Hey Partners
and friends,
I answered
the phone, and what I heard next was incredible. The voice on the line said I
am Scott, you don’t know me and I have never been to your church or CR. But I want
to let you know how Believers Church CR has impacted my life.
He went on
to say his younger brother Jon struggled with alcohol addiction most of his
life. Jon was able to break free from the addiction to the point that he began
preaching and pastoring churches. But as his church began having problems, Jon
relapsed. And as the scripture indicates if a person goes back to the very
thing that was destroying them it will be much worse than before. It was worse
than before, he lost everything and he died from his addiction at the age of
thirty five.
Before Jon
passed however, he started attending Celebrate Recovery at Believers church. He
would call Scott every Tuesday night after CR and all he wanted to talk about
was Jesus. Jon hated what he had done to his life but the Lord through
Celebrate Recovery showed him what life could be like living in recovery with
Christ. He found so much joy in his Savior again and would say, “These CR
people are truly what Christ wants the church to look like and how God wants
the church to live out their faith. These believers are true believers and love
me just the way I am. You need to check it out.”
Scott did
check out Celebrate Recovery after the death of his brother, finding healing
and freedom from his own hurts, habits and hang-ups. God radically changed
Scott’s life because of the seed that his brother Jon had planted concerning
the love and mercy of Christ through the people of CR.
Here is the
victory; Scott has gone on to establish and lead CR ministries in two cities in
Oklahoma. He has seen many lives recover from all kinds of debilitating issues.
He is serving the Lord in Celebrate Recovery to see the radical transformation
of countless people. His brother Jon planted the seed before he died and it
continues to bring a beautiful harvest from beyond the grave, fulfilling the
scripture;
“So when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O
grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Cor 15:54-55
Thank you so much for praying and supporting this ministry, it
brings forth fruit everlasting.
Celebrating Recovery,
Jim & Pam