Rosemont Church offers haven for missionaries returning from the field

LAGRANGE, Ga. — Coming home from the mission field can be difficult and stressful for missionaries. But Rosemont Church in Lagrange is trying to make that a little easier.

Dedicated in July, Rosemont’s Mission House is a place for missionaries to furlough and feel relaxed and recharged so that when they return to the field, they will be ready to go and have had a nice respite here, said missions pastor Joe Frye. 

Frye knows firsthand that mission work is draining, from ministry duties to caring for family. He served as a missionary in Guatemala for two years, 

“Everything in a second culture and a second language is just that more complicated," Frye explained. "I always tell people the first time I had to pay my light bill in another country was quite the experience. Nothing is easy when you are overseas. So, we hope that this is easy for them.”

The house, located next door to the church, has a significant historical tie to the church. 

In 1967, Roy Webb sold the church a 26-acre property, because, according to Frye, "He said it wasn’t good for anything, but he wanted something good to come out of it.”

His daughter, Ann Rutland, was living in the house but passed away in May 2024. The family sold the house to the church in October 2024. “It was almost like two puzzle pieces coming back together,” said Frye.

Immediately, renovations began. 

The house was in pretty rough shape. It was stuck in the 80s, said Frye. Church volunteers with skills in all facets of construction helped remodel it. “We had a lot of gifted people in our church that made this house into a home,” said Frye. “Through the gifts and time and talents of our church members, and other people in the community, we were able to renovate the house and make it a really nice space.”

There is a hope that the missionaries become part of Rosemont culture while they stay.

“We would hope there is kind of an exchange that they would spend some time with our church members, and they would encourage and maybe even disciple them in a way that we would just be raising up a new generation that would want to go on missions or want to be engaged in missions,” Frye said. 

Rosemont hopes to always have a missionary in residence, and it would encourage them that God is at work in Troup County, Georgia, and that He is at work in other places as well. “Hearing those testimonies, and hearing how God is working all around the world constantly, should encourage us and invigorate us to do the work here as well,” said Frye.

Mission house was made possible by long-time Rosemont members Kirk and Ruth Hancock.

“We couldn’t have done this without their giving,” said Frye. Ruth wanted to donate money for missions, and was asked, "What about a missions house?" She replied, "Perfect."

Kirk, who passed away in 2023, retired from his job, and the family moved to Nicaragua and did mission work while there. “They had a very missional mindset while they lived down there. They weren’t sent out or anything like that. They were living abroad in retirement, but constantly collaborating with local churches,” said Frye. Their son, Hunter, is a full-time missionary in Southeast Asia. 

Kirk was a mentor of Frye’s.

“When I was finishing up my career in supply chain, he and I would get together, and he would talk to me about being a Christian in the workplace," Frye recalled. "He worked as a CFO for several different companies over his career. He mentored me in that sense and shared good, Godly wisdom.” 

Frye floated the idea of a mission house to senior pastor Adam Camp in 2019 because Camp is very missions-minded. “I said, ‘Hey, here’s a crazy idea. I’d like us to think about doing a missions house.' And, he said, ‘I’m all for that.’"

Planning was halted in 2020 due to COVID-19. Between 2021 and 2024, the church provided missionaries on furlough with a free van to drive. The church paid for insurance, but the missionary was responsible for gas and maintenance, such as oil changes.

Rosemont hopes this home is useful to missionaries and that it’s always booked with people who find it a restful and peaceful place to stay.

“We’re trying, of course, to go and proclaim the gospel, but we want to support those who have been called to that specific role of missionary.” He concluded, “We want to care and love on those who have been called in those roles.”