There Are No Failures Here

Randy was a struggling alcoholic when he came to Hope Ministries two years ago. He'd started drinking heavily in his early 20s—after his mother passed away—and for the next 25 years, life became simply a struggle for survival. “Work here, go there, do this, do that—it was never easy,” Randy recalls. He was several months into the recovery program at our Door of Faith facility when he just walked out.

We talk a lot in our newsletters and other correspondence with our friends and donors about men and women who've successfully completed our programs and have gone on to lead productive lives. But does that mean Randy failed? Not in our book. You see, God continues to see the potential in every life, despite disappointing setbacks. So by His example, we know there's always hope.

"Whether folks are with us for several years, several months or even just a few days, they're exposed to our staff and volunteers who are living godly examples," explains Men's Ministries Director Cole Lindholm. "They hear God's Word and see other men and women who have been or are being transformed. They pick up skills they didn't have before. And seeds are planted."

After living in a tent camp for nearly a year, Randy came back to Hope Ministries. "I was sick of being out there," he told us. "I thought about Jeff Scott (head intake coordinator at our Bethel Mission facility). His past reminds me of mine and his testimony inspires me. And Pastor Bill (case manager) makes things easy to understand. I thought, 'Enough is enough.' So I walked to Hope Ministries Bethel Mission and they welcomed me just like they did the first time."

We don't pretend to know God's plans for the men and women who come through our doors or the roads down which He'll lead them on their journeys. When He sends them our way, we can only give them our best . . . and let Him do the rest. "What God is up to isn't dependent upon us," Cole shares. "We love them with all our hearts, but we can't care nearly as much as He does. My job is to come to work, be faithful and do my best with the guys. And at some point, I have to turn all of it over to God—to say to Him, ‘Anything I've done is Yours to work with and make into whatever You are doing.'" Because by definition alone, "God's plans" are always fail-proof!