Jessie - November 2019

Too many of those struggling with chronic addiction, poverty and cyclic incarceration believe “If I just got into the right program I’d get my life back on track.” It’s part of the culture in recovery communities. Forge is our program and it’s a good one. However, I was recently with some phase 2 students emphasizing that it’s not about the program. Programs fail people and people fail programs. Hope that doesn’t disappoint is the hope put in Christ’s power to redeem and transform lives. And more than the connections formed in a program with teachers, mentors, and upperclassmen are the new relationships formed in the family of God. Paul writes in Romans 12 that we are many members of one body and therefore members of one another. One of the unique features of our Forge program is the emphasis placed on building those deeper relationships. Listen to the words of a recent graduate, Jesse:

“Three years ago, I put all my money into a land deal, but the owner never gave me the deed. When he sold it again to someone else (while on the run from the police), I was left with nothing. So I moved in with some people I really shouldn’t have and began doing drugs. Later that year, I wound up in jail.

As I prepared to be released, I was ready to leave my old life behind. My brother-in-law told me about the Forge program and put me in touch with Jamie Myers, the Forge director. I joined the same month I got out of jail.

The Forge provided a spiritual foundation and surrounded me with people that wanted to see me succeed. Rick Snyder, a Forge graduate who still serves in the program, always reminded me that I had a friend. Having graduated from the program, I now have a stable job and a place of my own to rent.”

Jesse’s success wasn’t because he was surrounded with good curriculum or good job opportunities. He said he was “surrounded with people.” Your continued support helped bring people like Jesse into something much greater than just a program. It’s a new family.