The Recovery-Minded Church: Loving and Ministering to People With Addiction

by Jonathan Benz, Kristina Robb-Dover (Primary Contributor)

You want to have vibrant and healthy relationships with those who struggle with addiction in your church and community. But you find yourself wondering how to meet their needs in a wise, helpful and God-honoring way. The Recovery-Minded Church addresses the pressing questions you are facing in ministering to those with addictions. Here you will discover a clinically informed, biblical and theological framework to love the addicts in your midst and also practical tools to help you succeed in doing so, including discussion questions after each chapter for use in small group settings. God desires to welcome his prodigal children with open arms and a spirit of celebration. We need to reflect this same kind of grace and mercy in our ministry to those with addictions, to move our churches from being recovery-resistant to recovery-minded.

192 pages, Paperback

Published December 3, 2015

Reviews

[Ericka Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful book for those who want to transform their churches into places of healing for this dealing with active addiction or recovery.

[John Dobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonathan Benz with Kristina Robb-Dover have given the church quite a gift in this book. I picked it up a few years ago and just recently re-engaged and I'm so glad I did. I highly recommend it for all church ministers and leaders. Not only is it poignant and compassionate in its presentation of the struggle of addiction, the book contains an intensive on practical information for outreach into the recovery community. Some of my dearest friends are in recovery. So many wonderful people are engaging the recovery community. Many of them are finding a relationship with Jesus Christ to be the energy they need to overcome. As a minister, I want our church (and myself) to be ready to love, accept, walk with, and enjoy relationships with those in recovery. This book tells us how to do that. I'm very grateful.

[Josh Trice · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a recovering Porn Addict, the truth and hope within this book is truly astounding. I have been frustrated for a while by the holds that the “taboo” has on the church. Avoiding embarrassment seems at times to be more important than healing.

This book is the antidote to that toxic culture. This is what the church is meant to be. Addicts of all kinds, those struggling with mental health, those facing physical ailments, THEY are who the church should be comprised of.

Addiction is rampant in our culture. There is no longer any excuse to not face it head on and provide the loving help we know in Christ. This is a tangible way by which we are meant to establish His Kingdom on Earth!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a simple and practical guide for how churches can better minister to those struggling with addiction. It is not geared toward helping you start a specific kind of program. Instead, it is focused on how your church can become a place where addicts are welcomed. I particularly appreciated how the emphasis was not on becoming experts on addiction, but on how the church can better assist those more qualified and knowledgeable.

This book is easily accessible for lay people and would be useful for a church group to go through together.

[Leah Roldan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good resource for pastors and church people in thinking about how to make their churches more recovery-minded.

[Kendall Fountain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A VERY helpful and practical tool to start thinking about how to make your church more welcoming and inclusive for those in recovery for any kind of addiction.