Restoration Fellowship, a recovery-based mission plant located in the Great Lakes Bay Region, celebrated its third Anniversary on October 4, 2014. Its primary focus is to connect Christ to families recovering from chemical and/or behavioral addictions. On Saturday evenings, people hungry for dinner and life change gather for a free meal at 5 p.m., and worship at 6. The messages focus on various recovery themes, the Twelve Steps, and how God’s graced-filled power brings radical life change. On a regular basis, there are celebrations that God not only worked miracles in the Bible, but He continues to miraculously bring hope, healing, and growth to areas of our lives that we have been unable to change ourselves.
Three years ago, 64 people gathered for this unique celebration of God changing lives, and on the night celebrating its anniversary, over 180 people came to worship! In the past three years, more than 134 people have been washed in the waters of Baptism, and each weekend brings new, miraculous stories of faith and change.
Restoration Fellowship partners with secular area recovery groups, treatment centers, and therapists to increase awareness and resources for those looking for help. Even from a secular perspective, working the Twelve Steps is a “spiritual” process in which one admits that he/she cannot control one’s addiction or compulsion; recognizes a higher power that can give strength; examines past errors with the help of a sponsor; makes amends for these errors; learns to live a new life with a new code of behavior; and helps others who suffer from the same addictions or compulsions. In a very similar manner to the Apostle Paul speaking at Mars Hill, Restoration Fellowship takes the approach of, “Let me tell you what I know about this higher power.”
In the journey of recovery, people are hungry to learn and grow with God. Restoration Fellowship allows people the opportunity to have Jesus be the God who not only wants to impact the small part of them that needs immediate healing, but their entire being, who hungers for being a part of God’s eternal family! As stated by a regular participant at Restoration Fellowship, “You started this beautiful chain reaction of hope, healing, and growth among a room full of a variety of people … I am so very grateful to have been a witness to the miracle of true recovery!”
For more information about this exciting ministry, visit the website http://hopehealinggrowth.com/.
