A group of Opp men have started a men’s ministry that is reaching out to the underprivileged and the lost.

Jimmy Reeves said a group piggybacked off of the Old School Men’s Ministry, but wanted something that was specifically for Opp.

“We started inviting men to come and meet,” he said. “We ate together and it has grown.”

Reeves said in November and December the men were able to feed more than 100 people.

“We took food to needy families,” he said. “Our men really enjoyed giving.”

Reeves said the inaugural meeting of the organization called Flames of Faith Men’s Ministry was held in October.

“We usually eat and have a speaker,” he said. “We talk about Jesus and how to be better men and leaders in our community.”

Reeves said the ministry is not affiliated with any church or denomination.

“We have men who come from churches all over,” he said. “We also have men who come who are not in churches. We wanted to reach those who don’t have a church but would come to something like this. We hope that through this they find a church.”

The ministry is held at Cup of Hope, which Reeves said is two doors down from the old Barr’s Seafood in downtown Opp.

Speakers have included Johnny Dyess, Coach Johnson from Opp Middle School and Gary Smith from PowerSouth.

“Most of our speakers have had a remarkable turn around in their lives,” he said. “Gary talked about community service and ways to grow our community.”

Reeves said they meet once a month.

“We try to do it around the second Tuesday in the month,” he said. “We have between 75 and 100 who attend. We rely on just word of mouth, and we trust God to provide for us.”

Reeves said the best part is the outreach portion of the ministry.

“We have been able to see so many families blessed,” he said. “One family, we were going to take food to, but found out they were in the emergency room, and they actually didn’t know how they were going to get their next meal. It’s such a bless in the giving rather than receiving.”

Reeves said it’s a blessing to know that there are so many people in their community who want to reach out and help those in need.

“We talk about being an army for Jesus,” he said. “Our ministry is open to anyone.”

The next meeting is Feb. 11, at 6 p.m., at Cup of Hope.