About Us

The Beginning

Jim and Becky Connell, from Columbus, Indiana, start the Lexington Rescue Mission.

First Thanksgiving Dinner

Lexington Rescue Mission begins services with a Community Thanksgiving Dinner. The next week, we open our doors for hot meals, chapel services, and Bible studies for those in need.

First Residents Move In

Renovations are completed, and our men’s residential program opens. We also begin assisting people with rent and utility bills, launching our Homeless Prevention Program.

Thrift Store Partnership Begins

A thrift store at the corner of Loudon and Bryan Avenue begins giving a portion of its sales to the Lexington Rescue Mission, which takes over ownership of the shop three years later. The store provides clothing, furniture, and household items at affordable prices until it is closed in August 2014.

Expansion Underway

Outgrowing our space on North Limestone, the Mission purchases an abandoned nursing home on Glen Arvin Avenue. Construction begins to prepare this facility to become our new Outreach Center.

Fresh Start Program Opens

The Mission begins training men in employment, life-skills, and relapse prevention and providing case management to help them achieve self-sufficiency. Fresh Start expands to serve women in January 2006.

Outreach Center Opens

The Mission expands its ministry into our new building on Glen Arvin Avenue.

Lunch Begins at Outreach Center

Renovations are completed on the kitchen at The Outreach Center, and the Mission starts serving hot lunches and offering chapel services there.

First Walk for Warmth

This annual walk-a-thon raises money for our Homeless Intervention Program and raises awareness about homelessness in Lexington.

Health Clinic Opens

The Mission begins providing free medical care for uninsured men, women, and children at The Outreach Center. This clinic operates for nine years, serving hundreds of patients who, otherwise, would not have access to health care.

Support Services Expanded

The Mission creates walk-in hours for guests to meet with a social worker, begins offering employment counseling, opens a computer lab, and starts classes for budgeting and tenant rights and responsibilities. Parenting classes would be added the following year.

Second Thrift Store Opens

The Mission opens a new thrift store on New Circle Road, which it closes in October 2011.

Transitional Homes Open

The Mission closes its recovery program and opens men’s and women’s transitional homes. The men’s transitional home is named The Potter’s House, and the women’s home is named The RUTH House. In 2014, The RUTH House closes because of financial constraints.

Steady Hands Launches

Steady Hands is a weekly support group designed to give people an opportunity to connect to God and each other. Guests worship, study scripture, discuss life issues, and share a meal.

Jobs for Life Begins

The Mission adopts a nationally-recognized employment training program, Jobs for Life, and begins classes at our Outreach Center.

Neighborhood Center Opens

The Mission opens a neighborhood center at Embrace Church on North Limestone in Lexington. We offer walk-in hours at this center on Monday afternoons.

Jail Ministry Begins

Volunteers start teaching Jobs for Life classes at the jails in Fayette and Woodford counties.

Advance Lexington Opens

Our staffing program is created to place graduates of our Jobs for Life program in jobs.

Re-Entry Division Established

The Mission expands our services within local jails and begins developing new services for men and women leaving incarceration.

Ex-Offender Ministry Grows

Classes are started for incarcerated women and services expanded to reach inmates in Jessamine County Detention Center and NorthPoint Training Center. Blackburn Correctional Complex would open its doors to us the following year.

Homeless Intervention Program Starts

The Mission changes the way it provides financial assistance. Instead of paying rent and utility bills to prevent evictions and shut-offs, we now pay the first month’s rent for people moving out of homelessness. Our housing counselor also assists in finding housing and provides follow-up home visits to ensure clients can keep their housing.

Community Center Opens

The Mission adds 18 transitional beds for men and expands our capacity to serve more men and women with our employment and re-entry services.

Grace Place Opens

The Mission opens a transitional living home for women.

Street Outreach Program

The Mission starts a new program, Street Outreach that goes out to those who are living in encampments and on the streets to meet them where they are at and meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those in need who may not be able to physically come to our Outreach Center.

The Expansion Project

The Mission embarks on an expansion project. To meet the growing demand and prepare for the future, we purchase a 52,806 sq. ft. facility in downtown Lexington. This new community center will serve as a safe and welcoming place for people who are living on the margins.

Construction Starts

We break ground at the new Community Center facility in April 2024 to start renovations and construction so that we can eventually transition our services to the new facility.

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