UK Church Makes Progress in Celebrate Recovery

What is a pastor to do when he realizes those in his congregation held captive to their hurts, habits, and hang-ups aren't being released as the Bible promises – despite the church's constant prayers?

Tony Turner, pastor of Community Church Derby in Derby, England, faced this dilemma in the late 1990s. Despite sincerely believing in miracles and the healing power of God, his church members weren't being set free from struggles that clearly held them in bondage.

"God laid on my heart one word: ‘responsibility,'" he said. "Then, I saw the material relating to Celebrate Recovery and quickly realized that this was a foundation that could help people take responsibility for their own actions and begin to change."

Turner and his wife, Val, absorbed and digested everything they could about the program, even visiting Saddleback Church in California and talking to John Baker, founder of Celebrate Recovery. For a year, the couple digested the materials and "prayed it all through" as Turner said, before implementing the Christ-centered, biblically based program of recovery in his church in October 1998 – becoming the first church in the United Kingdom to do so.

The number of people attending Celebrate Recovery meetings varies, Turner said. The Derby group has grown an estimated 10 percent each year to a regular attendance of 45 now.

Celebrate Recovery Summit, Aug. 16-18
Find out how to develop a Celebrate Recovery ministry in your own church at the next Celebrate Recovery Summit at Saddleback Church. Celebrate Recovery is a biblical recovery ministry that began at Saddleback 14 years ago. Now the program has been used in more than 4,500 churches around the world. Wherever you are in the process of putting together a Celebrate Recovery ministry – whether you're just starting or your church has been involved for years – there will be something at the conference for you.
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Since 2001, the Turners have helped many other churches in the UK establish Celebrate Recovery programs. Presently, 12 churches in the UK have been running a recovery meeting for the past two to five years. Two churches are looking to start in the next six months, and six hope to start in the next 18 months.

"At present, Celebrate Recovery also runs in Wayland Prison in Lincolnshire and Sudbury Prison in Derbyshire," Turner said.

Turner, a full-time pastor at Community Church Derby for 18 years, said he will concentrate more on Celebrate Recovery in the future.

"We here in Derby recognize the value of Celebrate Recovery and the need to help and support other churches," he said. "Each day, were are getting calls from all over the country inquiring about Celebrate Recovery, so the need in the UK is growing daily."

Purpose Driven UK conducted Celebrate Recovery conferences in England last September and in Northern Ireland last October in order to introduce other churches to the program.

Turner already knows how the healing power of Jesus has affected the lives of others through Celebrate Recovery. Many have written to him, sharing their testimonies of how a loving God has brought them into a better relationship and life with him.

"It has helped me to face up to issues in my life with confidence, within a secure environment," said one of the notes Turner received. "A place where I felt accepted and understood, gave me the tools to tackle life long problems and habits. It gave me space to think about me and come to understand myself better. It gave me hope and made my walk with God real again. I feel like I'm a different person."