This morning our church is being visited by the MN Teen Challenge Choir. Teen Challenge is a Christian based drug rehab program in the Twin Cities, which has had phenomenal success in curing teens, as well as adults (the name is a little misleading), from major addictions.
Probably every week they visit different churches with a group of "students," to perform and give testimonies to the power of God in transforming their lives. The focus of Teen Challenge isn't just to cure them of the physical addiction, it's to get them spiritually transformed and let the Holy Spirit do the work in their lives. They undergo a rigorous regimen of disciplined study and work to get free from the bondages they're under.
The results they get with this Christian regimen is unbelievable. I can't remember the exact figures, but I know at one time they had proclaimed an x% success rate in curing people. They were challenged by a secular organization, who came in and did a study, because the claim was so far beyond the success rates of secular clinics; the results showed that Teen Challenge was actually understating their results.
The testimonies you hear from individuals is equally amazing. People who had lost their families, jobs, everything in life due to drugs; having everything restored and going on completely cured from their addictions.
Mocha-momma and I are up a little early today preparing food for the pot-luck dinner we'll have for the group after service today. One of the biggest rewards these people get when they go out into the community is to eat freely during these dinners. We've heard that the food they usually get in the program is very bland and regulated, for a reason, so that when they have the opportunity to eat in a pot-luck, they go back for as much as they can.
The primary moral of the story of Teen Challenge; with God, all things are possible. Many of the testimonies we hear from these people usually revolve around multiple attempts in secular and strictly medical/psychological programs, which have always failed them. The spiritual program and putting God in their lives is what has saved them.
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I commend you for having such a kind heart but before becoming involved with people who do not have such a kind heart, I invite you to take a closer look inside the world of Teen Challenge. http://teenchallengecult.blogspot.com/
Karly Cordaloni,
http://teenchallengecult.blogspot.com/
This is a biased anti-TC website which censors positive feedback for the organization.
User comments that are favorable to TC are deleted.
This is a proven fact.
Bonifay, FL (West FL Teen Challenge Boys Ranch) regularly has volunteers, typically retirees who come and help out around the place living in RVs on site.
Here's a first hand account.
http://billanddolly.wordpress.com/2007/03/08/florida-bound/
My son has been enrolled at Teen Challenge Bonifay since June 2006. It has been a rewarding and life changing experience for him. He had a two-week Christmas visit and a two-week "re-entry" visit back home with family. His reactions to situations and demeaner are entirely different than when he first enrolled and he is returning to the son we knew and loved as a child.
The ranch is regularly monitored by county agencies and suprise inspections are frequently carried out without incident. This is a military style camp with firm strict rules, but my son has flourished with the consistency and discipline with love.
I could not see sending my son to a facility that would use drugs to control him nor could I see the benefit of a psychobable facility to rationalize his behaviour.
This is just what he needed to get his head screwed on straight. There is a proper amount of discipline blended with classroom, bible study and mentorship. As students progress through the program and show improvement they are given the opportunity to lead and mentor the newer students.
Its not a facility with ex-military drill instructors harrassing the boys 24/7. Its Christian men held to high standards of integrity and peers of the boys who have demonstrated a level of trust and accountability. There are also a number of ladies in teaching and facilitating roles.
Further, the students are kept busy with regular chores and exercise. This is a working farm and they do supply some of their own food items. Its a good way to give a young man some responsibility and have him gain self-worth through accomplishment.
There is also free time for swimming or fishing in the lake, playing board games, chess, table tennis, weight lifting, horse riding, reading, etc. My son is teaching himself to play the accoustic guitar.
The students are rewarded for acheiving school goals with field trips. My son has gone deep-sea fishing on a coulple of occasions, for example. During the yearly rodeo, in town, a large number of the boys are allowed to attend. There are opportunities for community service and missions trips both in the states and outside the U.S.A. as well.
Yes, the phone calls are monitored via speaker-phone. I haven't seen the need to discuss anything that couldn't be overheard by a dorm full of boys and I've never been cut off.
My son is in the best shape emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually that he has ever been.
All in all, its a great program.
My son is also a graduate student from the Bonifay Teen Challenge this 2007 year, and I can tell you this personally. Not only did it save my son's life, it restored him to his father and I, as well as help restoring our family as a whole.
Teen Challenge did not change my son, God gave Teen Challenge to us as a tool to use.
My son is also in the best shape emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually that he has ever been.
As far as phone calls go, I have never had them not return my call or hang up on me. However, we never discussed anything that the pastors or staff could not hear.
My son knows that we 100 percent support Teen Challenge in their rules. That makes a big difference in how the program will succeed with a child.
I knew from the moment I stepped on the property to Teen Challenge, before we brought our son, that it was a Holy Spirit filled campus. There was not one ounce of a "mom alert" that said don't send your child. The same feeling I had taking him there is the same feeling I had when he graduated. I know he is going to succeed.
He is a teen, don't get me wrong, but we know have the tools needed and support that we need that was not there before.
Anonymous, I wish your son all the best, I don't know what else to say other than to keep praying. Our prayers were definately answered
For those trying to make a decision about sending a loved one to Teen Challenge, voluntarily entering the program, or entering under court order.
Resource clearing house and place for testimonials both favorable and not.
http://vocalizeinprint.blogspot.com/2007/07/teen-challenge-experiences.html
TC in Bonifay is an ABUSIVE camp, it may help some, but to many other teens have been victimized at the expense of foolish and unprofessional adults. The truth, not by one teen but by many. TC is a cult and has no business in helping or understanding addiction.
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