Community Empowerment Towards Recovery
Transformation to Recovery (TTR) exists by virtue of a calling from God to bring the light of the gospel to the darkness of addiction. Helping lives in the struggle of addiction as we see it is twofold. First, we minister to those in need of the Gospel that saves and ensures eternal life in Christ. Second, is to care for those who are struggling with substance abuse and or addiction, which both go hand in hand. We are called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are in struggle, and by the way, everyone on this planet is in struggle with something. Jesus said “those who are sick are in need of a physician.” At TTR we know that all are in need of the physician and we are called to bring the light of that Physician. And through this calling the one important tool that employs to do what we do is Community.
When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (Mathew 9:12).
We are Image Bearers who Reflect God’s Social Nature: "It is not good that man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18). "Let us make mankind in our image, after our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26). Our position in God is that we were created to be image bearers of our Father. God is a social being and therefore, the need for social interactions are built into our human nature.
The unique thing to understand is that addiction breaks down community. Community offers all kinds of programs, but they will only be as successful as the community that the person has, as we all need community.
The gospel unites us as a family: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28).
In community no one is better than the other because we are all sinners in need of a savior, just in different ways: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We are all equal at the foot of the cross. Being made right with God makes us right with one another, therefore strengthening the community.
The gospel makes us “Burden Sharers”: “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2). In the community we share each others burdens. This is the strength that is needed to help transform those in the struggle. We believe that the local church provides a unique community where these Biblical truths be effectively applied in the lives of those in addiction. We need more than addiction meetings, the need is to build relationships with people who struggle with addictions and get them integrated into the life of the church within the community.
A church community is full of people that God is working through to carry His healing principles. It is through the community of the church that God uses to bring the liberating power of the Gospel. In a church community we find our mentors and disciples with lived experience and just plain empathy that translates to the power needed to change lives.
Some of the important contributions of the community come from what we call Community Capital. Community Capital examples are: Participating in community group supports- Offering online supports- safely assemble in person around the community supports (Church)-organizations such as Department of Behavior health, Educational resources such as schools, ED and night class, Certified Recovery programs, health centers and town halls. Plenty of resources exist in your community. The main idea is that community capital is rich in resources and most important for growth in recovery.
Empowering the community means to include their (the people) input on how to administer resources needed to save lives. The community surrounding TTR finds it important to be involved at every level of the decision process that guides the recovery and treatment of their friends and family. This is a blessing because just like a counselor who listens intently to assess the problem, TTR could not know where or what resources to provide and minister without the crucial input of the community. TTR welcomes the community’s input that can potentially be developed into lifesaving resources and meetings. This information is critical as it provides direction towards ministering recovery supports to the unique needs of the people.
The community defines our mission as a faith-based recovery community center that treats addiction. Understanding this concept makes it important to empower the community as a critical source of life saving information. The empowerment of the community manifests itself from the needs of the community. Not only is the community providing direction, they are also made up of our friends and family members that struggle with addictions in which we at TTR are called by God to address.
The information that is critical to our treatment process of addiction can only be obtained by going to the community. Therefore, one of the ways that the community defines empowerment is that they are responsible and are a source of data presented to the implementing organization. In other words, they are empowered to give us the information needed to come up with a successful recovery plan.
In conclusion the church community is a strong partner aligned with the TTR Mission. Community Empowerment from the local church helps us to do what we do! “Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” We can see this as a reciprocal balance that works together to keep the world in wellness. By working together in the same mission with the same passion we can be strong and courageous united to the Lord to bring the Light of the gospel to the darkness of addiction.
“Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”