April 18, 2025 • 14 mins
In this powerful episode of The Covenant Eyes Podcast, recorded live at NRB 2025, Karen Potter and Rob Stoddard sit down with Gary Blackard, President & CEO of Teen Challenge and Adult & Teen Challenge USA.
Discover how this Christ-centered recovery ministry is transforming lives through hope, healing, and identity in Jesus. Gary shares inspiring stories, innovative strategies for addiction recovery—including outreach to veterans and those struggling with pornography—and how churches and individuals can partner to make a lasting impact.
🔗 Learn More & Get Help:
🌐 https://TeenChallengeUSA.org
📞 855-END-ADDICTION
💙 Covenant Eyes provides digital tools and accountability to break free from pornography.
📲 Download the FREE Victory App:
https://cvnteyes.co/41YU8Od
👉 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more life-changing conversations!
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro from NRB 2025 with Karen Potter & Rob Stoddard
00:28 - Meet Gary Blackard, CEO of Adult & Teen Challenge
00:59 - What Is Teen Challenge? A Legacy Since 1958
02:01 - Addiction Help for Teens and Adults
02:30 - The Rise of Tech and Porn Addiction
03:07 - Church & Court Partnerships for Recovery
03:49 - New Military Outreach and Warrior’s Journey
05:01 - Detox Programs & Licensed Christian Counselors
06:32 - National Expansion and Addiction Stats
07:25 - New “Ready Now” Non-Residential Ministry
08:29 - Helping People from the Justice System
09:07 - Consistent Christ-like Love in Recovery
10:45 - Teen Challenge Outcomes: 78% Long-Term Sobriety
11:11 - Addressing Porn Addiction & Identity in Christ
13:31 - How to Get Involved or Support Teen Challenge
14:11 - Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:06):
Hey, everybody, welcomeback to The Covenant Eyes
Podcast, KarenPotter here at NRB
I've got Rob Stoddard joining meat this lovely event.
Yeah, it is.
It's been, been a funcouple days so far.
Busy, noisy, loud.
But, a lot of great activities.
Yeah, I but, you know,we keep running
into amazing peoplelike today's guests.
I'm so excited to havethis conversation.
(00:27):
You want to introduce.
Our guest today is GaryBlackard from,
Adult & Teen Challenge.
And, wonderful ministrythat we've been aware of
and, done some thingswith over the years.
So, Gary,welcome to the covenant
Bank podcast.
Thank you very muchfor having me.
It's a pleasure to be here.
You guys do great work.
Yeah.
Well appreciate that.
Thank you.
Well, Gary, you start out,tell us a little bit about how
(00:49):
you got involved with,Teen Challenge
and Teen Challenge and,you know what?
Most people knowwhat your ministry is,
but tell us a little bitabout that.
Yeah, absolutely.
So I've been in this role,president and CEO,
for six years, was involvedat the board of directors
level prior to that, working forEvangel University
(01:10):
as a VP there.
And the Lord just called my wifeand I and, to jump
from being a board member to,hey, let's, let's,
go into ministry and figure outwhat the Lord
wants us to do withwith the teen challenge.
Been aroundsince 1958, 67 years.
David Wilkerson,that whole story Cross
and the Switchblade.
(01:31):
And we now have over 200 centersin, the United States.
Men, women, adolescent boysand girls, women
with children's centers.
And now we're getting intomilitary support.
Wow. That's incredible.
So for people that are notterribly familiar
with what you guys actually doat the grassroots level,
talk to us a little bitabout how you serve
(01:53):
adults and teens.
I think a lot of peopleare more familiar with the work
that you do with teens,but the adult
programs are amazing.
So let's talk a little bitabout what you do
specifically. Sure.
So so we do everythingrelated to addiction recovery.
So anybody that'sstruggling with
alcohol and drugs, although nowit's grown to gambling,
you know, porn,obviously technology
(02:15):
actually technologyis the fastest growing addiction
in the United States.
So, people will comeinto our programs.
We're a residential program.
We do have anonresidential component
called Ready Now,which is our, community,
small group ministry.
