Jarad Bader - June 2023

Regarding addiction, Mark Twain once wrote, “Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it a hundred times.” Exactly. The grip of addiction whether it be to cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs, never releases easily. 2 Peter 2:19b reads, “By what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.” Jarad was enslaved. This talented high school athlete started partying, and the drinking led to the loss of a full college scholarship and then later to his ejection from college. He was overcome with an alcohol addiction that later transitioned to methamphetamine. He lost everything and entered rehab. For five years, he cycled in and out of short rehabs but never found freedom from “the grip.” Then he came to Forge.

“How many times in life are you going to get the chance to step back, pause life, and only focus on knowing God and bettering yourself? There’s no explanation other than God being at work in this program. Through Forge, I got free from a lot of pain and regret—learned I could take them to Christ. And my desire to be better outgrew my fear of change.”

Jarad stuck with it for 19 months and then graduated our program. He’s advancing at his job and dreaming of his own ministry to one day help kids excel in sports. Thank you for your support. Your partnership is helping people like Jarad find freedom from the grip of addiction and a new course to a brighter future in Jesus.