“I’m finding out life’s not any easier being a Christian, but how I handle it is. I’m getting used to this new way of life. At 54, I pushed the limit, but I’ve got a lot of good years left.” - Jim

Jim’s Testimony of Transformation

“I knew Hope Ministries helped people out, and I wanted to get some good people on my side,” says Jim, a 54-year-old graduate of our Journey of Hope recovery program.

Jim was released from prison in 2007 after a four-year sentence and found work with a trucking service. “But I got laid off a year later, and with my record I just couldn’t find another job.” He also has a past of alcohol and drug abuse he didn’t want to return to. “My goal was to get to Hope Ministries and get some good help with life skills and a career change.”

Unlike some who enter our program, it wasn’t a hard transition for Jim; he’d studied the Bible in prison. “I knew who God was and had Him in my life. I finally just surrendered.”

About seven months into our program, however, Jim hit a plateau in his spiritual journey. His counselor recommended a mentor. “They set me up with a man named Curt Smith. Lo and behold, he works for the Department of Corrections—we had a lot to talk about! He helped me understand what was going on in my life by telling me about transitions he’d made in his own life. He learned how ‘giving back’ helps him. It was what I needed to get to the next level. It was all God—He put us together.”

Jim (left) is a joyful advocate of the mentoring program directed by Dwight Long (right), Hope Ministries’ director of men’s ministries.

Jim graduated in January, and following Curt’s example, he began “giving back” too. “As a Hope Ministries alumni, I want to help the new guys—talk to them and let them know how the program works. Sharing my experiences may help them overcome their addictions and other challenges they are facing.”

Today Jim works construction and resides in a transitional-living house with two other Journey of Hope graduates. “My roommates hold me accountable. The three of us discuss what is bothering us and it works.” He also stays in contact with his mentor, Curt Smith. “We’ve grown to become very close friends.”

Jim knows generous contributions from partners like you have given him this second chance at life. And he asked to share these thoughts with Hope Ministries’ donors and friends: “Your contributions go to an organization that helps men recover—and it’s the only program I feel that can totally help. It was the one-on-one relationships (with the staff, volunteers and mentors) that made it happen. I was able to release all the stuff I’d carried around with me for years, and they gave me the right tools to do it.”

Thank you for extending your hands to people like Jim through Hope Ministries.