Ministry convinces woman story is true
By Michael Wacht
CAPE CORAL — Tonya Roberts, a lay member at
Grace United Methodist Church here, leads a ministry her pastor says
accounts for “most of the frontline evangelism” that is happening
in the church. It’s called Celebrate Recovery, and Roberts says her
leadership is born out of her experience overcoming addiction and a
desire to help others realize the truth of Jesus Christ.
Roberts has been an addict in recovery for 11
years, participating in a number of 12-step programs. For more than
half that time, she says she avoided the spiritual aspects of those
programs, focusing instead on “secular recovery” because she
wanted to avoid anything like the religious experience of her
childhood.
Roberts said she attended a church that was
strict and fundamental in its beliefs and practices to the point where
elements of worship, like musical instruments, were not allowed in
services.
“When I got sober, I knew I needed to
fine-tune my path,” she said. “For the last five years, my
spiritual journey became more focused.”
Shari Lacey, a friend and spiritual mentor,
helped Roberts on that journey. During one conversation, Lacey put her
hand on Roberts and told her, “You know, Tonya, the story is true.”
In that moment Roberts realized the stories about Jesus she heard in
her childhood were real.
Lacey invited Roberts to attend Alva United
Methodist Church with her and sponsored her on a Walk to Emmaus, a
spiritual life retreat. She said the retreat was the first time she
realized there was “a bigger picture” to Christianity and
spirituality than she had seen in the past. She said that experience
made her want to learn and experience more about Jesus’ grace.
Roberts, recently divorced at the time, decided to attend Grace
because of its divorce recovery ministry.
Addiction recovery programs encourage people to
get involved in something, so Roberts decided to find out where she
might fit at Grace. She attended the church’s Wired Workshop, a
program that helps participants learn about and identify their
passions and spiritual gifts.
“It helps you find out how God wired you,”
said the Rev. Jorge Acevedo, Grace’s pastor. “Tonya discovered she
had the gift of leadership and a passion for recovery ministry.”
Acevedo, who is also a recovering addict, had
been looking for people who shared his passion for reaching people in
recovery and would be willing to help start a Celebrate Recovery
ministry at Grace. Celebrate Recovery was created by Saddleback Valley
Community Church in California. Acevedo helped start the ministry at
Christ Church United Methodist in Ft. Lauderdale.
Roberts said she wanted to be involved in any
ministry other than recovery, but agreed to “help out a little bit.”
Roberts didn’t think recovery and Christianity
would mix well. She said she’d seen them conflict too often, hurting
the people they were supposed to help. She decided to edit the
Celebrate Recovery materials and take out anything she knew wouldn’t
work, but once she reviewed the material she found she couldn’t take
anything out.
“It was something to add to your recovery and
add to your Christian walk,” she said, adding it didn’t “bash”
other programs or ministries.
The ministry began last January. Each Friday
evening, a team that now includes 70 volunteers holds a barbecue
dinner, a one-hour worship service, and an hour of small group
meetings. A coffee house ministry following the small groups will be
added soon.
By October, 125 people were participating in the
ministry, according Acevedo. “I’ve baptized…at least 30 people
out of that ministry,” he said. “Most of our frontline evangelism
is happening at that Friday night service.”
The ministry is also helping people within the
church. About 30 percent of those who attend are not recovering
addicts, but church members who are looking for healing in their
lives.
Roberts said she did not realize how much the
service would impact her and the people around her. Many of her
friends from other addiction recovery programs attend, her mother is
back in church and leading a small group, and her husband has gotten
involved.
Roberts is now a part-time staff member at Grace
church, in addition to her full-time job with the local school
district. “It’s a part-time position, but it’s in my life full
time,” she said.
Roberts said she has seen her life come full
circle. “I like to work with agnostics and atheists,” she said.
“This [ministry] is a comfortable place to come ask questions and
defy. It’s a place where people can sit down and you can explain to
them why the story is true.”
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