But for the most part,we have in these centers, people
come into our programsand they can be 30 days long.
(02:36):
They could be nine months long.
They can be 15 months long.
That's the longestwe have is 15 months.
And so just dependson where in the nation
and what their need is.
And, you know, because frankly,somebody that's a 15 year
meth addict, it'snot going to get
resolved in 30 days.
So it's goingto take them a while
to change. Yeah. Yeah.
Absolutely. Yeah.
(02:57):
So talk to us a little bitabout how you guys partner
I'm assuming you partnerwith churches
and things like thatand organizations
that help people get connectedwith your ministry
so they can get into recovery.
Yeah.
No, we partnerwith a lot of different
organizations, churchesobviously being
a primary source, rightwhere we'll go in
the churches willshare testimonies,
(03:17):
what's happening with thepeople in our programs?
We get a lotof referrals that way
through our churches and throughword of mouth, but also the
court system.
So we do a lotwith the court systems
across the UnitedStates, the drug courts
that are out there.
And and it's great because a lotof these judges will say, hey,
you either go to jailor we'll send you to a teen
(03:38):
Challenge program,which is great.
So, so, yeah, partnerwith a lot of different,
organizations.
Warriors Journey is ourbrand new partner
on the military side.
Oh. That's amazing.
We have a dedicatedmen's facility
in North Carolina nowfor veterans
and active duty men.
And tell me.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about that?
How did that come about?
(03:59):
We know service memberscome back.
They're struggling.
There's a lot of addictionthat starts.
How did you get into this?
Yeah, actually, per capita,the US military
has a higher rate of addictionthan the US population.
Wow. And so, I waswatching a television
show on Navy Seals with my wife,a couple of years ago.
(04:22):
And my and the theme of the showwas about addiction
in the military.
And my wife leans overand says, hey, how come Teen
Challenge doesn't do anythingwith the military?
The rest is history.
As soon as she saidthat, I'm like,
hey, I'm saying thatthat's going to
be my idea now and then.
So that's actuallyhow we got into
we started praying and,and the Lord started
(04:44):
opening doors and,and we're actually
doing some work with,the military in Germany.
Oh, wow.
As well.
And Warriors Journey in Germany.
We're looking at Japanand some of these
other locationsthat have large U.S.
bases.
And so, yeah, we're very excitedabout that, that strategy. Yeah.
As you guysare working with folks,
(05:04):
that are going through recovery,do you have on staff,
you know, counselorsand therapists and what is the
wraparound servicesthat you're providing?
Talk to us a little bitabout what that looks like.
Yeah, I think a lot ofpeople think that
the old school, teen challengehas been around.
You know, you read your Bible,you go to chapel,
and you're done.
Well, that's not teen challenge.
I mean, certainlyChrist is the DNA.
(05:26):
Jesus is the answer.
And we do have chapelsand they do do.
Bible studies.
And they do do,group studies, etc.
but we also have groupcounseling. Okay.
We have individualcounseling available.
We have some of our centershave licensed,
counselors on staff.
We have a full detox,as well, which is,
(05:50):
the first detox we've had in,in the history of the ministry,
all run by Christian doctorsand nurses, just trying to get
at that continuum of care to saywe need to introduce
Jesus upstream, not just waittill they come into our program.
Instead of, you know,referring them
back out to a detox,because we typically don't
(06:11):
take people into our programsuntil they're fully detoxed
just for the health concernsand all of that.
But instead ofjust referring them to a detox
down the road,hey, why aren't we doing
more in that spaceso that we can
control the environment and and,make sure that they're
getting introducedto the gospel sooner
rather than later.
Excellent, excellent.
(06:32):
Gary, you mentioned you have 200locations now.
Is that grown a lot in the last.
Oh, yeah. Six years?
Yeah, I would say yeah,I would say probably over the
last 15 years there's beena lot of growth.
There's been a lot of movementas well.
We've hadcenters, merge centers,
moved from one area to another.
(06:54):
But there's been a lotof growth.
And unfortunately,the market of addiction
is not going anywhere.
