Appalachian Immersion

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” – Luke 4:18-19

Our invitation:

Do you see what bold things Jesus is doing? Are you sensing that He also invites us to be so bold? That He invites you to be so bold? Jesus is saying that the time is here. He calls those who believe in Him to participate in the kingdom that He is bringing. Our work in this is hopeful, transformational, beautiful, and difficult.

Communities of Christians all over the world are seeking to live out this call of following closely in the way of Jesus. We invite you to become part of our Christian community to experience God’s transforming power in and through the body of Christ at work in our community. Come and join our Community of Hope!

Click here to read a description of the vision of Good Works on the front page of the website.

The Specifics:

Come share in the relationships to which Jesus calls us. As an Appalachian Immersion intern, you will participate actively for 4 or 5 months in the Good Works community. You will experience relationships with people who struggle with poverty in rural Appalachia and experience the natural beauty of this place.

Click here to read a reflection from a former Appalachian Immersion Intern on being transformed in this community.

As an intern, you will become a vital part of the Good Works Hannah House community, home to a diverse group of people over the years. The Hannah House is a large farmhouse a mile outside of Athens, Ohio, surrounded by beautiful hills and trees. The first floor holds Good Works offices and dorm rooms for short-term volunteers as well as a big, well-used kitchen. The upstairs offers private living space for Hannah House residents, along with several guest rooms.

During the months of June through August, the Hannah House becomes the epicenter of Summer Service at Good Works. Volunteer “worship teams” live with us in the Hannah House and serve alongside our community to glorify God. If you stay for the summer months, you will provide leadership to these teams in your focus areas. In addition, you step up to mentor the Summer Service interns that join the community for those two months.

In the past, one way we have been intentional about becoming the family of God is by inviting people who are transitioning from homelessness to live with us in the Hannah House. There has been a period of several years in which we have not had anyone participate in this opportunity, but we are hoping to provide this option again. If this happens while you are interning with us, you would have the privilege to become a friend, mentor and, occasionally, roommate with a Life in Transition resident.

Key Elements

Hannah House Community: Build honest, trusting relationships with your housemates through eating, praying, meeting, working, resting and having fun together.
Hospitality: Welcome short- and long-term guests into the community through the gift of your presence.
Education and Discipleship: Grow spiritually through weekly gatherings: one-on-one time with a staff mentor, meeting with the Hannah House community, study and reflection with other interns, and Good Works staff meetings and retreats. Our gatherings often include worship through music, prayer, Bible study, discussion, or an educational presentation.
Relationships: Build relationships of mutual dignity with people struggling with poverty. We celebrate the opportunity to share hope—the good news of Jesus—through these relationships.
Leadership: Take an active role of leadership in different aspects of Good Works’ ministry, especially during Summer Service.
(Occasionally) Life in Transition: Open your home to people transitioning from homelessness. You could potentially be a mentor, friend, or roommate with someone in this long-term residential program.

Focus Areas

All Appalachian Immersion interns participate in these five initiatives for a broad experience of the ministry of Good Works.

Work Retreats: Host their stay at the Hannah House and assist them in integrating their experiential learning through meaningful reflection.

Timothy House: Supervise the house and build relationships with the residents in this temporary place to live for people experiencing homelessness.

Friday Night Life: Bring the community together for this weekly event centered around dinner. You may build relationships with participants, help lead the Kids’ Club, orient the sponsoring group, run a shuttle van, or organize events such as food distribution, music and the arts, or gardening.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Lead groups of volunteers to the homes of older people in Athens County and help to establish relational connection between the neighbor and our visitors, while leading the group in a physical project to support the neighbor.

Transformation Station: Supervise, work alongside, and build relationships with these local volunteers, who are often struggling with poverty. They give their time and skills to serve others and, in exchange, receive a resource such as a vehicle, food, or an appliance.

Areas of Choice

In addition to the focus areas for all Appalachian Immersion interns, you will have a choice of working in these areas, based on your specific skills and interests.

Senior Friends: Build a relationship with an elderly person in the community by visiting them once a week.

Praxis: Lead Ohio University students in service to people who struggle with poverty in rural Appalachia.

Kids’ Club: Help organize our weekly program with local children and youth during Friday Night Life. This may include meeting with volunteers, planning activities and games, and building relationships with the children and their families.

Property Management: Help with the upkeep of the Good Works properties. This includes overseeing and building up volunteers.

Agriculture: Provide labor and leadership to raise nutritious, local food for our community as well as to empower other members of the community in raising their own food.

Loads of Hope: Help to create a space of welcome where community members can do their laundry while sharing and deepening relationships with other members of the community.

Administration: Answer the phone, update records, write grants, put together mailings, or raise support.

Create your own: Do you have unique gifts that you feel would benefit the ministry of Good Works? Do you work on computers, build websites, do promotion or public speaking…? We want to gear this year as much as possible around your interests, desires, and gifts.

What can I hope to gain from this experience?

Essentially, we desire for each person in this community to become a mature follower of Jesus. We pray that the Holy Spirit would mold us together to be His active, compassionate, suffering, and victorious body on the Earth. We hope to boldly share the good news in word and deed with our friends. This is a slow and beautiful process!

Appalachian Immersion could be such an experience for you: engaging in full-time ministry with people struggling with poverty, testing out your spiritual gifts, and discerning your vocation. We hope that you will leave saying, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

What is included in the curriculum?

This includes studies of justice, spiritual disciplines, community, simplicity, reconciliation, hospitality, evangelism, God’s heart for the poor, worship, and Appalachian culture. The study of these topics may include various books, discussions, speakers, trainings, and Bible studies.

What financial benefits are included?

Good Works provides housing, utilities, food, support staff, curriculum materials, and a monthly living stipend of $500 per month to Appalachian Immersion Interns.

Additionally, if you have student loans, you may qualify for deferment of your student loans because you will be receiving a stipend. Talk to us for more information.

An expectation of all staff and interns is that they will be involved in fundraising for Good Works, especially through our Day in the Life event in December, if your internship overlaps with that time.

How do I apply?

Come and visit us for a few days to explore Good Works. To begin the process of applying and to set up your visit, email us at email@good-works.net. If you prefer, you can call 740.594.3339. After your visit, request an application.

After we receive your completed application, we will contact you to arrange an interview with several Good Works staff members. This includes staying overnight at the Good Works Hannah House again and participating in some key aspect of the Good Works community, such as a staff meeting. We will then contact you after careful consideration and prayer to discuss the result of the interview.

When does this internship start?

While the internship is flexible enough to welcome you at any time during the year, our preferred guidelines for the internship are:

September 1 – December 31

January 1 – May 31

If invited, interns can continue their experience through Summer Service, which takes place from June through mid-August. Interns completing 5 or more months with Good Works are often offered key leadership roles in Summer Service during their final months.

What about time off?

Good Works allows for several vacation days during each internship term. The number of days will vary depending on the length of your internship.

What about…?

We have tried to come up with a few questions, but you probably have more. Please do not hesitate to contact us via email or phone. We will try to answer any questions you may have.

Good Works
PO Box 4
Athens, OH 45701
740-594-3339
email@good-works.net