Lynn Clay is the co-owner of Collierville Trailer Park and for the last five years she has been using one of her mobile homes to minister to both her tenants and the community. Immediately after taking over her parent’s investment with her sister, Lynn bought three mobile homes from what she describes as a slumlord, taking advantage of tenants. “I was really praying and trying to figure out what to do with these three trailers,” says Lynn. “Then about 3-4 months later, a group of women from another church approached me wanting to do something in their own community.” Lynn donated one of her trailers to developing what is now called Hope House Ministry. Over the last five years the women’s group, Hope House Women, consists of what Lynn calls “a core group of like minded women and all have the mind to do ministry in the community. As we’ve grown and people have found out about it, it not only drew people who wanted to minister to others, it drew people who needed to be ministered to.” The Hope House Women have a weekly study meeting and have held numerous programs connecting and ministering to the park residents.

When the Hope House Women aren’t meeting, another group called the ‘Treasure Seekers’ are in session. Lynn has also partnered with several volunteer Collierville school teachers to provide an academic program for school-age residents assisting with English comprehension skills to improve their performance in school, along with a faith-based lesson. It was after VBS last year that Lynn felt a calling. “The Lord, I feel like, gave me a vision that the way to reach the people in the trailer park was going to be from the children, to the mothers, to the fathers, to the families,” says Lynn. “And so I began to pray in that direction.” Sure enough – the mothers had taken an interest in the academic program and Lynn brought in a tutor to teach them English as a second language. They will start their second year of the program this Fall.