The beginning for The Refuge really began in April of 2004 when a little elderly Methodist lady walked into a county jail to visit a young man that she had babysat years prior. It had been 15 years since she had seen him. What she was about to share with him was going to radically change the whole course of his life. That young man was C.J. McMurry and the message that she shared with him was The Gospel.Nearly 10 years later, after years of being discipled he started to think through what a ministry that focuses on taking the light of The Gospel to the darkness of drug and alcohol addiction would look like. As he prayed and had many discussions with his wife, his pastor, and many other wise counselors the idea started to become a reality. In December of 2016 The Refuge was officially born. In January 2017 God called Ben Funkhouser to come alongside C.J. to help bring some organization to The Refuge.
There are two questions we have heard many times in the last several years…Where is the darkness? How can I take the light of the Gospel to the darkness? The Refuge was founded in response to those questions. The darkness of addiction is a growing epidemic that our world does not have an answer for. We firmly believe that God’s Word and the Gospel are the answer!
God’s timetable for the launch of the residential program at The Refuge was not the same as our timetable in 2017 but God’s timetable best. Over the course of the next 3 years, God allowed us to network with many other Bible-based addiction ministries through a national network of Bible-based addiction ministries called The Addiction Connection. During these 3 years, we were able to learn much and observe how other programs operate. God used this time to help us put together the framework for the program and lead us to the right rental property for The Refuge. God also used this time to allow us to raise support so that we had the financial backing to launch. In January of 2020, we officially opened the doors and began to take applications. Our first resident arrived a month later. Since that time God has continued to bring men to our program and we are thankful to be able to share the hope of the Gospel for men enslaved by addiction.
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