Isaiah 4:6 “There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.”
The Refuge is so much more than a mere men’s ministry for drug and alcohol addiction issues. It is that, but it is also a place where discipleship will be the main method of bringing change into the lives of men struggling with various addictions. Our aim is to see men’s lives changed by the power of The Gospel of Jesus Christ. We do realize that is only a work that ultimately God can only do through the work of The Holy Spirit, but we also know that faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. This is why everything we do at The Refuge will be rooted and grounded in the foundation of God’s Word and the message of The Gospel. As men begin to place their faith in Christ and grow in their relationship with HIM they will begin to change from the inside/out. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Now this does not mean that there won’t still be struggles in life, as there inevitably will be. That is why we need accountability in our lives. The Refuge will provide this through Biblical counseling and one One-on-one mentoring, throughout the program. The key will be whether the men are truly willing to do whatever it takes to give up doing it their way and letting God have HIS way in their lives. The Refuge will be a safe place where change can happen if the men are truly tired of the bondage they are living in.
In a nutshell, the heart of The Refuge is this: Our love and desire for our addictions needs to be exchanged with a greater love and desire. And we are persuaded that is found in only one place, Christ and Christ alone. John 4:13-14, Jesus says, “Everyone who drinks of this water (offered by the world) will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water (offered by Jesus) that I will give him will never be thirsty again.” This will be at the heart of everything we do at The Refuge!