Most recently, it served as a safe, home environment for foster children with severe disabilities. The home provided solace for children born with incredible odds stacked against them. More than a year ago the home closed when director Becky Rushing and her husband, Mike, decided to stop fostering and focus on their two adopted children.
But Rushing felt the home should still serve as a bastion of hope in the county.
"Abundant Life is not dead," she said at the time. "It's just going through a transition."
Hopeful transition
For almost 10 years, Cindy Willis of Decatur has volunteered with young men and boys at the Gainesville State School.
The school, run by the Texas Youth Commission, is a maximum security facility. It houses juveniles who committed felony-level offenses between the age of 10 and 17. Many of them get released at age 19.
Willis worked with anger management and Bible study groups at the youth prison. But over time, despite receiving help inside, she saw that many of these young men revert to old ways upon their release. She realized more needed to be done to turn these young men into productive citizens and prevent them from picking up where they left off when incarcerated.
"A lot of them get out and have nowhere to go," Willis said. "They never knew their mother, or she's a drug addict, or they can't find their father. Some of them say the prison was the best home they've ever had."
Upon release, many move back to their old neighborhoods and fall into the same traps that landed them behind bars the first time.
"Last year I saw two young men that I worked with in Bible study classes get killed in drug deals shortly after their release," Willis said.
She recalled how thoughtful one of the men had been during prayer. The other had started dealing again to help provide for his family.
After seeing this tragedy befall these two young men, Willis felt stronger than ever about establishing Hope Inn Christ, an aftercare home for young men just released from the state school.
"Most have never eaten as a family together," Willis said. "Most have never had a normal life. Many never even had family visit them."
Close to God, close to nature
The Inn is the former Abundant Life Children's Home on North County Line Road. It's a program designed to teach basic life skills, discipline and family values within a Biblical context in a rural setting.
Todd McMann will serve as the first houseparent for Hope Inn Christ.
"I'm trying to keep away from the halfway house mentality," McMann said. "I've been doing this a long time. Halfway houses are beneficial, but they aren't directed."
Hope Inn Christ has no connection to the state and is funded through donations. The young men who decide to stay there do so on a voluntary basis. They are asked to stay at the Inn for a full year.
"We have set guidelines, not rules," McMann said. "We want them to know that by following guidelines, they can get a better life. This comes through prayer and developing job skills."
The young ex-convicts who choose to stay must attend Bible study and prayer groups in the home, and they must attend a church of their choice. They will be taught how to apply and interview for jobs and other life skills.
McMann hopes to eventually transform the Inn into a self-sustaining facility. The grounds, which cover 17 acres, will have a wood and metal shop. He also plans to acquire livestock, plant crops and install wind turbines and a rainwater collector.
"We hope this place will become almost self-sustainable in a few years," McMann said. "Where we're not only close to God, but also close to the land."
Providing structure
McMann said his ability to relate to young men will be an advantage in shaping them.
"I'm one of them," he said. "I spent a lot of time in and out of the prison system."
After cleaning himself up a dozen years ago, McMann has tried to help those in similar situations. He has spent five years working in secular and Christian halfway houses.
"A lot of these organizations want to pat these kids on the back and love 'em to death to change them," McMann said. "Not me. A lot of these kids came from no structure. They grew up not being taught the difference between right and wrong.
"We're here to give a hand-up, not a handout. We want to provide truth in life and hard work as an alternative to violence, anger and substance abuse," he said.
McMann said some of their neighbors on the rolling prairie have voiced concern about the prospect of newly freed convicts living nearby.
"The neighbors have been very polite," McMann said. "They admire what we're doing, but some are also wary. I understand. This is why we will introduce the residents to all the neighbors when they arrive."
Willis said she has also talked to the Sheriff's Department about the nature of the facility.
Although Hope Inn Christ has been ready to start for two months, they are still waiting on their first resident.
"We're ready," McMann said. "It takes a commitment. After spending years locked up in a place, it's hard to convince someone to make this commitment. A lot just go back to gangs and drugs."
"We just want to give some of them a chance," Willis said. "Give them hope in Christ. A lot of these guys have no hope."
Although the facility now serves a different population and has a different name, it still strives to provide a better life for those with the odds stacked against them.
