Tom Hawks put Bent Nail Ministries together with one simple purpose: providing mission trip opportunities to fulfill the Great Commission. The work of Bent Nail Ministries can be seen across the country, in some very unlikely places. The team of local missionaries lends a helping hand wherever they can. One way this is accomplished, is by aiding in the work of building tiny homes. Tom will take a team anywhere he feels led to build these tiny homes. The mission work usually takes a week, but the impact is long lasting.
The journey for Tom began in June 2020, when he says God put a calling on his heart, specifically in short-term missions. For Tom, that meant partnering up with existing missions and taking teams to several locations to serve others. Many may think that a mission trip must be completed overseas. For Tom and his team, this isn't necessarily the case.
One location that Bent Nail Ministries sees quite often is Missouri. It is here where Tom met Curtis White, founder of Tiny Home Ministries. Curtis created his ministry to share the love of Jesus by providing tiny homes as an alternative housing solution for those in need. The two men have since teamed up multiple times within their discipleship to build tiny homes that are shipped all over the country to provide a shelter for anyone who is in need and homeless.
After all the times that Tom and his team have traveled, and the places and people they have seen and met, Tom felt that something needed to be different with the next build. He wanted the build to be right here in Salina.
Tom and his wife Eva, attend New Community Christian Church, located at 530 E Cloud. It was here that the most recent build would take place. A portion of the parking lot was cordoned off, and after recruiting a team from within his local church, Tom and Bent Nail Ministries got to work.
A trailer was brought in, and the frame of the tiny house was erected on site. Soon, windows and a door were framed in, and the roof was added. But, as anyone who has built anything knows, the process is a journey. This build is no different.
After a week, the outside of the new shelter was complete. Normally, this is where Tom and his workers would tip their hardhats, and drive home. However, this time Tom wanted to take the build further. He wanted to build the inside of the house, too.
Anyone driving by was able to watch the process as it was completed. Bent Nail Ministries was open to questions from anyone, and actually wanted people to be curious. That was the entire point of building on the site of their church - Tom wanted to spark an interest in someone.
As the inside of the build began, the visual progress to the outside wasn't so noticeable. Maybe some could have been seen from the windows that were recently installed, but most was hidden from the outside world. But, it doesn't mean that progress wasn't being made.
The inside build took a week, just like the outside. Flooring was laid, walling was built up. Slowly but surely, the build began to look like a house. At the end of two weeks, Tom and his team of missionaries were ready to hand over the keys, so to speak, to Curtis and his team at Tiny House Ministries. The house on a trailer was going to be pulled to West Virginia, where it would be parked in a church parking lot, and used as temporary housing for a homeless person while they received assistance in getting back on their feet.
You can follow Tiny House Ministries on their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/tinyhouseministries.
