Seeds of Faith is more than just a thrift store. It’s a food pantry, a place of prayer, a place for Bible study and a true community center dedicated to providing resources to anyone in need.

Jaxx Smith, Angela Bryan and Brother Dennis Dodson, the creators of Seeds of Faith, met while attending Guest Baptist Church in Fyffe, and their vision for ministry work was born during a mission trip the three attended in Belize.

Smith and Bryan approached Dodson with plans of one day building tiny homes to house women exiting faith-based recovery programs. Dodson became their “voice of reason” and number-cruncher, agreeing wholeheartedly to join their efforts.

Guided by the Lord, the three returned home from Belize in May 2021 and got to work building what would become the Seeds of Faith thrift store, located next to the Piggly Wiggly in downtown Collinsville.

“Angela and I cleaned out our closets, and we started doing yard sales on the side of the road anywhere we could set up for free,” Smith said. “Selling just stuff from our closets, friends would give us some stuff … We were giving out free Bibles and praying with people and just talking to them.

“People found out what we were doing. They kept donating and by September, we had so much stuff that we could no longer load our vehicles and set up for yard sales. So, we started looking for a building.”

Overwhelmed with donations, Bryan, Smith and Dodson moved into the building on Valley Avenue in downtown Collinsville in October 2021. By Nov. 3, the doors opened and the community was welcomed inside.

The Seeds of Faith thrift store, and much more, in Collinsville. (contributed)

Jaxx Smith and Angela Bryan inside Seeds of Faith. (contributed)

“When the Lord gets a hold of something, he’ll grow it at his pace. Sometimes you just got to hang on to the tail of his robe,” Smith said with a smile as she reflected on how quickly the community supported and grew their nonprofit.

Now, the three have a thriving thrift store and have started a food pantry that distributes boxes of food once a month to any community member who asks. Any item that is deemed unfit for sale — including clothing, furniture and toys — is set up in front of the store and is free for any person to come and take.

The food pantry was something Smith, Bryan and Dodson all agreed was the next step in serving the community. “Sometimes [people] don’t have anything to eat,” Smith said. “So, you give them food. And you don’t ask questions. You don’t ask, ‘do you really need this?’ No, it’s you came. You get food.”

Smith and Bryan started their journey together with a much broader dream in mind. “We knew that longer term goal,” Smith explained. “We wanted to create a community for women coming out of faith-based recovery programs to have an opportunity for a transition between the completion of their six-month or 12-month program and being completely 100% independent again.”

They dreamed of tiny houses and on-site support and accountability where the women could experience independence without losing a sense of community. While she couldn’t disclose where, Smith said they are in the process of finalizing a lease for a property in Dekalb County that will one day house the women.

“[Our goal is] walking alongside women who have been in life struggles that maybe not everybody’s been in, but just like them, everybody needs somebody to walk alongside them and encourage them in their daily lives,” said Bryan.

Holding back tears, Bryan explained how touched she’s been by the opportunity to share God with the community and build the thrift store.

“These people are my daily life. They’re my friends and my prayer partners. They pray with me, and I pray with them. And it’s all about the people.”

Volunteers help run the thrift store now, and Seeds of Faith will be looking for more volunteers in the future to help with all things construction, landscaping and even prayer.

“I mean, there are so many places that somebody’s skill set can be useful,” Smith said. “And for those who feel like ‘I don’t have a skill set,’ please pray, just pray. We can’t do anything else until we pray.”

To learn more about Seeds of Faith, or to donate items or volunteer, call the store at 256-801-2853.

Payton Davis, a Living Democracy student at Auburn University, spent this summer living and learning in the town of Collinsville, Alabama, as a Jean O’Connor Snyder Intern with the David Mathews Center for Civic Life. The nonprofit program, coordinated by the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts, prepares undergraduate college students for civic life through living-learning experiences in the summer.