The Master's Touch

dottieharrigan
Aug 2
6 min read

Giving

"You give but little when you give of your possessions.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."

Khalil Gibran

Special

Wednesday was a special day for me. My plans were redirected from a meeting I was supposed to attend to a spontaneous visit to The Master's Touch for a chat with Shirley Prince about their upcoming Mortgage Burning.

I knew that The Master's Touch was a second-hand store because I had given items to it regularly when I was moving and it was located at Four Corners. I knew that it relocated to a new facility last year and I was invited to attend their upcoming Mortgage Burning. That left me curious about the building, the move, the growth and success of its work. Shirley was delightful and even though the store was busy she took the time to share everything about the journey of The Masters Touch.

The Journey

More than twenty years ago people were coming to the Sneads Ferry churches for help and our Pastors saw the need to have a cooperative effort for Crisis Ministry to be more coordinated and effective. As early as 2006 they began planning and working together toward the mission to combine efforts to meet the community's needs efficiently. Pastor Joe Samples offered the name: "The Master's Touch" and the group agreed.

Bill Young of the Presbyterian church had done this kind of mission work in before so in 2010 he took the lead. A nonprofit 501C3 was established in 2013 with a Board of Directors and a small group of volunteers in a tiny store front on Hwy. 210. A complete history of the organization written by Pastor Steve Allen is available at The Master's Touch office - it surely has been a journey with twists, turns and shifts along the way, from finding space to assigning roles.

By 2018 they moved into the Treasurer Realty complex at Four Corners renting five units and a storage container. Two ladies with retail experience made that storefront happen - laying it out in an organized way so people to shop conveniently and with ease. The board quickly saw that they would also out-grow that space and "The Master's Touch" would need a place of its own so they started saving and investing.

At that time a Daily News article states: "The funds raised through the thrift store and donations have allowed "The Master's Touch" to provide thousands of dollars in assistance to local residents since its inception".

When the time came to make a move, the North Topsail Shores Baptist Church offered the organization a space to lease on church property so they could build their own store without having to find, buy and pay for land. The building costs almost $1,000,000 and the process took from May to December 2024. The 501C3 organization had previously saved $500,000 and "The Master's Touch" opened in their current location in February 2025 with a mortgage of $483,630. In May of 2026 the mortgage was paid.

Service

From their brochure: "The Master's Touch is a cooperative ministry of the Churches of Sneads Ferry established for the purpose of demonstrating the love of Jesus by providing emergency assistance, Christian guidance and other forms of assistance to the people of our community."

Through the organization a food bank is run at Folkstone Freewill Baptist Church on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10AM to 11AM with the cooperation of the Presbyterian Church. The food bank provides free emergency food assistance and operates independently from The Master's Touch storefront.

That entity ran for eight years with all volunteers. Now there are a few paid managers and cashiers to provide continuity and consistency. The new building has an office an outreach room and the storefront offering everything from clothes to housewares, decor, furniture, medical supplies and more.

The Thrift Store

Over fifty people volunteer at the store on a regular basis in all aspects of work under the direction of current store manager, Ashley Williams. They receive donated items, inventory, sort, price, display and sell them in the store. There is a signup sheet that allows people to volunteer for the type of work they like to do and the amount of time they want to offer. Outreach Manager and Administrative Director, Shirley Prince says this absolutely could not happen without the volunteers who work there and the direct donations of goods and money that comes from the community.

Wednesday mornings are one of the busiest times of the week because the store is closed Sunday through Tuesday. Volunteers work Monday and Tuesday to bring in new inventory and set up fresh displays for Wednesday morning. From the retail proceeds cost of operations are paid, and the rest of the money goes into an account to serve the needs of the community.

ISA

Emergency aid is offered in the form of ISA - In Store Assistance. If a house is struck by disaster like a fire, or someone has to leave an abusive setting and set up house they might be able to shop for whatever they need at no cost. If a family falls on hard times and needs some help paying bills to get back on their feet the bill may be paid. If unexpected medical costs threaten a family's welfare those needs are considered.

To be considered for ISA an application is filled out and each situation is considered case-by-case by one of the supporting pastors. Pastors from nine local churches rotate monthly interviewing people to determine need and course of action and support which can range from paying bills to supplying goods to helping procure resources because everyone's circumstance is different. Christian guidance is offered by the pastors to help with emotional and spiritual support along with the needs of financial and physical possessions. According to Shirley Prince eighty-five families have been served so far through ISA in 2026.

Busting at the Seams

Currently the organization uses four storage units to house all the off- season or duplicate merchandise that have been donated to them. Three units are rented and one is graciously donated by the storage company. They are packed to the brim with Home Decor, Linens, Kitchen, Baby items, Books, DVDs, CDs, Exercise and Sports equipment, Clothing and Shoes, Furniture, Housewares, and Holiday items.

Much of the furniture is too big for displaying in the store so it is inventoried and housed in the storage units until someone has interest or need. Then people have to drive to the unit to see it in person or have it retrieved. With the Mortgage Burning coming up the organization is already planning to build a storage facility onsite so they won't have to rent units and more importantly so furniture can easily be accessed for those in need. And there are conversations about possibly partnering with Habitat for Humanity in the future.

True Giving

The Sunday August 16th Mortgage Burning at 3PM on the site of "The Master's Touch" is to offer recognition for the hard work and dedication of its Volunteers and gratitude for its Donors for which this mission would not be successful. Everyone is invited to join in.

Khalil Gibran's words about giving may be true: "You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give" but, in the case of The Master's Touch, when one gives their possessions and then volunteers give of themselves the whole process becomes an endeavor that is truly miraculous. Isn't it wonderful that we live in a community where this kind of giving happens every day-to-day.

May All Thrive in the Province,

Dottie

The Specifics

Address: 810 Old Folkstone Road, Sneads Ferry 28460

Email: MastersTouch0023@gmail.com

Phone: 910-741-0023

Retail Store Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 10AM-5PM

Donation Drop Off Hours: Wednesday & Saturday 10AM-1PM - Please Call Ahead

Application for assistance can be found on their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/masterstouchofsneadsferry/

Churches that support:

1. First United Methodist Church