Located in a strategic tri-state area, this Send Relief ministry center helps rural families stop the cycle of poverty and serves as a crisis response mobilization point.
The Appalachia Ministry Center is located in Ashland, Kentucky, near the borders of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia, and seeks to help rural communities end generational cycles of poverty, food insecurity and prevalent struggles with addiction.
With a population of more than 25 million people, Appalachia is a region well acquainted with hardship. Increasing unemployment and poverty as well as soaring rates of drug abuse have caused the region to lag significantly behind the rest of the country in terms of economic and population growth.
Thirteen of Kentucky’s Appalachian counties are considered “at risk,” meaning they rank between the lowest 10% and 25% of counties nationwide for unemployment rates and income data.
One-third of the population earns less than $25,000 annually, and young adults in this region are some of the most disadvantaged in the entire country.
Send Relief’s Appalachia Ministry Center is addressing these pressing needs. Through personal support and education programs, families in rural areas are able to lift themselves out of poverty.
What We Do
The Appalachia Ministry Center is committed to strengthening communities, offering mobilization opportunities and protecting children and families. They do this through:
Providing literacy and education resources
Offering medical and dental care
And resourcing Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams across the nation
Leadership
Rob Allen
Appalachia Ministry Center Director Rob Allen spent more than two decades in the business world, with leadership roles in sales and management, before responding to God’s call to full-time ministry. Prior to this, he served the local church for many years, passionately encouraging laypeople to live their lives on mission for the sake of the gospel. Happily settled in Ashland, Kentucky, he has been married to his wife, Mandi, for over three decades, and they have two girls, Carissa and Melia.
