Service Unit Given Permanent Home Through Anonymous Donation
For more than 12 years, The Salvation Army Service Unit in Dyer County, Tennessee, has served neighbors in need from a rented space. Entirely volunteer-led, the service unit has faithfully provided meals, food assistance, utility support, help for children and seniors, and hope to families facing difficult seasons.
Now, through an extraordinary act of Christian generosity, that ministry is preparing to enter a new chapter.
A local church in Dyersburg recently donated three buildings, encompassing nearly an entire block, to The Salvation Army in Dyer County. The church, which asked to remain anonymous, made the gift in the spirit of Matthew 6:1-4, seeking not recognition, but the glory of God and the continued care of people in need.
The donation will provide the service unit with something it has never had before: a permanent home.
“I’ve been asked several times what this donation means to us, and honestly, I still struggle to find the right words,” says Lisa Chesney, service unit chair for Dyer County. “We are a 100-percent volunteer-run organization. Every meal served, every utility bill paid, every food box distributed, every child helped, every senior assisted, and every family given hope has been made possible because people in this community cared enough to give.”
Each year, the service unit has paid nearly $40,000 in rent, funds that could otherwise be used to directly serve individuals and families in need. With this donation, those resources can now be redirected toward mission.
“Every dollar that went toward rent was a dollar that couldn’t be used to help someone in need,” Chesney says. “That’s going to change.”
The donated properties will allow The Salvation Army to significantly expand its footprint and capacity in Dyer County. Plans call for the current thrift store to move into one of the buildings, giving the operation more room to serve families and generate support for local programs. Another building will house administrative and social services offices. The largest building will be renovated into a full commercial kitchen to support the service unit’s feeding program.
Sarah Moore, service unit director for The Salvation Army Kentucky-Tennessee (KT) Division, says the gift represents a transformational step forward for the Army’s work in Dyer County. “A permanent location gives our volunteers the stability, space, and flexibility they need to serve more effectively. It opens the door for expanded food assistance programs, stronger social services, and greater long-term impact in the community.”
For Chesney, the buildings are not simply structures; they are a vision of what God can do through faithful stewardship and willing hearts.
“When I roll through these buildings, I don’t see empty classrooms or a sanctuary. I see possibilities,” Chesney says. “I see a larger soup kitchen where we have the space we need for storage, supplies, and serving our neighbors. I see a thrift store with room to better serve families who are trying to make ends meet. I see a community garden. I see space for programs and services we have dreamed about but simply haven’t had the room to provide. Most of all, I see lives being changed.”
The service unit is currently in the planning and renovation phase. Chesney says the goal is to have the property become fully operational over the next six to twelve months, as renovations and planning allow.
“There is a great deal of work ahead of us, and we’ve waited a long time for this opportunity,” she says. “We want to do it right. Our focus is on creating a place that will serve Dyer County well for decades to come.”
Major Philip Canning, general secretary for the KT Division, says the gift is a powerful example of the Body of Christ working together to meet human need in Jesus’ name. “We are deeply grateful for this generous and faithful gift. Though the donors have chosen to remain anonymous, their act of obedience and compassion will be seen for years to come in the lives changed through this ministry. This is more than a donation of property; it is an investment in the Kingdom and in the people of Dyer County.”
The anonymous donors entrusted The Salvation Army with the property after seeing the good work being done by the service unit and its volunteers. Rather than selling the buildings, they chose to place them in the hands of an organization committed to serving vulnerable neighbors throughout the community.
“The elders didn’t simply donate buildings and property,” Chesney says. “They entrusted us with a legacy of serving God and serving others. That is an incredible honor and an enormous responsibility.”
That responsibility is not lost on the volunteers and leaders who have carried the work of The Salvation Army in Dyer County for more than a decade.
“As someone who has the privilege of serving as the executive director on paper, but who is also just another volunteer, I can tell you there isn’t a single volunteer, board member, or donor who takes this gift for granted,” Chesney says. “We understand what has been given to us.”
As renovations begin and plans take shape, the service unit’s promise is simple. “We will be good stewards of this gift,” Chesney says. “We will continue to love our neighbors, feed the hungry, help those facing difficult times, and make sure these buildings remain a place where people are treated with love, compassion, and respect.”
For The Salvation Army in Dyer County, this gift is not only about meeting today’s needs. It is about preparing for years of ministry still to come.
“I truly believe this gift will impact generations of families long after every one of us is gone,” Chesney says. “There aren’t many opportunities in life to be part of something that will outlive you. This is one of them.”