How one local church grant has helped break chains and rebuild lives
Smith Metro A.M.E. Zion Church in Anniston, Ala., has been the hub of their community for 117 years. Its membership were active participants in the Civil Rights Movement in Calhoun County, and they continue to care for the vulnerable. They live out their vision as “a church standing as a beacon of hope, welcoming all, seeing God’s love through the fulfillment of the great commission.”
Rev. Sylvia Hooker shared in the church’s application for the 2024 Equipping the Local Church grant that they were seeking funding to begin a new ministry called “Lifting While Unlocking: Physical and Spiritual Transitioning from Incarceration.” Members of the church and community were eager to begin this ministry, which aimed to equip men and women recently released from the Department of Corrections with the tools to become successful citizens.
The grant has helped to provide job training, access to computers and email to apply for jobs, clothing to wear to job interviews, and plenty of food and prayer. Rev. Hooker shared that at a celebration following transition meetings with inmates who had completed an exit program, 20 inmates committed their lives to Christ!
The church is also working with local schools, supporting students, administrators and teachers with prayer and encouragement. They host a Soup, Shelter, and Service outreach program each Sunday which provides 25 meals weekly to the unhoused and underserved. In December 2024, Smith Metro A.M.E. Zion Church began ministering at a rural nursing home providing visitation, a bi-monthly Bible Study and spiritual support. In 2025 they plan to begin working with their local United Way to provide a weekly bible Study, weekend meals and GED and online job skills training.