48 million people.
According to the latestSAMHSA stats, 48 million
people identify as strugglingwith addiction or meet,
I should say, meetingthe require ments
of SAMHSA's survey, identifyingas struggling with addiction,
(07:17):
which is crazywhen you think about it.
48 million peoplein the United States.
So what are your plansto begin to continue
to address this?
And yeah. Tap into that.
You know, we launched,like I said,
the new brand ready now.
And we want to get out into thenonresidential space.
Because researchalso has shown that 90%
of people strugglingwith addiction will never go
(07:38):
into the residential component.
A variety of reasons, right?
Got kids at home,got a good job,
got to pay the bills, you know.
So we recognized thatthat was 90% that we
weren't addressingin our residential.
So we're really going after thenonresidential side.
And what does it meanto train up counselors, train up
(07:59):
facilitators to dosmall group ministry?
And just engaging with families,engaging with people,
helping them navigate and walkthrough this journey,
on a weekly basis.
And then using thatas a referral mechanism.
Maybe they do needlicense counseling.
So we refer themto a licensed counselor,
(08:20):
or maybe they do needresidential. Okay.
Now we can place youin one of our, centers.
But really nonresidential is ourour major strategy right now.
Wow. Yeah.
I'd love to diveinto a little bit.
You talked aboutgetting referrals
from the justice system.
And so, you know, a lot of thosepeople are probably, you know,
they've hit rock bottom, right?
I mean, when you'rein the justice system,
things have gonevery bad for you.
(08:41):
And so, you know,they're probably
looking at their optionsand they may think, well,
this is a path forward.
And I'm sure they're notcoming in thinking, you know,
that this isgoing to be easy or fun,
but how do you guyswalk alongside them?
Because I just think back to,you know, as a teenager myself,
I rememberthose rebellious years
and how I probablywould have been, you know,
a little hesitant to receivewhat was being offered to me.
(09:03):
So how do youhow do you help them acclimate
and get into the programand actually embrace what you're
trying to do?
So, so I would say,what sets Teen Challenge
apart from a majorityof the programs out there
helping thosestruggling in addiction
is are consistency and showingthe love of Christ
and the hope of Christ.
(09:23):
So when somebody walksinto our program, yeah, there's
so many other elementsand like I said, group
counseling, counseling,we get them immediately
involved and things like that.
But the consistencyover the first two, three weeks,
four weeks in the program,typically they're
assigned to a buddy,and a buddy will walk
alongside them every day,encourage them, the staff
(09:46):
show immediate and consistentlove over time.
And for most of the folkscoming into our program,
they've never seen that donein a consistent way.
They may have had a one timeopportunity, or somebody
may have invested in themone time mom close or whatever.
But but consistently,day in and day out, even when
(10:06):
they're showing their ugly signsto show them that love
and give them that hope,that tends to
to keep people there.
Does it, man?
I want to be a part of this.
I want, I want toI want to change.
I want to see,see my life change.
And I think that'sa huge component of why
we're able to see what we do.
(10:27):
You know, we we,commissioned Evangel,
Evangel Universityin 2019 to do, outcomes study,
or do a study on sobriety.
And 78% of our people,who have graduated our program
have remained,sober and serving them,
which is a high number.
Yeah. This industry.
So. Oh, that's amazing.
(10:47):
I love that.
And you just wrap themin that love
right out of the gateand the consistency,
I love that.
So that is well.
Gary, it, so many peoplewho are struggling
with addictions, also strugglingwith porn addictions.
Certainly we,we deal with that day
in and day out.
What kinds of thingscan the adult
or teen challenge offer or helpwith somebody that is coming in
(11:10):
with that kind of struggle?
Yeah, well, first of all,we love the tools
that you guys have.
But I think in, inprobably exactly what you,
how you look at porn,we look at it
with all addiction.
Right.
Is one is helpingsomebody identify
who they really are.
Your identity is not ina man or a woman.
And now you've got to dothese other things or
(11:31):
or your identityis not as an addict or somebody
who's a porn addict or whateveryour identity is made
in the image of God, and Godcreated you in his image,
as we were told in Genesis.
