CHURCH OF THE WEEK
A Second Chance at the Golden Gate
By Kristin Cooney
The 700 Club
CBN.com
– “We’re willing to do whatever it takes to serve this neighborhood and serve the people we come in contact with.”
Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church of Dallas, TX, has gone to extremes to reach its community. For the last 16 years this church has seen the lives of over 1500 men and 300 women transformed through their Adult Rehabilitation Ministry. The vision started with a passion to help recovering addicts.
Pastor Vincent Parker says, “In order to really reach the needs of the men, we needed to provide housing. It took off from there.”
The one-year program involves two phases: Primary Care and Aftercare.
“The first four months, they do not work,” Pastor Parker explains. “They live here in houses. They go through counseling, Bible study, and they go through some job readiness type of things. After four months, they can apply to go out and look for work.
“The second phase is about another six months in what we call Aftercare. During that time we hold their money, they put together a budget. When they, they move into an apartment and have some money in the bank.”
Part of the reason the Adult Rehabilitation Ministry has seen so much success is that the participants live in close proximity to the church. The church members have warmly embraced the men and women in these programs and have welcomed them to participate in church activities. Many church members, in turn, volunteer in various ways within the ministry, including conducting Bibles studies with the participants.
The proof of their success is in the men whose lives have dramatically changed. Tony Owens is a former participant who has now been drug free for over 10 years.
“Because I’ve stayed clean, my life has changed,” says Tony. “I’m a deacon in the church. I’m a business owner now. I have a wife and three kids. I can get up every morning and thank God for what He’s given me.”
Jai Poole, another former participant and now a volunteer with the ministry, has been drug free for nine years.
“The life I was leading was destruction,” says Jai. “I was participating in my own murder by continuing to do the drugs. My life has changed now that I’m a Vice President of the business. I have a daughter now that’s seven years old who came into my life after recovery. I have a son that’s 21 years old. Before I got into recovery I really didn’t have a relationship with him and now I do.”
Pastor Vincent Parker says, “It’s about life change. It’s about family reconciliation. It’s about them now being viable members of the community [and] a local congregation where they can give what God has given to them.”
“I’m just grateful the Lord gave me an opportunity again when I did not deserve it to save my life,” says Jai. “I’m here to share that message with whoever wants to hear it.”
Pastor Parker also hopes to expand the Adult Rehabilitation Ministry in the near future to be able to serve even more men and women. He and his staff hope to begin building a new administration building next year, which would function as a classroom facility for the participants, as well as a cafeteria, and perhaps even a health care clinic.
For giving recovering addicts a fresh start in life, The 700 Club salutes you, Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas.
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