SIDNEY -- The Well Church in Sidney is reaching out to people in need. Among the points of focus is families who need a bed.

The idea started with The Well's partner church in New Albany, Miss., who started a bed ministry several years ago. They build beds for families in need in their communities, including a new mattress. A bed pattern was designed and when a crew from New Albany visited Sidney recently, they showed members of the Sidney church how they do it.

"What they do is, people gather together, and they build beds for children, people that are in need of them. They go through a process. They go to a center where they get support, whether its groceries, whether its financial support, health support," Justin Brown, pastor of The Well, said.

He added that in Albany if family needs a bed, one is built and given to them. The people of The Well Church saw this as a way to reach out to people in the community who need help.

"A lot of it ties in with foster care, things like that. Where there's a need. I want to stress, a need. It's not somebody that, 'hey, we want a bed,'" Brown said.

He said a process is being developed the ensure the need is met, not the want.

"We want to be able to help as many people as we can but we want to make sure those we are helping really need that help," he said.

He said the church wants to be able to meet spiritual needs, but also physical needs as well. He stressed the need for "compassion equity" in our communities. He said gone are the days of tall steeples and big buildings.

"I think that should be the heart of the church, the universal church, but ultimately our local church, The Well Church here in Sidney," Brown said.

He said the program is in the beginning stages, but has the potential to impact communities beyond Sidney.

"It takes people. It takes resources. It takes people being available to build them, but to deliver them, everything from Point A to Point B and all the way through," he said. 

John Phillips said a church in Alliance has contacted him about helping with the project.

"The thing is, it's not a denominational thing. It is a people thing," Phillips said.

To find out more about the Bed Ministry, go to thewellnetwork.church, John Phillips at The Fox Theater or the church's Facebook page.