The Celebrate Recovery program at Russell Springs First Baptist Church in Kentucky is not only helping people overcome addictions, but more importantly, pointing them to new life in Christ.
The ministry launched in 2020, gained momentum in 2022, and since January 2023 has led to 122 baptisms, including 42 in 2025, said Jeric Devore, executive pastor at Russell Springs FBC and one of the program’s leaders.
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“God has stepped in and made that ministry bigger than we ever thought,” Devore said. “We wanted to have something where we ministered to our community and reach individuals in that population.”
And that population, he said, is everyone.
“There is something Celebrate Recovery can do for every person in the church or outside the church,” Devore said. “All of us are sinners in need of recovery.”
‘We all need recovery’
While Celebrate Recovery is often associated with drug and alcohol abuse, Devore said the scope is much broader.
“We all need recovery from something that is holding us back from the life God wants from us,” he said. “It’s not just chemical addiction. We have grief, divorce, individuals who have been in the military have PTSD. People have issues with faith and trust, gambling, shopping, pornography and a host of other things.”
Scott Ellis leads the Celebrate Recovery ministry, Devore said, calling him “phenomenal.”
“He has built that work. Our volunteer base for that program is amazing. Celebrate Recovery is a fantastic program, but it takes a lot of individuals, kind of like AWANA (a children’s program) with people getting trained,” Devore said.
About 160 people attend each Tuesday night meeting at the church, where participants gather and then break into men’s and women’s small groups that provide a confidential, supportive environment for sharing.
All walks of life
Devore said people come from all walks of life, and the gospel is intentionally woven into every meeting.
“There’s something about the weight that’s lifted to release and confess and heal,” he said. “What Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered recovery program. The Christ centered part of that is the gospel is present in every step and every principle of Celebrate Recovery.”
Testimonies are shared in the large group setting every other week, and the gospel is presented weekly.
“We have a response time,” Devore said. “Most Tuesdays we’re seeing the transformation not just in doing better in the addiction or habit but because of salvation, we’re seeing the transformative work in that way. You can develop a program on how to make a program better, but the spirit and gospel do the regeneration.”
Devore, who also remains active in the community and is currently organizing a mission team for a trip to South Asia, said the growth of Celebrate Recovery has mirrored the growth of the church.
“Our baptism numbers as a church have greatly increased,” he said. “We were No. 1, per capita, for baptisms in our (South) region (of the Kentucky Baptist Convention). It has helped the church as a whole.”
The community, he added, has taken notice.
“A huge part is our connection back into the recovery work happening in the area,” Devore said. Two addiction treatment centers in Russell Springs – SPRAC Recovery and Women Finding Freedom in Recovery – send clients to the meetings at the church. “We’ve gained trust in the recovery community. Having those partnerships is really important.”
For churches interested in launching similar ministries, Devore said building relationships with local recovery organizations is key.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mark Maynard and originally published by Kentucky Today.
