The mission of the Bland Ministry Center and Dental Clinic is to meet the physical and spiritual needs of people. We strive to be a missionary point of service for all Christians, Churches, and organizations by providing opportunities to fulfill Christ's Great Commission.
The Bland Ministry Center is a multi-faceted, non-profit Christian social ministry founded in 1980 by the East River Baptist Association, which is a small Association of twelve churches. The Bland Ministry Center was envisioned and begun under the leadership of Dr. Marshall Walker, who was Director of Missions. Dr. Walker and the churches of East River recognized the need for a ministry outreach in the Appalachian region and took this bold step of faith. The initial beginning of the Center was supported by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board which has assisted us through the years from the Alma Hunt Virginia Baptist State Missions offering. The Center has received assistance in the form of goods and financial gifts from many individuals, churches, organizations, and denominational entities, both Baptist and non-Baptist. The need for support is still very great as the ministries of the Center continue to grow in volume and number and physical facilities of the Center are expanded.
Bland Ministry Center is blessed to have many people sharing its vision. Apart from the four paid staff introduced below, there are many volunteers who help work towards the Ministry Center's mission. An 11 member board helps to govern and guide the center, approximately 60 local volunteers share their time and talents to make sure programs run smoothly each week, and many mission groups and dentists visit Bland County for a few days each year ready to work on special projects. The success of the Center is dependent upon the generosity and willingness of others to serve.
Dee Dee began working part-time at the Center in 1993 and officially assumed the position of Director in March 2007. Throughout the years, she has served in the capacity of receptionist, mission coordinator, and interim director.
An intern-turned-employee, Hannah was hired through a grant to provide support for office staff. She is the first person to greet you when you call or visit the office andis keeping us organized and very well-fed.
Susan's family got involved with Bland several years ago through their church in North Georgia. She asked for an opportunity to intern during the summer of 2010, and she would not stop coming back until we hired her full-time in 2013.
You may recognize Kathy from her volunteer work around the center and receptionist position in the dental clinic. When we realized a need to hire a part-time clothes closet volunteer coordinator, we couldn 't think of a better person for the job than our long-time volunteer and friend, who is an avid shopper at 'GW Fashions' (Goodwill).
