ELEVATE - Christ’s Church Leadership Blog

It is amazing to see how God uses our ministries to change families and bring healing to lives and relationships. He is using our Celebrate Recovery program as a tool to do just that.

Below is one example we received this week via email. (Note: Some of the personal info has been removed to protect the privacy of the family.)

-David Lawson - Executive Minister

Hello!

I’d like to take a minute to express my thanks to your church for your Celebrate Recovery program.

Even though we have always lived hundreds of miles away from my family in Jacksonville, we have experienced great pain and heartache as a result of the addictions that bound my brother and sister. My Mom and Step-Dad have tried for years to help them and their families, exhausting their resources as well as minds and bodies.

Now, however, my heart is filled with joy and hope as my years of prayers for their recovery are being answered because of the Celebrate Recovery group at your church. My Mom, Sister and Brother all attend with their families and are involved with the program. I have witnessed their emotional freedom and the restoration of relationships because of their small groups, step programs, and the genuine worship they experience together every week. They are beginning to see and experience the love and mercy of Christ as they cut through the chains and shackles that have bound them for so long. And they are doing it together and with others who accept them as they are!

It is a slow process to be sure but it is happening in a way that I can see is real. My children are seeing this wonder as well and are encouraged about the prospect of having healthy relationships with their Aunt and Uncle! They have also prayed for this for a long time.

I am so grateful. It is impossible to express its depth. I praise our God and Savior for His work and ministry through others. I have been praying for a Family of Faith like yours that offers a place for the healing of my family and others. I will continue to pray for you all. I pray God’s richest blessings on your church family for supporting the work of Celebrate Recovery. It is with tears of joy that I write this to you. I want you know you all have had a part in the restoration and hope of at least 15 people (3 families) and 4 of us are 738 miles from you!

Please keep this ministry available. You are indeed affecting a lost and hurting world!

In the Hope of Christ our Lord!

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