So it's helping themwalk through
the identity journey andand of course,
as they accept Christin our program, then it's, hey,
(11:51):
you're you're a son or daughterof the living king.
And so so your addictionmay still be there, you may
still be struggling with thatand tempted with that.
But we're going to walk youthrough that journey
and what that looks like.
So identity becomes very,very important.
I think value also becomesvery important because
coinciding with the identity isdo I have value
(12:14):
as a human being anymorebecause I struggled
with porn for 20 years,or I struggle with
heroin for 15 yearsand now my life's over because.
Because I did all that ruinedmy family.
Yeah, you know, I don't havevalue anymore.
And we come alongside and say,oh yeah, you do.
Yeah.
You're, you're you'reyou're addiction didn't
you didn't surpriseGod in any way.
(12:36):
So he still has a planfor your life.
He still hasopportunities for you
skills, talents and abilitiesthat he's going to use
in your life that will makea difference in the sphere
around you. Right?
So those are some of the thingswe hone in on is helping
people understandand their value
as a human being, their valuewith human dignity,
and how God created themto be that way,
(12:58):
and then their identityin Christ.
And then, of course,there's many
other elements, as well.
But all too often peoplelook at porn because of trauma
they've been through, right?
Or poor relationships.
You guys know better than we doas far as porn goes.
So, we see the same thingnow, who's coming in
with alcohol and drugsas they've done it
because of trauma or,or poor decision making.
(13:21):
And it got a lot.
We'll talk to our listenersa little bit about how
they can engagewith your organization.
Maybe they cansupport it financially, maybe
get their church involved.
How can they get involved?
Absolutely.
So everything we have is onlineat TeenChallengeUSA.org.
Our phone numberis 855-END-ADDICTION.
(13:41):
So either one of thosewe can refer people.
We have a centerfinder on our website
where somebody can filter, hey,I'm looking for a men's program.
I'm looking for adolescent boysor whatever they can filter.
I'm looking for this state, etc.
so they'll be ableto find a center.
But if they call that number,we have somebody waiting
to just say, hey, here's here'swhat we can do for you, here's
where we can help.
(14:03):
And and so absolutely,the website also has the giving
button.
You can just click on thatand you can give
to a daunting challenge as well.
Love that.
Well it's a great organization.
Thank you for what you're doing.
Oh my goodness.
There have been many peoplethat have utilized your programs
and come out on the other sideand really boast
of the greatness that you guysinvested into them
(14:24):
and just showing themthe love of Christ.
So thank you so much.
Yes.
Thank you, thank you.
Well, to all of our listeners,we hope you enjoyed this episode
of The Covenant Eyes Podcast.
Definitely check outthe show notes for all the links
to check out Teen Challengeand Adult Teen Challenge
and all of the resourcesthat they have available.
Thank you so much for tuning into this episode.
We'll see you again.
God bless.
Hey, everybody, welcomeback to The Covenant Eyes
Podcast, KarenPotter here at NRB
I've got Rob Stoddard joining meat this lovely event.
Yeah, it is.
It's been, been a funcouple days so far.
Busy, noisy, loud.
But, a lot of great activities.
Yeah, I but, you know,we keep running
into amazing peoplelike today's guests.
I'm so excited to havethis conversation.
(00:27):
You want to introduce.
Our guest today is GaryBlackard from,
Adult & Teen Challenge.
And, wonderful ministrythat we've been aware of
and, done some thingswith over the years.
So, Gary,welcome to the covenant
Bank podcast.
Thank you very muchfor having me.
It's a pleasure to be here.
You guys do great work.
Yeah.
Well appreciate that.
Thank you.
Well, Gary, you start out,tell us a little bit about how
(00:49):
you got involved with,Teen Challenge
and Teen Challenge and,you know what?
Most people knowwhat your ministry is,
but tell us a little bitabout that.
Yeah, absolutely.
So I've been in this role,president and CEO,
for six years, was involvedat the board of directors
level prior to that, working forEvangel University
(01:10):
as a VP there.
