COAP, Inc. was conceived in 1977 as a grass roots inter-denominational relief effort in response to a devastating flood, which caused great destruction of homes in Harlan County. In 1980, a Mennonite volunteer, Marlin Yoder, helped to form Christian Family Housing Services to help actualize the dream of helping low-income families with their housing needs. In March of 1983, COAP, Inc. was formed as an independent non-profit corporation, which further developed and replaced the work of Christian Family Housing Services in January of 1984.