History - Hagar's Sisters

Our History

2003

Five women from a single congregation realized they were married to abusive men, who were also professing Christians. Four of the five had restraining orders against their husbands. They met to learn about abuse, to encourage and support each other to honor God in light of the abuse they experienced, and to seek God’s will for their lives and marriages. In short, they sought healing in their own lives.

2004

Dr. Catherine Clark Kroeger, an Old Testament and Greek Scholar, and professor at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, met with the women. She shared the story of Hagar – of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Abram and Sarai – and how God saw her and rescued her in her time of need. Soon after, the name Hagar’s Sisters was chosen (click here to read more about Hagar’s story).

2005

Hagar’s Sisters experienced remarkable growth due to our distinctive ability to address and understand the challenges faced by Christian women. In only two years support group grew from 5 to 63 women.

2007

Our founder began dedicating her full-time efforts to building Hagar’s Sisters.

2011

Hagar’s Sisters moved into its first formal office space. Our Lexington, Massachusetts support group site was established.

2013

Hagar’s Sisters launched its 27-hour Domestic Violence Certification to train all volunteers and staff who interact with those we serve.

2015

Hagar’s Sisters added a second support group site in Danvers, Massachusetts.

2017

85 volunteers in partnership with 3 full-time and 4 part-time staff served 200 women in 2017 and provided 667 services.

In each of the last two years we have grown at a rate of 24%. We expect to continue to grow at this remarkable rate again in 2018.

2019

God began pressing on our hearts the need for a program that could cross boundaries to meet the needs of thousands of women. There were hundreds of women contacting Hagar’s Sisters who could not attend a support group because of distance.

2020

God began pressing on our hearts the need for a program that could cross boundaries to meet the needs of thousands of women. There were hundreds of women contacting Hagar’s Sisters who could not attend a support group because of distance.

Our Name

The night was dark and still. She grabbed the small bag of belongings she had stealthily packed earlier in the day, and wrapped herself against the night’s chill...

Read a Sister Story