And the Lord just called my wifeand I and, to jump
from being a board member to,hey, let's, let's,
go into ministry and figure outwhat the Lord
wants us to do withwith the teen challenge.
Been aroundsince 1958, 67 years.
David Wilkerson,that whole story Cross
and the Switchblade.
(01:31):
And we now have over 200 centersin, the United States.
Men, women, adolescent boysand girls, women
with children's centers.
And now we're getting intomilitary support.
Wow. That's incredible.
So for people that are notterribly familiar
with what you guys actually doat the grassroots level,
talk to us a little bitabout how you serve
(01:53):
adults and teens.
I think a lot of peopleare more familiar with the work
that you do with teens,but the adult
programs are amazing.
So let's talk a little bitabout what you do
specifically. Sure.
So so we do everythingrelated to addiction recovery.
So anybody that'sstruggling with
alcohol and drugs, although nowit's grown to gambling,
you know, porn,obviously technology
(02:15):
actually technologyis the fastest growing addiction
in the United States.
So, people will comeinto our programs.
We're a residential program.
We do have anonresidential component
called Ready Now,which is our, community,
small group ministry.
But for the most part,we have in these centers, people
come into our programsand they can be 30 days long.
(02:36):
They could be nine months long.
They can be 15 months long.
That's the longestwe have is 15 months.
And so just dependson where in the nation
and what their need is.
And, you know, because frankly,somebody that's a 15 year
meth addict, it'snot going to get
resolved in 30 days.
So it's goingto take them a while
to change. Yeah. Yeah.
Absolutely. Yeah.
(02:57):
So talk to us a little bitabout how you guys partner
I'm assuming you partnerwith churches
and things like thatand organizations
that help people get connectedwith your ministry
so they can get into recovery.
Yeah.
No, we partnerwith a lot of different
organizations, churchesobviously being
a primary source, rightwhere we'll go in
the churches willshare testimonies,
(03:17):
what's happening with thepeople in our programs?
We get a lotof referrals that way
through our churches and throughword of mouth, but also the
court system.
So we do a lotwith the court systems
across the UnitedStates, the drug courts
that are out there.
And and it's great because a lotof these judges will say, hey,
you either go to jailor we'll send you to a teen
(03:38):
Challenge program,which is great.
So, so, yeah, partnerwith a lot of different,
organizations.
Warriors Journey is ourbrand new partner
on the military side.
Oh. That's amazing.
We have a dedicatedmen's facility
in North Carolina nowfor veterans
and active duty men.
And tell me.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about that?
How did that come about?
(03:59):
We know service memberscome back.
They're struggling.
There's a lot of addictionthat starts.
How did you get into this?
Yeah, actually, per capita,the US military
has a higher rate of addictionthan the US population.
Wow. And so, I waswatching a television
show on Navy Seals with my wife,a couple of years ago.
(04:22):
And my and the theme of the showwas about addiction
in the military.
And my wife leans overand says, hey, how come Teen
Challenge doesn't do anythingwith the military?
The rest is history.
As soon as she saidthat, I'm like,
hey, I'm saying thatthat's going to
be my idea now and then.
So that's actuallyhow we got into
we started praying and,and the Lord started
(04:44):
opening doors and,and we're actually
doing some work with,the military in Germany.
Oh, wow.
As well.
And Warriors Journey in Germany.
We're looking at Japanand some of these
other locationsthat have large U.S.
bases.
And so, yeah, we're very excitedabout that, that strategy. Yeah.
As you guysare working with folks,
(05:04):
that are going through recovery,do you have on staff,
you know, counselorsand therapists and what is the
wraparound servicesthat you're providing?
Talk to us a little bitabout what that looks like.
Yeah, I think a lot ofpeople think that
the old school, teen challengehas been around.
You know, you read your Bible,you go to chapel,
and you're done.
Well, that's not teen challenge.
I mean, certainlyChrist is the DNA.
(05:26):
Jesus is the answer.
And we do have chapelsand they do do.
Bible studies.
And they do do,group studies, etc.
but we also have groupcounseling. Okay.
