Back in 1955, God called and a family answered. That family was Jim and Ellen Resh along with their five young children. And the calling was to start a rescue mission in Hagerstown.

A rare view of the dining hall at the first building on Jail Alley

So in 1955, Jim & Ellen moved their family from rural Cascade into Hagerstown’s downtown. The first Hagerstown Rescue Mission began in an old dance hall located on Jail Alley. When the Mission started it was designed to be an outreach to the many homeless, and quite often, drunk men who wandered the streets of Hagerstown.

Now 57 years later, the name has changed and the location is different, but the same goal exists from the first day of our founding. We are here to help those in need. Whether we help men addicted to drugs or alcohol, families in need of clothing or house wares, people in need of food or homeless men looking for a good night’s rest.

The Hope Center is here to help the “least, the last and the lost”. You might be familiar with some of the ministries that we have. You might have even helped a time or two in some way. But we don’t always give you the opportunity to hear from the men who live at the Hope Center.

These men have come to the Hope Center from many different walks of life but each one is searching for the same thing- hope. Hope to beat their addiction. Hope to restore their family. Hope to have a job again. Hope to change their life – and their eternity.

At the Hope Center we provide the only true hope- Jesus. Some of our residents have been raised in Christian homes or have been exposed to Christ at some point in their past. Others are new to Christ. It’s important to teach that man can’t provide hope. Hope is only found in Christ.

So we asked our residents one simple question. Below is the question followed by a few of our residents’ responses.

How has the Hope Center at Hagerstown Rescue Mission been able to give you hope?

“I have a place to stay, good people, great staff, and most of all, I have a wonderful Savior named Jesus in my life again. I owe Him my life, and I don’t want to forsake Him ever again. Thank you for everything.”

-James

“When you start to apply the Word of God to your life, all hope starts to come alive. Just to know that God loves you, and gave His only Son to die for you, it gives hope! To see how God works in all the men’s lives at the Hope Center gives you hope. God is all about love and hope!”

-Earl

“Before I answer this question I would like to thank God for bringing me here to the Hope Center to discover not with my physical eyes the beauty of His grace but He electrified my mind with His spirit instead. And the joy that I receive from His spirit cannot be better. So, does the Hope Center at Hagerstown Rescue Mission give hope? Yes it does. And the result is unquestionable and indisputable in any language. Today and now I can go anywhere in the world and with other nations the teaching that receive here from you and from your staff. You help understand that the God we serve, the God we pray and worship everyday is really an almighty God. God bless you all.”

-Roosevelt

“Through our gracious God, the Hope Center has helped me start a firm, positive & everlasting foundation, based on Jesus, the rock. The Hope Center has also given me hope by teaching me that by following the Word I can build a strong, permanent relationship with the Lord. And I can do all things through Him (Phil 4:13)”

-Ryan

Please continue to pray for these men and the many other men who will come to the Hope Center looking for a place to sleep or a life-changing program to help them beat their addictions.