Celebrate Recovery is a Bible-based, Christ-centered recovery program for those who struggle with life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups. Its curriculum takes participants through The 8 Recovery Principles, which are based on the Beatitudes.
Celebrate Recovery FAQs
The purpose of Celebrate Recovery is to fellowship together and celebrate God’s healing power in our lives by sharing our experience, strength, and hope through The 12 Steps and The 8 Recovery Principles. This experience allows us to “be changed”.
You may be thinking that recovery is only for those with alcohol or drug problems. This could not be further from the truth. Most of life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups can be addressed through this one ministry, including problems with abuse, anger, grief, alcohol, drugs, depression, guilt and shame, financial loss, divorce, dysfunctional families, sexual problems, eating disorders, and much more!
A hurt, habit or hang-up is anything that hinders your walk with God. They postpone or prevent genuine fellowship with Him and your loved ones. They include but are not limited to:
- Abandonment & Rejection
- Abuse: Physical, Sexual, Emotional
- Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families
- Alcohol, Drug & Chemical Dependency
- Anger & Rage
- Anxiety, Fear & Insecurity
- Co-Dependency & Unhealthy Relationships
- Controlling Personality
- Depression & Loss of Hope
- Divorce & Loss of Relationship
- Eating Disorders: Over-eating, Under-eating
- Gambling
- Grief & Sadness
- Guilt & Shame
- Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior
- Overspending & Financial Loss
- Overworking & Workaholics
- People-Pleasing
- Perfectionism
- Sexual Addiction: Adultery, Pornography, etc
Are you someone who struggles with hurts, habits and hang-ups? Do you struggle with a particular issue, sin, problem or behavior that seems to have such strength and power over you that it has prevented you from experiencing any real victory over it? Have you been secretly hoping that a ministry like this would come along where you would have a safe place to share your struggles with Anonymity and Confidentiality and get healing from God? Perhaps this is God’s timing for you, too! Take courage and join us!
Celebrate Recovery is forward looking. Rather than wallowing in the past or rehashing and rehearsing painful memories over and over, Celebrate Recovery focuses on the future. Regardless of what has already happened, the solution is to start making wise choices now and depend on Christ’s power to help make those changes.
Celebrate Recovery meets 52 weeks a year because life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups don’t take a holiday.
Celebrate Recovery insists that certain Small Group Guidelines apply during Open Share Groups and Step Study Groups. These are the foundation for creating a safe place for sharing. Perhaps the most important factor in establishing and growing a successful CR ministry is in creating a safe environment for people to openly share their hurts, habits and hang-ups. The Small Group Guidelines are one of the most important and distinctive features of the ministry designed to create such a safe environment.
-Bible-based, Christ-centered & God-honoring
-A safe place to share
-A refuge
-A place for healing from life’s hurt, habits and hang-ups
-A place to be cared for, and a place to care for others
-A place where each person is respected
-A place where anonymity & confidentiality are respected
-A place to learn, grow and become strong again
-A place for progress, not perfection
-A place where you can take off your mask and allow others to know you for who you are.
-A place for healthy challenges
-A place for accepting personal responsibility
-A possible turning point in your life
-A place to demonstrate genuine love for others
-Therapy, counseling, legal advice, rehabilitation or treatment
-A shelter
-A place for selfish control
-A place for secrets or gossip
-A place to look for dating relationships
-A place to fix or rescue others
-A place to be fixed or rescued by others
-A place for perfection
-A long-term commitment
-A place to judge others
-A quick fix
In physical health, the term “recovery” refers to the process of moving from illness to wellness. Our hurts, habits and hang-ups are like spiritual illnesses. By using the tools of Celebrate Recovery, we can begin to move from spiritual illness to spiritual wellness. Some might say we move from bondage-to-self to freedom-in-Christ. Others might say we move from self-reliance to faith-in-Christ.
Celebrate Recovery offers a person the opportunity to participate in a group fellowship where love and hope combine with God’s purpose to mend our lives. Ask yourself:
Are there things in my life that I do that hurt me or others?
Is there something in my life that I wish I could live without?
Is there something I have tried to quit but can’t do so on my own?
Do I have a painful habit or hang-up from which I need to be freed?
Is there one particular thing I can’t let go of that is destroying my life?
Is it time to admit that my life is out of control?
Are there people in my life I am trying to fix?
Am I a people pleaser?
If you answered “yes” to any of these statements, then we urge you to attend a Celebrate Recovery meeting to see if it is right for you.
No. We do not charge for attendance at this ministry. However, our Celebrate Recovery ministry is self-supporting, which means that we do ask participants for a free-will donation to help cover our costs for dinner, child care books and other resources sold at the information table.
Absolutely Yes! Celebrate Recovery maintains strict Anonymity and Confidentiality. This promotes an atmosphere of trust and enables recovery. We are serious and diligent about protecting your Anonymity and Confidentiality! “What is said here stays here!” The Small Group Guidelines protect all of us from judgment and being fixed by someone in the group. Because CR is a safe place, you can take off your mask and be real and honest without fear. You are 100% in control of when and how much you share about your struggles.
