Ken's Story

Ken struggled with an addiction  to  meth (methamphetamine), and a job of selling drugs to support his habit. When he was caught selling drugs and sentenced to jail, Ken says, “It saved my life.” He began to read and understanding Scripture like he never had before. After Ken gave his life to Christ, and started attending Bible studies, his life and mind became focused on Biblical truths, bringing about healing and recovery. Ken believes that his time at Midwest Challenge is a blessing for him; not only because of the life skills he has learned (such as paying bills and trusting people), but also for the fellowship he is surrounded by.  “It is also great to know that I am not going through this tough time alone. In fact, we are fellow disciples here.”

Garrett's Story

Garrett knows all about fear, destruction and devastation--he ended up in prison over five times, landing there from a gradual erosion of his morals and values—starting with cutting classes and ending at selling drugs and burglary. Each time he was released from prison, Garrett would go back into his same old lifestyle. He says, “You don’t know how hard it is to come out and be different. In prison, I heard about Midwest Challenge and decided that I wanted to change my life and be different. Midwest Challenge gave me an opportunity to come out a different way.” Through his time at Midwest Challenge, Garrett has experienced peace and victory. He was able to get, and keep, a job for the first time. He also has restored relationships with his family, who now make him feel welcome and wanted when they see him, unlike the fear they had of him before. Garrett adds, “Midwest Challenge has been a real life saver for me. Thank you for helping me get my life and my family back!”

Joel's Story

Joel is a man who graduated from the program at the Redemption House, after selling and doing drugs since he was 14. Joel lived on the streets and was in and out of shelters before he came to Midwest Challenge. Through his relationship with his caseworker and other staff, Joel was able to work through not only his addiction problem, but also his fears and feelings of abandonment. Joel says that the “most important lesson” he learned at Midwest Challenge “is that I know beyond a shadow of doubt that God loves and forgives me! If it were not for my Mom and Dad and Midwest Challenge, I am not sure where I would be today.”  After trying shelters and treatment centers, only at Midwest Challenge did Joel finally discover that Jesus Christ could take the pain he had carried around his whole life. Now Joel fervently desires to be a man of his word, and is seeking God’s direction in ministry because he believes God has a plan for him to help others through their addictions.

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 At the heart of our ministry lies the desire, the vision, and the passion to see hurting and hopeless men and teens not only find hope but find and begin a new life. In the New Testament verse, we read, "Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creation, the old is gone, and the new has come." II Corinthians 5:17,

Ben’s Testimony

 What a powerful message of hope!  Ben is a great example of a man who has found new life in Christ.  Ben had quite a rough start as he was the sole survivor of seven children.  This in itself would be tough enough but gets even more amazing when you understand that he had to escape this horrific tragedy – it was his mother who ended the life of his siblings. (This is a painful and private thing for Ben to talk about, so we agreed to omit details at this time.) He escaped to the streets, if you could call it that... he escaped death but on the streets he was repeatedly raped and beaten. This began a life of surviving any way he could. It is not surprising that he began to use the tools of the streets – addiction, stealing, fighting and jail were a very common part of his life.

 Ben came to us at the age of 48 with a bruised and battered heart, not to mention a temper that did not allow anyone to get too close.  But slowly, layer by layer, Ben began to open up to his case manager and to God. He began to believe that God could love him and that he could actually be somebody.  Now at the age of fifty, he is about to get his degree in social work and begin a career where he will be able to help other men, women, and youth who have been abused, beaten and abandoned.