Jerry Newsome built a small bed for his granddaughter’s doll and it was the start of a ministry that nine years later is constructing its 1,000th bed to meet the needs of children in western Kentucky. Newsome has been involved in mission work since the mid-1990’s so the Bed Ministry vision was an extension of that.
“I felt like God just told me to start…there’s children in this neighborhood that need a bed”, Newsome said. “I started praying about it and he showed me how to do it because I’ve never done any of this stuff before on this big of a scale”.
The Bed Ministry is a 501(c)(3) ministry with five different Christian denominations building and delivering beds.
Newsome along with Neal Cole are the two original members of the ministry. In 2013, the Bed Ministry built around 15 beds and now are close to 175 a year. School Resource Directors in area counties call the ministry when they see a need for a bed.
Along with a new bed, they receive a mattress, sheets, comforter and a pillow.
Scott and Teresa English of English Home Furniture in Benton donate many of mattresses used in the Bed Ministry which was the site of the construction of the 1,000th bed.
Since October 2013, the Bed Ministry has built 776 twin beds, 207 bunk beds, nine full size and seven toddler with Tuesday’s twin bringing the total to 1,000.
Their mission – meeting needs one child at a time – while many children sleep soundly each night in a warm bed, many struggle to sleep on a couch or the floor. The vision of the Bed Ministry is to meet the physical need of a bed, then try and meet a spiritual need.
Newsome said after they deliver and set up the bed, they share the gospel with the family and say a prayer before leaving.
To learn more about the Bed Ministry, visit their website at bedministry.org. Monetary donations can be sent to: Bed Ministry, 6830 Scale Road, Benton, Ky. 42025. All donations are tax deductible.
