The short answer to this question is: Yes, faith-based addiction recovery programs work and with great success. The long answer is found when answering the question: How do they work and why do they work so well?
I have been the International Director of RU Recovery Ministries for over 16 years and I have witnessed the miracle of changed lives over and over again. It never gets old to see God transform someone’s life from being a hopelessly addicted drug user to a recovered and restored vessel for God. Recovery is possible and Hope is available through faith in Jesus Christ.
I recently learned that over 400 studies have been conducted on the role of faith in addiction recovery and these studies have found a success rate of 40%-60% in most faith-based programs. This is significantly higher than the success rate of programs that do not incorporate faith or spirituality into their programs.
How Does Faith-Based Addiction Recovery Work?
Fear and addiction typically go hand-in-hand and people live with the fear that there is no hope for them to beat an addiction. With a faith-based recovery program, there is hope. This is one of the main ingredients that make the difference for the faith-based approach. There is hope and recovery available. This is why we don’t sit around and tell war stories of addiction. In the first hour of our program, new students are bombarded with testimonies of victory and recovery over addiction.
Another key ingredient to the success of faith-based programs is the support of the local church. Faith-based addiction programs can serve as a bridge between the local community and the Church. Having a church family that loves and surrounds these individuals helps create a support network of family that the addict can rely on when the pressures of life hit. Many people who fall into addiction have burned bridges with their families and loved ones and don’t have a support group on which they can depend.
Also, a key to faith-based programs is the infrastructure to lovingly hold these individuals accountable. With faith-based programs, you have individual volunteers and staff that genuinely care about people and will go out of their way to hold them accountable while showing them real love. Since most faith-based programs do not receive insurance money to pay for treatment, they are very inexpensive and run at minimum cost. Money is certainly not a motivation for the staff and volunteers of these programs. Their main incentive is to help people in need.
The “secret sauce” and main ingredient to the success of faith-based programs is teaching our students to have a personal, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. Faith-based recovery programs help people realize that they are not alone in addiction—and if they place their trust in Jesus Christ and depend on Him, they can beat whatever addiction it is that has them in bondage.
In conclusion Faith-Based Addiction Recovery is supported by its many success stories
You cannot argue with a changed life. And in faith-based addiction recovery, we are seeing lives changed every day. Here in our ministry, you will not be shunned or disgraced because you have an addiction. You will be supported, cared about, and encouraged.
Placing all of your trust in Jesus Christ may be new to you and it might be a difficult idea to understand, especially if you’ve never seen it work. But…if you can see the miracle in someone else, maybe it will bring hope and encouragement that you too can be made free… finally!
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