“But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” (1 John 3:17–18)
Many years ago, Pam Bradford of Hueytown saw people from the Appalachian Mountains without proper food, clothes, shoes and other necessities. Pam knew she had seen this poverty for a reason. “I saw how great the need was and knew that God wanted me to help fill it.” In 1977, she started a missions endeavor in Harlan County, Kentucky, to address those needs. In 2008, the effort’s focus turned to the even poorer Owsley County and to Pike County. Since 2019, the mission has also helped meet similar needs for residents of a veterans home in Pike County. Pam, her husband, her children and her grandchildren are all devoted to the mission. “We paid for this mission for years out of our pockets” until others became aware of the work and started giving donations.
Ministry description: Missions work in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky
Church: Fellowship Baptist Church, Cleveland, in Friendship Baptist Association
Describe where you focus your greatest ministry efforts: Supplying food, clothes and other much-needed items to Appalachian Mountain families in Kentucky’s Owsley and Pike counties and to residents of a veterans home in Pike County. We never judge anyone’s situation or lifestyle.
Q: Who was or is one of the most influential people in your faith life? Why?
A: My grandchildren. I started this rather large family, and I feel as if it is my place to teach them how much they can do for others. I have to rely on God to help me steer them in the right direction. We have lived by faith for years for us to be able to continue this mission.
Q: Tell about a turning point in your life and how God was involved.
A: When I found myself in the mountains of Kentucky, I had never seen such poverty in my life — families that felt they had no hope at all. I did not want to make that trip and was basically forced into it against my will. But God knew what He was doing when He put those people in my path.
Q: What has God been teaching you lately?
A: To stop trying to get ahead of Him. I am a woman of little patience, and sometimes I have to back up and wait on God. He has been trying to teach me this for a very long time.
Q: Have you ever read a book or heard a song that changed the way you think about God and faith? What was it and what did you learn from it?
A: My thoughts about God are strong and deeply rooted. I really never had to change my thoughts about Him because of the way I was raised. God was in our house in a very big way.
Q: Does your church have any special traditions that mean a lot to you? What are they?
A: We are young in this church with very few members. We have had three ministers in a few years, but I would love to establish something for us to fellowship and enjoy together.
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