We have individualcounseling available.
We have some of our centershave licensed,
counselors on staff.
We have a full detox,as well, which is,
(05:50):
the first detox we've had in,in the history of the ministry,
all run by Christian doctorsand nurses, just trying to get
at that continuum of care to saywe need to introduce
Jesus upstream, not just waittill they come into our program.
Instead of, you know,referring them
back out to a detox,because we typically don't
(06:11):
take people into our programsuntil they're fully detoxed
just for the health concernsand all of that.
But instead ofjust referring them to a detox
down the road,hey, why aren't we doing
more in that spaceso that we can
control the environment and and,make sure that they're
getting introducedto the gospel sooner
rather than later.
Excellent, excellent.
(06:32):
Gary, you mentioned you have 200locations now.
Is that grown a lot in the last.
Oh, yeah. Six years?
Yeah, I would say yeah,I would say probably over the
last 15 years there's beena lot of growth.
There's been a lot of movementas well.
We've hadcenters, merge centers,
moved from one area to another.
(06:54):
But there's been a lotof growth.
And unfortunately,the market of addiction
is not going anywhere.
48 million people.
According to the latestSAMHSA stats, 48 million
people identify as strugglingwith addiction or meet,
I should say, meetingthe require ments
of SAMHSA's survey, identifyingas struggling with addiction,
(07:17):
which is crazywhen you think about it.
48 million peoplein the United States.
So what are your plansto begin to continue
to address this?
And yeah. Tap into that.
You know, we launched,like I said,
the new brand ready now.
And we want to get out into thenonresidential space.
Because researchalso has shown that 90%
of people strugglingwith addiction will never go
(07:38):
into the residential component.
A variety of reasons, right?
Got kids at home,got a good job,
got to pay the bills, you know.
So we recognized thatthat was 90% that we
weren't addressingin our residential.
So we're really going after thenonresidential side.
And what does it meanto train up counselors, train up
(07:59):
facilitators to dosmall group ministry?
And just engaging with families,engaging with people,
helping them navigate and walkthrough this journey,
on a weekly basis.
And then using thatas a referral mechanism.
Maybe they do needlicense counseling.
So we refer themto a licensed counselor,
(08:20):
or maybe they do needresidential. Okay.
Now we can place youin one of our, centers.
But really nonresidential is ourour major strategy right now.
Wow. Yeah.
I'd love to diveinto a little bit.
You talked aboutgetting referrals
from the justice system.
And so, you know, a lot of thosepeople are probably, you know,
they've hit rock bottom, right?
I mean, when you'rein the justice system,
things have gonevery bad for you.
(08:41):
And so, you know,they're probably
looking at their optionsand they may think, well,
this is a path forward.
And I'm sure they're notcoming in thinking, you know,
that this isgoing to be easy or fun,
but how do you guyswalk alongside them?
Because I just think back to,you know, as a teenager myself,
I rememberthose rebellious years
and how I probablywould have been, you know,
a little hesitant to receivewhat was being offered to me.
(09:03):
So how do youhow do you help them acclimate
and get into the programand actually embrace what you're
trying to do?
So, so I would say,what sets Teen Challenge
apart from a majorityof the programs out there
helping thosestruggling in addiction
is are consistency and showingthe love of Christ
and the hope of Christ.
(09:23):
So when somebody walksinto our program, yeah, there's
so many other elementsand like I said, group
counseling, counseling,we get them immediately
involved and things like that.
But the consistencyover the first two, three weeks,
four weeks in the program,typically they're
assigned to a buddy,and a buddy will walk
alongside them every day,encourage them, the staff
(09:46):
show immediate and consistentlove over time.
And for most of the folkscoming into our program,
they've never seen that donein a consistent way.
They may have had a one timeopportunity, or somebody
may have invested in themone time mom close or whatever.
But but consistently,day in and day out, even when
(10:06):
they're showing their ugly signsto show them that love
and give them that hope,that tends to
to keep people there.
Does it, man?
I want to be a part of this.
I want, I want toI want to change.
