do it right now.”
It was an emotional moment for everyone, Hughes said. “We prayed together, and I asked Lisa Rose, our compassion ministries director, to take over.”
Rose walked Guthrie through the gospel, and then they prayed and called HIM so that the staff there could rejoice with them too.
“Jasmine and her family have begun attending one of our churches. She’s just ecstatic about what God is doing,” Hughes said.
And Michael Coleman, executive director of HIM, said they are ecstatic too.
He said his ministry, a 501c3 organization housed at First Baptist Church, Montgomery, wants to break down the barriers that keep people in poverty from employment — and they hope it will be a way to introduce people to Jesus.
“We are taking people who are in very broken places and loving them as Jesus would love them,” Coleman said. “We show them that love through teaching them how to live a successful life.”
At HIM, people go through a six-week program that teaches soft skills and employment skills, then they move on to several-weeks-long internships like the one Guthrie had at Montgomery Association.
“Where we come in, we try to stop the bleeding, bandage them up and get them moving in a positive direction,” Coleman said. “We try to match people’s gifts and talents where they might be a good fit.”
Future spiritual growth
They also lay the groundwork for future spiritual growth through unconditional love and daily devotionals, he said. “We try to plant seeds and water them as much as we can. And in cases like Jasmine’s, sometimes they come to faith.”
Hughes said that’s why Montgomery Association chose to partner with HIM.
“I wanted us to host an internship to provide an opportunity for someone in need as well as have a platform to share the gospel,” he said. “So far we have hosted two young women, and it has been amazing to see how God has worked.”
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