The shelter hosted by Fair Haven Baptist Church in Shelbyville has about 20 beds set up in the youth center building. John Hall said they tend to have around a dozen people staying but that number increased to close to 30 during recent cold spells. — Submitted photo
Church opens shelter during dangerous temps
SHELBYVILLE — When temperatures drop to 32 degrees or below, exposure becomes life-threatening.
Without proper layering and access to warmth for at least 20 minutes every two hours, hypothermia can kill.
So, after Shelbyville’s only warming shelter closed three years ago, John Hall felt called to act.
“It’s just been laid on my heart that this is something that’s needed,” said Hall, a member of Fair Haven Baptist Church. “They’re God’s creation and made in His image. They need to be protected.”
With no other homeless shelter in the city, dozens faced freezing nights without refuge. Hall approached his pastor, Peter Allen, with a proposal that would test the congregation’s faith in action.
Allen admits he initially hesitated. But Hall’s persistence and passion won him over.
“John’s been the hugest mover and proponent of this, and it’s affected our church in a really positive way,” Allen said. “We know that when it comes to the homeless issue in our town, there’s a lot of political stuff going on.
“But what we want to do is just provide lifesaving care for those in our community,” he said.
Lives saved, lives changed
The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the shelter has literally saved lives, according to Hall.
One woman who sought refuge at the shelter needed emergency medical attention after developing a severe foot infection that required amputation. Doctors told Hall that without the shelter’s intervention, she would have died within a week.
Two men who were regular guests when the shelter opened now have jobs and permanent housing.
Hall credits the transformation to a simple approach: treating guests with dignity.
“We make ourselves available to talk with people and more importantly, listen,” Hall said. “Once you start listening and they see that you really do care, they start opening up.”
Many guests surprise volunteers with their biblical knowledge, Hall said. While the ministry hasn’t recorded any salvations, “seeds at least get planted.”
How it works
Fair Haven opens the shelter when temperatures hit 32 degrees or below for two consecutive days or nights. The facility typically houses 11 people per night, though 27 guests packed in during one particularly brutal cold snap.
The shelter proved essential during Winter Storm Fern, which battered the South the week of Jan. 25.
Located in the church’s youth center off U.S. 231, the detached building fills with about 20 donated cots each operating night. Volunteers serve hot meals — chili, pasta, or hearty soups — and separate men and women into different areas.
Two volunteers, called monitors, staff each shift, arriving at 6 p.m. and staying until 8 a.m. Lights go out at 10 p.m.
Fair Haven provides transportation from three downtown pickup points, necessary because the church sits far from the city center. Law enforcement also transports people they find on the streets during dangerous cold.
Fair Haven Baptist, Shelbyville, opened a warming shelter for cold seasons three years ago. The efforts are spearheaded by John and Joan Hall, pictured with pastor Peter Allen, left. — Photo by Zoë Watkins
A community effort
Partnerships, like the ones with the law enforcement departments, make the ministry sustainable, Hall said. For example, he praised neighboring Coffee County’s model where seven churches rotate their shelter duties.
Shelbyville residents and businesses have donated materials and food, support that has kept John and Joan Hall — who coordinates meals — rooted in their adopted hometown since the early 2000s.
A career Marine for 28 years, John Hall dragged his family across the country to various duty stations before landing in Middle Tennessee.
“We just happened to have never been in Middle Tennessee before, but we came here and just fell in love with the area,” he said, joking that he’s “the worst kind of Yankee.”
Allen said the warming shelter reflects Fair Haven’s broader mission.
“I love the diversity in our city and the opportunities for ministry,” Allen said. “We are heavily involved in national missions, international missions, but one of the things we always try to say is, you can’t get to there without going through your backyard.”
The Halls remain humble about their role, rejecting any judgment of their guests’ circumstances.
“We’re not trying to encourage anybody’s lifestyle or condemn,” Hall said. “We’re not trying to judge at all. What we’re trying to do is just say, these are human beings. These are people, and people need to be safe. That’s what we want to do.”
So when the thermometer drops to 32 degrees, Fair Haven’s doors open, where warmth, safety, and dignity await inside. B&R
