Stories of Transformation

At a young age, I was subjected to sexual abuse and severe physical abuse, both at home and at school. I remember the feeling of not belonging and always wondering what was so wrong with me and why I was so different from the children around me. Over time, my behavior worsened, my heart hardened, and I eventually transformed from the victim to the villain.

I began using drugs and alcohol at a very young age. Before I was fourteen years old, I was heavily dependent upon multiple substances just to get through the day, along with a pretty serious addiction to pornography. Moving from marijuana and alcohol to pills and inhalants, I eventually landed in a hard addiction to methamphetamine.

Through my young adult years and into my late twenties, I had numerous visits to jails, rehabilitation centers, and mental hospitals. After some weeks or even months of success, I inevitably turned back to what seemed like the most plausible solutions: drugs and sin.

When my daughter was born in 2018, I was separated from her after the first year. The results were catastrophic. I plunged into a whole new depth of sin and selfishness. I took residence at a motel, and within a year I earned myself four charges in four separate counties, attempted to take my own life several times, and finally landed at a long-term treatment center.

Somehow, I managed to put together almost two years of sobriety, only to take my will back and destroy any progress that had been made.

I first met Patrick, the Executive Director of Revive Ministry, in the early months of 2025 in the midst of yet another crisis, one in which I saw no means of recovery.

It wasn't until almost a year after my personal introduction to Christ Jesus through the ministry that I found myself unable to continue living according to my own will. My body was broken down and withered by drugs, alcohol, and a complete lack of basic human needs. My mind was soiled by lies, and I couldn't see the truth.

Caught in a place where all I wanted to do was die, but knowing I couldn't give up on my daughter, I will never forget my first morning under the covering of Revive Ministry. The reality of my despair and the magnitude of my wrongs left me unable to manage my grief, and the tears fell on and on. Through the pain of my past, I was granted hope for the first time in a long time.

Over the last year, I've experienced the power of Christ through Revive Ministry. I have grown in my understanding of God's Word through consistent study and relationships with the Father and with my brothers here in the Exodus House. I've received one-on-one discipleship and relentless support here at Revive.

Today, I have access to community support ranging from counseling to small groups and dependable leaders. I've watched God mend brokenness in the families of my brothers here at Revive, and I've experienced it myself in my own life. I have experienced the power of reconciliation through Jesus Christ and the love that His people in Revive Ministry show me.

I had been in and out of programs most of my adult life. Each time I left, I carried a checklist of things I had done right — meetings attended, days counted, boxes checked. But nothing ever touched the root. I kept returning to the same patterns because nothing had changed on the inside.

When I came to Revive, I did not know what to expect. What I found was not a program. It was a family. Men who opened the Word with me in the morning, who sat with me when I was struggling, who refused to let me isolate or give up. For the first time, I was not just a case to be managed. I was a brother to be discipled.

The structure here is rooted in Scripture. We study together, pray together, eat together, and hold one another accountable — not out of obligation, but out of genuine love for each other and for Christ. I began to understand what it means to walk with Jesus, not just believe in Him from a distance.

I came to Revive broken in ways I could not even name. I left equipped — with the Word of God in my heart, brothers at my side, and a mission to carry forward. The discipleship I received here did not just help me get sober. It gave me a reason to live and a people to live it with.

I am grateful to God for Revive Ministry. What is happening here is real, and it is fruit that lasts.

As a pastor, I have watched many men enter recovery programs and come out with sobriety but not transformation. There is a difference. Sobriety can be maintained by willpower. Transformation requires the Holy Spirit and community — real, sustained, biblical community.

That is what I have witnessed through Revive Ministry. When men come out of their homes, they are not just clean. They are changed. They carry the Word with them. They are in relationship with other believers. They have been discipled, and they know how to disciple others.

We began partnering with Revive because we believed in the mission. We have stayed because we have seen the fruit. Several of our congregation members have come through Revive's homes and are now some of our most faithful, mission-minded men — leading small groups, serving in our community, investing in younger believers.

The multiplication model that Revive practices is rare. They are not just helping men survive. They are raising up laborers for the harvest. As a church, we are better because of this partnership, and we are committed to walking alongside Revive Ministry for the long haul.

The Great Commission is not a solo assignment. It takes the whole body. Revive understands that, and we are honored to stand with them.