"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17
The Christian Care Center Men’s Residence is not your typical drug and alcohol treatment center. Gods’ ministry here is not getting men to live sober lives. It’s not to better the lives these residents have. Instead, God is giving them brand new lives.
This month we were able to celebrate three of our residents getting baptized. They have decided to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and have made a public confession of this before our church. They are proclaiming that their former ways of living are dead and buried with Christ. They are choosing to put to death their old thinking patterns, their old sins and they have been raised to a new life. They are not the same broken addict that walked through these doors. They are now a new creation, living their lives for Christ.
We have a front row seat of this transformation here at the Men’s Center day in and day out. We have witnessed men trade their needles for Bibles. They have traded the cuss words for words of prayer and encouragement.
One of these men is Damon who came in suffering from a 2-year depression and was just full of severe anxiety. I will never forget the day I went to bring him in for his interview and he cried out to me, “Jamie, I can’t do this, I can’t stay here!” I encouraged him to just try. Just try doing the interview and from there just try to get though today.
Damon now has graduated the 32-week program and is experiencing the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. He has gone from someone who couldn’t even share his testimony in front of his peers, to now boldly proclaiming the saving power of Christ’s love and mercy to whoever crosses his path.
The Men’s Center is not about getting men sober. It is about nurturing this new life they have in Christ. If you would like to be a part of this incredible ministry that is changing lives, please email Jamie@Christiancarecenter.org.