The Shepherd’s Staff Ministry was established in 1990 through a series of remarkable circumstances. Founder, Linnie Dickson and his wife, Debbie answered the sovereign call on their lives in the early 80’s and soon found their Virginia home filled with people who needed the restorative message of the cross told in a compassionate, active way.

Nathanael, Debbie, Linnie & Dallas The Dickson Family

Battered women with their children in tow, runaways carrying all their earthly possessions in paper bags, girls facing unplanned pregnancies and everyone in between seemed to show up at the Dickson’s door.

Academic preparation for the work that would become The Shepherd’s Staff includes Biblical Studies at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia and a social work degree from Radford University in Radford, Virginia. Through their home church, Temple Baptist in Madison Heights, Virginia Linnie and Debbie worked with missions outreach, students and jail ministry. These experiences provided ample opportunity for the Dicksons to see the importance of strong families and the impact that intervention could have on society. Linnie and Debbie Dickson moved to Alabama in 1985, making a two year commitment, that became their life’s work. What began as a work to provide a loving family for ten young men, at a time, became a labor of family restoration.

Today, The Shepherd’s Staff is a total family ministry offering residential assistance and outreach to families in need through hands-on support, community connections and volunteer networking. The Shepherd’s Staff mans working Community Outposts to establish relationships, meet needs and help to improve lives. The Shepherd Staff serves as a resource link, partners with numerous agencies and utilizes an outstanding group of volunteers to provide for those in need. Whether working with a local elementary school to improve the reading skills of a third grader, helping a young man tormented by drug addiction find an appropriate rehab or helping the family of a prisoner get re-established, the message of The Shepherd’s Staff is the same: Jesus offers life: abundant & eternal and the wise among us “invest” our lives in those things that will count for eternity.

Get an overview of the entire Ministry.





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