What started out as a simple “clothes closet” providing clothing for the disadvantaged has blossomed into much more. Crossway Church is now hosting a Second Saturday event at the former Martin’s at Midtown location to provide free clothing, shoes, a hot meal, family crafts and fun for those in need.

Kim Coomes, a member of Crossway, said she was inspired by a clothing drive the church held to benefit the victims of the tornado that devastated Rolling Fork in 2023. Shortly afterward, she began a similar mission with a closet at the church’s location on Highway 61 South. The closet provided gently used clothing free of charge. Although the closet was successful, Coomes said she felt more people could be reached if they had a location within the city limits.

“It takes a lot for somebody to come in off the street and ask for help,” she said of people coming to the church’s location several miles outside of town. She added that she wanted the mission to be more accessible for the needy.

Coomes, who holds a full-time job outside the church, said the closet is a passion project.

“I never would have seen myself doing something like this . . . but that nudge to do it . . . I said, ‘No, no, no, I’m not the right person for this,’ but you never know.”

The former Martin’s at Midtown, which is currently for sale, proved to be the ideal location. A church member had a connection with John and Lisa Martin, who previously operated the restaurant and still own the building. The Martins agreed to allow Crossway to set up Grace Market at the location.

Initially, the group from Crossway just used the parking lot to set up a tent with free clothing.

“I was like, ‘Hmm, they have a kitchen. We could do all kinds of stuff,'” she said.

Coomes and her crew of volunteers now prepare meals in that kitchen and have a central location close to people who live nearby. On the second Saturday in March, volunteers loaded plates with salad, bread and large servings of spaghetti with sauce.

“It’s great, because we have all ages (of volunteers), from little kids all the way to older adults,” Coomes said. “We have around 20 volunteers.”

The church provides the food, and the volunteers prepare and serve it.

The first group they served was small, but things have grown quickly, Coomes said.

“We plan for 50 to 60 people and we’re hoping we have to order pizza,” she said, referring to the plan to pick up pizzas if the spaghetti ran out. “We would love to serve so many that we run out of food.”

In the parking lot outside, a tent held racks of clothing and a table was filled with shoes, all free.

Nearby, Crossway Kids Pastor Angela Marshall played a game with both volunteer children and children who had come with their families. Using a brightly colored parachute, Marshall had the kids bouncing balls on top it, trying to keep the balls in motion, but not hitting the ground, by moving the parachute with their arms.

“We’re talking about calming the storms,” she said, likening the moving parachute to a chaotic sea.

Marshall also led craft time with the children and their families.

“The kids will have a couple of coloring sheets and a craft where they’ll make a wheel (from a ship) . . . and the sun coming out,” she explained.

Coomes said she envisions bigger things for Grace Market in the future.

“We could have more things here,” she said, referring to the various rooms in the house-like building.

Grace Market occurs on the second Saturday of each month at 1101 Belmont St. The event runs from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. For more information, contact Crossway Church at 601-636-2596 or via email at info@crosswaychurch.com.