Men's Development Center

My first experience with the Star of Hope Men's Shelter (or with any shelter, for that matter) occurred when I was 17 years old. Without knowing what a rescue mission was, one Sunday evening I joined several older men from my church who regularly made their way to an old brick building in the bowels of downtown Houston. Having recently been brought to faith in Jesus I was hungry for the witness of life-changing ministry. I was assured that I would not be disappointed at Star of Hope. I wasn't.

Our little band of missionaries arrived at 7:15PM for a season of worship with the men. It was an oppressively muggy August evening and, as was the habit at the time, showers were subsequent to the chapel service. 350 homeless men were packed into a relatively small space, the resulting odor unlike anything I had ever before encountered. I immediately fell in love with it. To this day, 42 years later, I can still pull up the fragrance. It was the aroma of despair and hopelessness. It was the scent of wasted lives and unbelief. It was the smell for which He died.

Each and every day at the Men's Development Center we are given front row seats to the Gospel drama as the stench of the world rises up like incense to our Great High Priest. He  draws the lowest to Himself, bathes them in forgiving grace, sets them up as a chosen generation, and then prepares them to be world-changers for His glory.