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Mission & History

Our Purpose

Piedmont Rescue Mission has been impacting lives in Alamance County for more than 35 years. Our purpose is to glorify God through the salvation of souls. We accomplish this through providing shelter, hope, counsel, and structure to help change lives for eternity.

Our motto has always been “Providing a hand up, not a hand out.” We believe that a person changes first in their heart, through a relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s why our focus is on healing the whole person — meeting more than just physical needs. This motto exemplifies our commitment to lifting people up spiritually and giving them the tools to become self-sufficient and successful.

The Piedmont Rescue Mission Story

It all started when Rev. Ernie Mills of Durham Rescue Mission saw a need for services to the homeless in Alamance County. He founded Alamance Rescue Mission — a program for men in need of discipleship, counseling, and a long-term recovery program for substance abuse.

A few years down the road, the ministry expanded to reach women and children through pregnancy services. At that point, the name was changed to Piedmont Rescue Mission — an umbrella organization for both the men’s ministry and pregnancy services.

Later, the Good Samaritan Thrift Store was opened to help to support all of the Piedmont Rescue Mission ministries.

The newest offering, The Family Shelter, is slated to open in 2018. This temporary housing shelter will serve countless families in their time of need.

While our programs and services have changed over the years and continue to expand, our mission remains the same: to see lives changed by impacting people’s hearts using the Gospel of Jesus Christ.