Hopeless and helpless people are finding their way back to God, both within the four walls of the church and outside our traditional structures, through the door of recovery, according to Liz Swanson and Teresa McBean in their book Bridges to Grace: Innovative Approaches to Recovery Ministry. The book tells the stories of a number of churches which have differing types of significant recovery ministries.
- Christian Assemblies Church has created a culture of acceptance and grace based on the AA Twelve Steps model.
- Woodcrest Chapel requires all staff to take the recovery class Making Peace with Your Past, and uses a ministry team model that includes: losing regularly, acknowledging problems early, sharing feelings appropriately, and taking both sides.
- Henderson Hills Baptist Church runs a Ministries of Jesus Clinic, in which a team of experts helps people with their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, and this includes a recovery program.
- Salem Alliance Church’s staff team worked through the Twelve Steps program together to ensure leadership commitment to its recovery program.
- Bon Air Baptist Church’s recovery ministry NorthStar was reaching people who would not fit comfortably in a normal church, resulting in the planting of new churches.
- Caveland Baptist Church set up its ADO program (addiction, deliverance, outreach) in response to a drug epidemic in the town.
- Grace United Methodist Church uses the Celebrate Recovery program, and their recovery ministry has become a key part of the church’s evangelism and growth.
- Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church is an African American church which runs an Adult Rehabilitation Ministry, providing homes, encouragement and discipleship for addicts in recovery.
- Mercy Street Church is a church for people who do not fit into normal churches, meeting within the context of a larger church, Chapelwood United Methodist Church.
Many readers are likely to approach this book somewhat reluctantly. Most churches have enough problems of their own without starting ministries to attract more “problem people”. However, this book argues convincingly by way of compelling stories that everyone is in need of recovery, and a church in which leaders embrace their brokenness can be a healthier and more biblical one than a church in which issues of brokenness are not publicly discussed.