The Road to Recovery is a free support group for anyone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol (or both). We meet every week to help and encourage one another to get on, and keep walking, the road to recovery. Just come along. No need to book.
Where? St Andrew’s Church, Gerald Road, Kendray.
When? Every Thursday 7.30PM
Our hope for all who use our meetings is that they become clean from all substances and connected to their families, communities, a local church, and ultimately to Jesus Christ.
Our format is very similar to twelve-step recovery programmes, but our approach is very different: It is Christ-centred and built on a Biblical understanding of addiction that leads to ultimate recovery. To find out more click below:
Addiction is to be enslaved (or ruled over) by a substance or activity which has become necessary for life – and is often the focus. There would be some level of anxiety, anger, or distress without it. Even the bad consequences of an addiction – things like debt, depression, not functioning properly, and loss of family, home or health – don’t bring about change. Although we choose to drink or take drugs, we do not control our addictions. Our addictions control us. That is why we need external help.
You might think that the Bible wouldn’t offer much help for addiction. But the Bible is God’s word – crammed full of truth and wisdom for all of life – including addiction. It shows us the truth about ourselves, but also the truth about God. It reveals the way of lasting freedom, the joy of knowing God personally; and it kindly warns us of the danger of ignoring Him.
The focus of the Bible is Jesus Christ. It is his story. But his story relates directly to ours: He came to rescue and redeem broken and messed up lives – the lives of people just like us. He came so that we may be forgiven for our past, have a fresh start in the present, and a future worth having. The Bible shows that full and ultimate liberation from addiction does not come through a system of ideas or principles or just by trying harder. It comes through a person – Jesus. He is the route to true freedom and lasting change – which is why our approach to recovery is Christ-centred.
If you want to be sober or clean, there will be a battle. The first battle we face is the battle for truth. Instinctively, we all want to hide or suppress the truth. We tell ourselves: ‘One more drink/joint/line/pill won’t do any harm’… ‘I can handle it’… ‘It will help me’… ‘I’m in control’… ‘I could stop if I wanted to.’ The Road to Recovery is a place for honesty. Truth starts by accepting that we are addicted and being willing to say so – and being honest about our struggles – including when we fail. So, there is a battle for the truth about ourselves. But there is also a battle for the truth about God. If our lives are to be truly redeemed, we need His help and His Truth. He is the One who can turn our lives around. He is the One who makes beautiful things out of broken things. The road to recovery is a road of truth. And the battle for truth (about both ourselves and God) is worth it: It is about something far more and far better than mere sobriety or being clean. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
The Bible says that God has made us for relationship with Himself and with one another. We are designed to be dependent on Him, and inter-dependent on one another. This includes mutual help, support, and encouragement. That is why being part of a recovery group is so good. This group is about supporting one another in getting dry or clean. But it is about more than that: It is about ultimate recovery – a recovery that goes much deeper than sobriety. It is about a new life, a new start, and a new direction. It is a recovery that comes through faith in Jesus Christ and affects everything.