Where It All Started…
All Are Worthy was founded in 2021 by Jamie Dulany, who had a dream of creating an intentional community specifically for young people in Alcoa, TN. This dream came after many years of working in youth ministry in the community and realizing there was a major gap in the number of students and families in Alcoa pursued by different churches, youth groups, parachurch organizations or other ministries in Blount County.
Jamie served as the Youth Director at a local church in Alcoa for almost 6 years. Her youth group grew and was filled with students who were a beautiful reflection of the diversity and uniqueness of our small community. Students who had not grown up in or who were not plugged in to a local church began walking down the hill from school every time the doors were open. As a group, they were able to sit together each week in small groups, share meals together, attend youth conferences, go on mission trips, have student-led devotions on Friday mornings and grow into a large group that felt more like family. Through this, students from Alcoa were able to be a part of a group that looked like them, welcomed and loved them as they were, while also creating opportunities for spiritual growth, friendship, mentorship and a lot of fun together!
When it was time to step away from this position, Jamie knew immediately that she wanted to recreate these same opportunities and this family-like community outside of the church setting. She did not want to become a new church, but be an organization that serves students, specifically in Alcoa, and points them to other churches, organizations and leaders in our community. The ultimate dream for All Are Worthy was to become a safe space for young people of all backgrounds and walks of life to gather together in friendship and fellowship to begin discovering what it is they believe about their personal walk with Jesus and the impacts they can make in our community. On Oct. 13, 2021 we had our first official AAW gathering. Since then we have gathered each Wednesday night at Springbrook Gym where we share a meal together, play games, split up into small groups, serve together and walk through life together.
One of the most beautiful parts of this entire journey is watching the former middle school students involved in Jamie’s original youth group serving as small group leaders and mentors through All Are Worthy! THIS is the dream for AAW! That young people would feel so loved, cared for, seen and valued through this group that they want to return and pour back into the lives of the next generation. It has been amazing to see how God has moved through and provided for this organization and we are so excited to see what’s to come in the future!
