It wasn’t too long ago that Pastors and churches referred everyone struggling with an addiction to their local Adult & Teen Challenge center or another recovery program. It was just that simple, refer to the specialist. Oh, how times have changed, pastors in America are facing congregants struggling themselves or who have adult children that are addicted. Our country is in a crisis! One out of every three families in America are directly affected by addictions.
According to a March 1st article in USA Today, we are losing 350 American lives everyday to substance abuse and spending $422 billion yearly because of untreated addictions. We are losing more of our youth to drugs then from car accidents and accidental gun deaths combined!
Only the Church of Jesus Christ has the anointing to truly make America great again. Teen Challenge is positioned for such a time as this. With opioid and prescription drug addictions rampant in America, this is our greatest challenge and opportunity to offer a proven cure & faith-based solution.
Churches working together, congregants trained and really equipped for ministry, addressing the greatest pain in their community, partnering with Teen Challenge, a strategy to truly make America great again.
Many pastors across our country are ministering to the addicted and their families. I think of Kevin Palmer, in Peru, Indiana and Kyle Burchett in Grayson, Kentucky. Kevin and the pastors in this rural farming community 70 miles north of Indianapolis began to meet and pray because of so many overdose deaths devastating families and the entire community. They began with prayer. Together they agreed to offer a Living Free training for the community and challenge each pastor to attend and encouraged leaders from each church to commit to attend. Nearly 100 individuals came from 14 different congregations to the training to begin to understand addictions & life-controlling problems, and how the churches can be involved with referrals to Adult & Teen Challenge, build meaningful relationships with those who can’t go, bring realignment to families of the addicted and to offer re-establishment in the community for graduates of Adult & Teen Challenge and other programs that are coming back to Peru.
Kevin has 20 pastors and their wives currently going thru the Insight Group! Pastors ministering and encouraging fellow pastors! Pastor’s wives encouraging other wives and preparing to minister to the hurting, together! A total of 55 are participating in the Insight Group as the second phase of the training to become facilitators of groups for the addicted and their families!
Churches, pastors, congregants, trained with the Living Free strategy, all joining with Adult & Teen Challenge, to help America become great again!