No. You are not required to attend or be a member of the church, this church or any church. However, we strongly recommend that you search and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to a church home, if you do not already have one. Celebrate Recovery is a ministry for anyone who is interested in a Christ-centered recovery program that will enable them to recover from life’s hurts, hang-ups, habits and addictions.
A Step Study is a Small Group that takes place on a night other than the Large Group meeting night. The Celebrate Recovery curriculum is based on The 12 Steps and their related Scriptures as the biblical model for living your life, and is set forth in four Participant’s Guides. A Step Study is a personal journey through The 12 Steps in a confidential group that is lead by a trained facilitator who has already completed their own Step Study. When you finish a Step Study, you will have worked your hurts, habits, and hang-ups through each of The 12 Steps. A Step Study is a serious commitment to the other members of the group. It typically takes 8-12 months to complete a Step Study. After completing a Step Study, we hope you will continue to work with us as we minister to others who are dealing with their own hurts, habits and hang-ups. The Small Group Guidelines are strictly followed in the Step Study.
There is no real opportunity to share in the Large Group. And you will never be required to share in the Small Open Share Groups. You can pass anytime you wish, and take as long as you need to become safe enough to share. In the Step Studies, however, everyone agrees to share as the group moves through the questions set forth in the curriculum books.
You are welcome to come whenever you can to the Large Group and the Small Open Share Groups on Friday nights. However, if you join a Step Study, you will be expected to come each week until the curriculum is completed. As with any endeavor, the more effort you put into Celebrate Recovery, the more benefit you will receive for your own personal recovery.
No. Celebrate Recovery is for everyone! Because all of us go through seasons when we need support, messages of hope, and testimonies of victorious life change, the Celebrate Recovery program is open to everyone. It is a time and place where every person can experience hope and encouragement at the level where they are most comfortable.
The purpose of Celebrate Recovery is to fellowship and celebrate God’s healing power in our lives. This experience allows us to be changed. We open the door by sharing our experience, strength and hope with one another. In addition, we become willing to accept God’s grace in solving our lives problems. By working and applying these Biblical principles, we begin to grow spiritually. We become free from our addictive, compulsive and dysfunctional behaviors.
This freedom creates peace, serenity, joy and most importantly, a stronger personal relationship with God and others. As we progress through the program we discover our personal, loving and forgiving Higher Power – Jesus Christ, the one and only true Higher Power.
If your life has become unmanageable due to the use of alcohol, drugs or other chemical substances, food, gambling, pornography, sex, relationships, or because of other hurts, hang-ups, or habits, then you may have an addiction or problem behavior.
Celebrate Recovery groups are not lead by pastors, teachers, professional counselors or paid experts. Instead, CR groups are facilitated by men and women who are in recovery themselves. They all have a measure of substantial healing from their own struggles, and therefore celebrate their recoveries. As a result they have a high degree of sensitivity to those in need. In other words, the leaders in CR are not high-priced salesmen, but satisfied customers!
Yes, each of our leaders have, by the grace of God, walked through a process of recovery from various hurts, habits and hang-ups.
Although Celebrate Recovery incorporates The 12 Steps, it does so with a distinctly Christian approach. We firmly believe and depend upon the miracle-working power of the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit in the process of recovery. We also address many more issues than just alcoholism. For instance, see this long list of Hurts, Habits and Hang-ups.
YES. We believe the answer is a resounding YES! Through prayer, the penetrating work of the Holy Spirit, a commitment to change, and the surrender of our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, we believe we can find freedom from any addictive, compulsive or destructive behavior.
The principles used in Celebrate Recovery can be helpful for all types of destructive behaviors, hurts, hang-ups and habits, and for people suffering from the consequences of the destructive behaviors of other people.
CR is a safe place for kids to heal and grow too! Workers in our kids’ ministries have all passed background checks. Some smaller CRs have childcare that serves mostly as care during the adult programming, however many Celebrate Recovery programs have CR children’s material.
Celebration Place: designed for kids 5 years-5th grade.
Celebration Place is designed to inspire kids with hope, joy, and friendships while they learn to rely on God. Celebration Place is a 52-week complementary children’s resource to Celebrate Recovery. It’s a place where kids can discover the same truths in age-appropriate ways!
The Landing: designed for kids 6th-12th grade.
The Landing is designed to provide students with leaders that safely walk alongside them and point them towards the healing and hope found in Jesus Christ – and to equip them with recovery tools that will help them deal with current and future issues. Our prayer for the kids isn’t too different from our adults – that students would learn that they are not alone and discover that freedom actually is possible, and healing is tangible.
No. Although each of our group leaders has a caring heart, they are not equipped to offer in-depth counseling or clinical therapy. In the event this type of treatment is necessary, we would be able to refer you to a qualified Christian professional.