I want to see,see my life change.
And I think that'sa huge component of why
we're able to see what we do.
(10:27):
You know, we we,commissioned Evangel,
Evangel Universityin 2019 to do, outcomes study,
or do a study on sobriety.
And 78% of our people,who have graduated our program
have remained,sober and serving them,
which is a high number.
Yeah. This industry.
So. Oh, that's amazing.
(10:47):
I love that.
And you just wrap themin that love
right out of the gateand the consistency,
I love that.
So that is well.
Gary, it, so many peoplewho are struggling
with addictions, also strugglingwith porn addictions.
Certainly we,we deal with that day
in and day out.
What kinds of thingscan the adult
or teen challenge offer or helpwith somebody that is coming in
(11:10):
with that kind of struggle?
Yeah, well, first of all,we love the tools
that you guys have.
But I think in, inprobably exactly what you,
how you look at porn,we look at it
with all addiction.
Right.
Is one is helpingsomebody identify
who they really are.
Your identity is not ina man or a woman.
And now you've got to dothese other things or
(11:31):
or your identityis not as an addict or somebody
who's a porn addict or whateveryour identity is made
in the image of God, and Godcreated you in his image,
as we were told in Genesis.
So it's helping themwalk through
the identity journey andand of course,
as they accept Christin our program, then it's, hey,
(11:51):
you're you're a son or daughterof the living king.
And so so your addictionmay still be there, you may
still be struggling with thatand tempted with that.
But we're going to walk youthrough that journey
and what that looks like.
So identity becomes very,very important.
I think value also becomesvery important because
coinciding with the identity isdo I have value
(12:14):
as a human being anymorebecause I struggled
with porn for 20 years,or I struggle with
heroin for 15 yearsand now my life's over because.
Because I did all that ruinedmy family.
Yeah, you know, I don't havevalue anymore.
And we come alongside and say,oh yeah, you do.
Yeah.
You're, you're you'reyou're addiction didn't
you didn't surpriseGod in any way.
(12:36):
So he still has a planfor your life.
He still hasopportunities for you
skills, talents and abilitiesthat he's going to use
in your life that will makea difference in the sphere
around you. Right?
So those are some of the thingswe hone in on is helping
people understandand their value
as a human being, their valuewith human dignity,
and how God created themto be that way,
(12:58):
and then their identityin Christ.
And then, of course,there's many
other elements, as well.
But all too often peoplelook at porn because of trauma
they've been through, right?
Or poor relationships.
You guys know better than we doas far as porn goes.
So, we see the same thingnow, who's coming in
with alcohol and drugsas they've done it
because of trauma or,or poor decision making.
(13:21):
And it got a lot.
We'll talk to our listenersa little bit about how
they can engagewith your organization.
Maybe they cansupport it financially, maybe
get their church involved.
How can they get involved?
Absolutely.
So everything we have is onlineat TeenChallengeUSA.org.
Our phone numberis 855-END-ADDICTION.
(13:41):
So either one of thosewe can refer people.
We have a centerfinder on our website
where somebody can filter, hey,I'm looking for a men's program.
I'm looking for adolescent boysor whatever they can filter.
I'm looking for this state, etc.
so they'll be ableto find a center.
But if they call that number,we have somebody waiting
to just say, hey, here's here'swhat we can do for you, here's
where we can help.
(14:03):
And and so absolutely,the website also has the giving
button.
You can just click on thatand you can give
to a daunting challenge as well.
Love that.
Well it's a great organization.
Thank you for what you're doing.
Oh my goodness.
There have been many peoplethat have utilized your programs
and come out on the other sideand really boast
of the greatness that you guysinvested into them
(14:24):
and just showing themthe love of Christ.
So thank you so much.
Yes.
Thank you, thank you.
Well, to all of our listeners,we hope you enjoyed this episode
of The Covenant Eyes Podcast.
Definitely check outthe show notes for all the links
to check out Teen Challengeand Adult Teen Challenge
and all of the resourcesthat they have available.
Thank you so much for tuning into this episode.
We'll see you again.
God bless.
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