Where Doing Hard Things Becomes Holy Work
Radiant Again Thrift Shop began with a burden. In our small church plant in Savannah, Georgia, many of us live on the margins ourselves. Yet God placed us in the path of several single mothers who were navigating the in-between space of housing insecurity. These women are technically homeless, moving from motel to motel with their children. Post-COVID policies limit their stays to a maximum of twenty-five days, requiring them to vacate for two days before being allowed back. Radiant Church began assisting them with motel nights, food, and providing large storage bins to help them keep their belongings intact during the constant transitions.
It is a costly and heavy call, one that often stretched our church beyond what felt sustainable. I began to pray, “Lord, how do we keep helping?”
What I heard next was clear but unexpected: Start by cleaning out your closet. Not metaphorically. Literally. I sensed the Spirit telling me to create a thrift store space at the church. And just as clearly, I heard, “Don’t tell anyone until it’s set up.” I had resisted good (God) ideas before because they were “too hard” or “not feasible.” This time I obeyed. I began quietly. My husband caught the vision and jumped in. As I put the legal pieces of operating a store in place, others began to see what was forming, and Radiant Again Thrift Shop was born.
Radiant Again is not just about affordable clothing—it’s a space of joy and restoration. It is about dignity. We are determined to provide high-quality items that bless the buyer and last well beyond the price tag. Church members have fallen in love with the mission.
They donate their time, their gently used items, and even their talents. The store is beautiful and peaceful. Our racks may be secondhand, but the atmosphere feels like hope. And that hope has rippled out.
Radiant Again shoppers are neighbors, sisters, and children of the King. Joy is a single mom who joined us during her pregnancy. She had experienced long-term housing insecurity, and through Radiant Again, we were able to assist with her security deposit and point her toward permanent housing.
Today she is helping us lead praise and worship. “Radiant is a safe space for me,” she says. “And I’m able to give as well as receive.”
We’ve also helped cover moving vans, diapers, and created sustainable options for our community to shop with dignity. We’ve hosted an art production class from Savannah State University, where students were able to experience firsthand what social entrepreneurship can look like. Our efforts caught the eye of WSAV’s Tina Tyus Shaw, who featured our mission and message of dignity on the local news.
The ministry’s reach continues to grow. When Professor Rudy King brought students from Savannah State University to learn about community impact and social entrepreneurship, the visit sparked unexpected connections. One student, Emmanuel Mgbahurike, soon returned as a volunteer, eager to support the mission through hands-on service.
The thrift shop reinforces the message we preach every week: that every person bears the image of God, and everyone deserves beauty, care, and belonging, and no one is disposable. It gives our congregation a visible, tangible way to live out our core values. It is a way for us to practice what we preach and to become sustainable in ministry one step at a time. What started as obedience in a closet became a ministry for the church, and it’s moving into the entire community.
For any ministry leaders considering something similar, here’s what I’ve learned:
- Start with what’s in your hand. I didn’t have a warehouse; I had a closet.
- Trust the Spirit’s whisper more than other people’s comfort. The best things often begin with hard obedience.
- Create beauty, not just charity. People feel loved when the space they enter reflects their worth.
This work is deeply connected to our identity as part of the Evangelical Covenant Church. We’re living out the call to engage in the whole mission of the church—compassion, justice, evangelism, and discipleship, together. Radiant Again is about the compassionate and loving community the Covenant envisions. It’s about saying yes to the margins, yes to beauty, and yes to doing hard things with joy.
And we are not alone. Covenant friends across the country have truly gone the extra mile in supporting Radiant Again. Sandi Lee, associate superintendent of the East Coast Conference, brought an extra twenty-eight-inch Pullman suitcase filled with donations to Gather in Orlando. Ieisha Hawley, director of evangelism for the Covenant, shipped two large boxes all the way from Chicago. Both shipments contained high-quality clothing, some with tags still attached, beautifully embodying the Covenant mission and showing that Radiant is a cherished part of the larger Covenant family.
Radiant Again Thrift Shop is more than a store. It’s a signpost pointing to God’s kingdom in the everyday. It’s a secondhand space with first-class purpose. It’s what happens when obedience meets need and beauty is restored from the inside out. We didn’t start with a grant or a business plan. We started with prayer, a closet, and a “yes.” And that yes echoes every time someone walks through our doors and feels seen, known, and loved.
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2026 print edition of The Covenant Companion.
