“To provide youth, adults and families with an effective and
comprehensive Christian faith-based solution to life-controlling drug and
alcohol problems in order to become productive members of society. By applying
biblical principles, Teen Challenge endeavors to help people become
mentally-sound, emotionally-balanced, socially-adjusted, physically-well, and
spiritually-alive.”
This is the mission statement for Teen Challenge, a global
program serving in 87 countries. Each week ICA ,
our church, hosts one of these programs in Kiev , Ukraine
Coffee House exists to impact and change lives bound to
addiction. And, that it does! Adam and I had the privilege of visiting our
first Coffee House on Wednesday. What an encouragement it was to see a thriving
ministry making a positive impact on people’s hearts. Now this is a ministry
being used by God to mend the broken. You could hear the Lord’s heart beat at
Coffee House. You could see the smile on His face. You could feel the warmth and
love of his presence.
One addict shared his testimony. He lived a life full of
regrets; drugs and alcohol flowed through his veins. He was convicted and
sentenced to serve prison time. As he was awaiting his trial, his conviction
ran much deeper. It was a conviction of the soul; he changed.
Although his soul was renewed and revived, his deeds were
old. Prison time awaited him. In prison, God sustained him, and the man saw
this as his place of ministry. One day he was being transferred on a train,
where inmates are not allowed to talk. If they speak, they are beaten. The
guards are hard, rough, and intolerant of inmate rebellion. The man, while in
his train cell, started talking to other inmates about the Lord. The guards
remained silent as the man shared his testimony and spoke of Jesus.
This is just part of his amazing story. God does the
miraculous and the impossible; like transforming rock hard hearts into caring,
loving, and passionate people.
During the discussion of the night, a man was sitting on my
right. A thick odor of alcohol engulfed him. A strange sense of joy overcame me
as I thought to myself, “This man is wasted, but he is still here!” Certainly I
was not happy that a smelly and dirty drunkard was breathing over me, but I was
happy that a man whom Jesus loves, still came; drunk and all. He still felt welcomed,
cared about, and wanted to know more about the God who loves him.
Here we meet alcoholics, former KGB, convicts, and the like.
We witnessed many great moments at Coffee House. It’s a place where people are
loved; not being judged for their past, but being encouraged by future hopes of
change and salvation.
