TELLICO PLAINS-A new residential program in Tellico Plains hopes to take women with life-controlling issues, such as drug or alcohol abuse, on a life-changing journey.
The House that Mercy Built is a vision of Mitchell and Roma Payne from River of Life Ministries in Tellico Plains. it is a non-profit faith-based residential program that will provide a safe environment for women.
“Through 25 years of ministry, I have had the opportunity to minister to many women whose lives are like a puzzle. every woman has the potential to be a beautiful picture, but they are in need of help putting the pieces together,” said Roma, co-founder of The House that Mercy Built.
The House that Mercy Built will be a place that helps women bring order, accountability and a strong spiritual foundation, where there has been chaos, lack of boundaries and instability.
“We will provide tools and opportunities for women to become productive members of both their family and community,” said Roma. “It is our mission to introduce and guide women with life-controlling issues through a Christ-centered program, which we believe is the only way for a true and lasting life change.”
Roma and her husband Mitchell, the pastor of River of Life Ministries in Tellico Plains, have been pastoring for going on 25 years and have witnessed the cycle women tend to go through when trying to overcome an addiction.
“It’s hard to get them out of that cycle,” said Roma. “They want to change and have a better life, but it’s hard to do that when they are remaining in that environment.”
“It’s an enormous challenge,” added Mitchell. “It is a lot different than going in, preaching and then leaving. We know how the success rate can be and we are trying to get the success rate up.”
Roma recalls when she helped one lady get a job and a place to live, but says she could “only do so much from the outside.”
“Around five years ago the Lord laid it on my heart that there needed to be a safe place for these women, to get them out of that environment and break free from these life-controlling issues and the lifestyle that goes along with it,” said Roma.
Two years ago Roma and Mitchell started the search for the house and began to really pursue the residential program. in January of this year, they were able to purchase the home that will become The House that Mercy Built.
The House that Mercy Built is 4600-square-feet on five acres with the Tellico River running alongside the property.
“When you walk on the property, it is just peaceful,” said Roma. “We couldn’t have built a better house that was better for what we wanted to do. it was like it was built for this purpose.”
There will be room for eight women in the house when it first opens and Roma says there is room for expansion if they see a need for it.
Women staying at The House that Mercy Built will be under 24-hour supervision, with a live-in house mother on site. The women will follow a daily schedule while staying at the home. Activities at the house will include daily biblical instruction and discipleship training, help in developing a relationship with Jesus Christ, and individual assessment and development of goals for all the women.
“We hope to give them a strong spiritual foundation,” said Roma. “If the foundation isn’t strong, the building won’t stand.”
In addition, The House that Mercy Built will provide educational benefits for the women, including classes in life and parenting skills, health and nutrition, and work ethics. Seminars through both pre-recorded material and guest speakers will aid the women along their stay at the house. there will also be opportunities for in-house tutoring so the women can obtain their GEDs and assistance given for the women who hope to be college-bound.
Roma noted they already have nurses, teachers, counselors and an eye doctor on board to help in the ministry.
The couple has experience in the this ministry, having worked for over 12 years in a men’s prison that has a half-way house in Alabama. Roma has also traveled to ministries similar to The House that Mercy Built and studied how they ran the home, what they did, and what things worked and did not work.
“It’s not a detox. It’s not a medical facility,” said Mitchell. “It’s a place to live to get their life back on track.”
The House that Mercy Built is solely supported by contributions from churches, individuals, businesses and other interested groups. Mitchell noted that so far they have been extremely blessed with assistance from people in the community. he gave an example of mrs. Fowler at Fowler’s furniture who has helped them tremendously with discounts, etc. while they are working on the house. Other large donations of $5,000 plus helped purchase the home.
“We’ve never saw this as just a River of Life Ministries deal,” said Mitchell. “It is much bigger than River of Life.”
On Feb. 25-27, River of Life Ministries will hold a kick-off celebration for The House that Mercy Built with their Casting the Vision women’s conference. Roma says the conference has hopes of bringing different women in the community together for one purpose.
“As a community of women, if we work together, we can do so much more,” said Roma.
The House that Mercy Built is slatted to open in the spring. Roma says they already have people calling to apply for the residential program.
If you would like more information, an application for residency, would like to donate to the cause or would like to become a volunteer at The House That Mercy Built, contact Roma or Mitchell at (423) 295-5434 or (423) 519-7472. they can also be reached by e–mail at .
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