His Way was born from a passion to help Christians reach those struggling with addiction with the transforming message of the Gospel. We articulated that focus in a formal vision statement a couple of years ago:
“Advance Christ-centered recovery as a rallying point that unifies mission-oriented churches and Christians through sharing materials and resources, providing training and proven recovery models and planting new programs and ministries.”
We have been hard at work for 14 years developing and refining a model and materials, and we have been praying for an opportunity to plant a new program. I always promised that when that happens, we will take the best of what God has given us and send them, while trusting that God will raise up our next group of leaders.
After many years of working, praying, and hoping that day has now arrived.
His Way – Atlanta will be opening their doors in July! And, we have sent our best to do it.
Recently, my wife and I went to Atlanta to be a part of the celebration of the team’s arrival and to share a moment when we passed “the torch” from Huntsville to Atlanta. It was bittersweet. On one hand, the pride of these young brothers galvanizing together to chart a new course of ministry is a great adventure. But also, the loss of some of our best leaves a big hole in our ministry in Huntsville. A hole we are trusting God has and will be filling.
However, as we were gathered for this celebration with a group of about 40 passionate supporters in the home of John and Michele Neiland, my feeling of loss from sending a key group of our leadership team to another location was overcome with the realization that the His Way family, which has grown from just a handful of supporters in Huntsville 14 years ago, had just made an incredible “light years” leap to include this newly forming group of Christian servants. Our vision is becoming a reality. Christians are rallying in unity over a mission to reach those in bondage to addiction and bring them into freedom in Christ.
All this brings back memories of my early years of campus ministry as we formed groups to launch out in the name of Christ to our local college campuses. Young people with such a vision and passion. Maybe this past zeal is now reforming toward another opportunity, the desperate addict that resides not just on some local campuses but in every community in the world. A ministry every Christian community can rally around.
Let us continue to rally to the cause of the desperate and see the fulfillment of Jesus’ mission:
“…to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.” (Isaiah 61:1,2)
WILL THIS BE THE YEAR OF THE LORD’S FAVOR?