The Frederick Rescue Mission: A Story of Transformation

Eternal Walk Ministry is proud to support The Frederick Rescue Mission, a Christ-centered non-profit organization located in downtown Frederick, Maryland.

During our time there, we had the pleasure of meeting one particular gentlemen, named John, a 53-year-old man who is enrolled in the Changed Life Recovery Program (CLRP). He graciously shared his testimonial with us.

John’s Story of Transformation

John never understood the realities of homelessness until he, himself, became homeless in 2014. He used to have high-end career with plenty of money in the bank and a family at his back. It wasn’t until he lost everything that he found hope in Jesus Christ.

Growing up, John was raised in a Catholic household, but never continued with his faith and fell away from religion entirely. He grew up in Bowie, Maryland, the youngest of 4 siblings.

As a teenager, he got involved with racing motorcycles and street rods. He attended Frostburg State University, where he pursued an accounting degree to become a CPA. He soon fell into the “party crowd” amongst the other college students and his addiction with alcohol began to take shape. Unfortunately, alcoholism runs in his family, so the odds were stacked up against him.

After college, he landed a position at a local law firm. However, he was unhappy in this position and decided to change career paths to computer science in order fulfill his childhood love for computers. In 1991, he received his Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science and worked for various government agencies. In 1995, he fell in love, got married, and had two children. Life was good.

However, by the time 2005 rolled around, John picked up drinking again, but this time, it got out of control.

There was no faith or unity in the marriage and every Sunday, John put on a facade in church to please the people around him. Eventually, the marriage was broken beyond repair and his wife left him. At that time, John was captivated by material possessions, and not God. He bought new, expensive, luxury cars and wasted his wealth to impress his friends and family. During this time of separation, John’s addiction grew as he self-medicated with alcohol to dull out the pain of loneliness and failure. His tried to clean up his act, but he was not strong enough to resist his urges alone.

In January 2014, he became systems engineer for another company and started to drink again, this time heavily. Shortly thereafter, he picked up where he left off and walked away from everything. For 11 months, John went into hiding, where he lived in hotels as he bounced around from town to town. At one time, his parents even filed a missing persons report.

John felt ashamed of his addiction, divorce, and failure, which led him down the path of self-destruction. Near the end of this 11-month period, he lost his wallet and ended up homeless on the streets of Baltimore in November 2014. He had lost his job, his possessions, his relationships…everything. At night, he slept on the street and barely scraped by.

Eventually, he was fed up with living on the streets and found value in working. He quickly sought out help from Helping Up Mission and completed their residency program. While there, he became the “in-house” IT guy as a paid internship. He then started to freelance his IT skills and became an independent IT consultant. However, he hated living in Baltimore and was commuting every weekend out of the city to get away from it all.

John left Baltimore and then fell back into old habits. He started drinking again. During this time, he had no network, no community, and no one to help him fight his temptations. The drinking got so bad, he ended up hospitalized and was forced to detox. He reached out to a good friend in Baltimore to ask for help and learned about The Frederick Rescue Mission in Frederick, Maryland.

A representative from The Frederick Rescue Mission visited John to interview him for their Changed Lives Recovery Program (CLRP). In May 2018, John decided to officially enroll in the CLRP at the Mission to begin his long road to recovery. He joined 20 – 30 other men from various backgrounds who also struggled with drug addictions and homelessness.

While there, John met Bob from Eternal Walk Ministry, who teaches at The Frederick Rescue Mission. John was drawn to Bob by the way he shared the Gospel and explained scripture to him. John decided to attend Bob’s church at Frederick Church of Christ and asked to get more involved with Eternal Walk Ministry. It was here when he fell in love with community outreach ministry.

As he grew closer to Christ, more and more opportunities reopened for him. He helped minister to runners at the Mission 10 Miler, volunteered more at his Church, and grew closer to the Frederick community.

John used to be materially wealthy and spiritually broke. However, when he came to Christ, he is now materially broke and spiritually wealthy. As a result, John has redirected his focus from material possessions and alcohol to his walk with Christ.

It’s easy for John to share his testimony to give others hope for transformation. His story resonates with a lot of people who find themselves in similar situations, which makes his testimony a powerful one.

We’re happy to report John is much better off than before and God is healing him from compulsion and he is finding freedom from the grip hold of alcoholism. Bob continues to mentor John in his spiritual walk with Christ to remain steadfast.

Nowadays, John and his ex-wife are on civil terms and he finds joy in visiting his two children, who now are 18 and 16 years old. The Mission helps him buy clothes for his kids and he often shares scripture with them.

John was baptized in June 2017 and is now a confirmed member the Frederick Church of Christ, where he continues to grow in his eternal walk with Christ.

About The Frederick Rescue Mission

The Frederick Rescue Mission is a local non-profit organization based in downtown Frederick, Maryland. They operate a multitude of Christ-centered ministries, including a men’s shelter, women & children’s shelter, donation clothing drive, community outreach programs, summer enrichment camp, food distribution center, and much more.

The staff and volunteers who work with the Frederick Rescue Mission focus on building authentic relationships and vital connections with impoverished community members. The mission meets the basic human needs of food, shelter, and clothing. As a result, opportunities arise where staff and volunteers can share the Gospel with unbelievers.

>> To learn more about The Frederick Rescue Mission, click here.

Join the Volunteers at Eternal Walk Ministry

If you would like to get involved with Christ-centered ministries in Frederick, Maryland, join us at Eternal Walk Ministry! The Frederick Rescue Mission is just one of the MANY ministries we take part in. We’re always looking for more volunteers to help us spread the Gospel and expand God’s kingdom.