During a visit to their daughter in 1988, Jean and Bill Fryar happened by the Salvation Army in Florence and witnessed about 20 homeless people being turned away because there was no safe haven for them. At the time, Bill worked with the Winston-Salem Rescue Ministry and knew that agencies like this could help these needy individuals.
With a heavy heart, Bill and Jean went back to Winston-Salem, but could not forget the needs of the homeless in the Pee Dee. After much prayer and soul-searching, Bill resigned his position with the Winston-Salem Rescue Ministry. He and Jean answered God’s call and moved to Florence and began ministering to homeless men. Bill and Jean shared their vision with Rev. John Smith of Hartsville and Rev. Elbert Smith of Florence, who agreed to help organize the ministry and serve as its board of directors.
South of Florence in the Elim community, Bill and Jean found the abandoned Bonaire School. The building was in poor repair and had no running water or electricity. With a modest savings account, good credit and an abundance of faith, the Fryars leased the building and the 10 acres surrounding it.
In early 1990, Tom Black* moved into the building as an assistant to the Fryars. Equipped with a Coleman lantern and stove and water brought in by the Fryars, Tom survived that first winter and worked to make the building livable. The following month, Eli Watkins* took refuge in the Ministry and acted as the maintenance staff. The staff of the House of Hope of the Pee Dee was now four in number.
The Fryars used their credit to purchase a meter from Florence County and installed a faucet at the highway. As the staff made improvements and repairs to the building, they waited on the Lord to provide their needs. While they prayed for guidance, they also prayed that God would fill the ministry with men who had nowhere to turn except to the Lord.
The Fryars told whoever would listen about their vision in hopes of recruiting others to help with the ministry. But most people wanted to wait and see if the Fryars could weather the trials of getting an organization off the ground. The Fryars continued to quietly do God’s will, and soon word spread about these humble missionaries and their homeless shelter.
In the summer of 1990, the health department called the House of Hope of the Pee Dee in search of shelter for a homeless man. Even without electricity or running water, Jimmy Cline,* the Ministry’s first resident was convinced the old school house would provide a more comfortable resting place than a park bench.
Each day, the Lord directed another man to the Ministry and bestowed another blessing. God provided enough money to lay a few water pipes; and with their good credit, the Fryars provided the rest of the materials to run water to the building, With running water, they could finally get electrical power. What a glorious day it was when God spoke and said, “Let there be light!”
Later that summer, the Singles Sunday School Class from the First Baptist Church in Florence came to tour the facilities. God used the tour to convince those visitors that He had a place of service for them with the Ministry. Some members of the Sunday School Class became board members and joined the Fryars in doing God’s will.
Bill continued to direct the ministry and Jean oversaw the operation of the Rummage Shop. Now in failing health, Bill resigned in late 1994 and Jean continued as a volunteer at the ministry. Ray Pryor became acting director until May, 1995 when Jean assumed leadership. Eventually, Board Member Ed Hancock stepped in to oversee the day-to-day operation of the Ministry.
In December 1995, Rev. Bill Valentine was hired as Executive Director. Under his leadership, the Ministry developed policies and procedures and continued to minister to the spiritual, as well
as the physical needs of homeless men. Rev. Valentine resigned December 1997.
From its inception in 1990, the ministry has provided an average of 12,000 nights of lodging each year, but the needs of women and children were not being met. Convinced that women and children accounted for a significant portion of the homeless population in the Pee Dee, the ministry’s Board of Directors voted on June 4, 1996 to develop plans for a facility to house homeless women and children.
On June 11, 1998, approximately 100 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the House of Hope for women & their children and celebrated God’s bounty in ministering to “the least of these.” The House of Hope for women and their children officially opened it doors March 7, 1999.
Jane Tuttle was hired as Executive Director on March 1, 2003 and is currently serving in that capacity.
The House of Hope Ministry Mart operates as a full-fledged retail business in store space located at 2000 South Irby Street. Profits earned from retail sales and the bailing operations are used to help defray the operating costs of House of Hope of the Pee Dee.
*Names changed to protect the privacy of residents.
In April, 2006, New Life Rescue Ministries officially changed its name to House of Hope of the Pee Dee.
