Hamakua Baptist Church began a Celebrate Recovery group, a Christ-centered, 12-step program for people struggling with drugs, alcohol and other “hurts, habits and hang-ups.”
The group meets at 6 p.m. Sunday evenings at the church located at 35-244 Kihalani Homestead Road in Laupahoehoe.
Celebrate Recovery differs from Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs in that it is not limited to one specific problem such as drinking or drugs. Anyone in the grip of a problem habit is welcome.
Like Alcoholics Anonymous or other programs, Celebrate Recovery is absolutely committed to confidentiality and respect for the privacy of its members. The program is Christ-centered but nondenominational. It presents no theological viewpoint except that Jesus Christ is the source of salvation and that His grace is the higher power that will lead the addicted to recovery.
Celebrate Recovery asks only that participants respect the church’s beliefs as facilitators respect theirs.
Since its founding in California in 1991, Celebrate Recovery groups have been started in 35,000 churches around the world and have helped hundreds of thousands of people on the journey to recovery. There is currently another Celebrate Recovery group operating at New Hope Church in Hilo. The Laupahoehoe group is the first program on the Hamakua Coast.
Celebrate Recovery welcomes people at any stage of recovery, including those just staring on the path and people who are well along on the road to recovery.
If someone wants to talk in confidence about their problems or wants to join Celebrate Recovery, call Ray at 217-7425.