Thank you Anonymous Partner for making this story possible to share.
Sarah Baughman is with her family after treatment.
One such graduate of Adult & Teen
Challenge is Director of Development,
Sarah Baughman. At
19, Baughman was
court-ordered to the
program, following jail
stints and a battle with
heroin addiction.
“This isn’t like a
traditional 30- or
90-day rehab center,”
says Baughman.
Sarah Baughman
Before
“Secular centers treat addiction like a
medical disease that has to be coped
with and treated with medication your
entire life. There is no freedom in that.”
Baughman has worked with the center
for ten years.
Baughman and other graduates
attribute the program’s lasting success
to the length of the program, its
immersive faith-based approach, and
its structured environment. One-third
of the program’s participants accept
Christ and a little over a third complete
the program and recover from their
addiction.
The makeup of the staff also allows
former addicts
to demonstrate
their transformation
and help
others with
empathy and
patience, while
providing a
judgment-free
atmosphere.
The staff
follows Jesus’
words in
Matthew 7:5
which say, “…
first take the
plank out of
your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to remove the speck from your
brother’s eye.”
The center requires students to
undergo detox before residing on
campus. Students are then assigned
vocational training, daily chores and
Bible-based curriculum, which
includes scripture memory and
self-reflection.
For the last five months of the
program, students transition to a
re-entry phase, which teaches and
supports real-world skills and responsibilities.
Each year, close to one hundred students are
baptized in the organization. It's always a very
emotional experience.
They find off-campus jobs,
begin saving and tithing and begin
paying a weekly “tuition” to the center.
Upon graduation, aftercare begins
when participants can intern with the
center to pursue vocational ministry
for up to seven months, and stay at
campus housing for up to a year.
Graduates leave with a wealth of Bible
knowledge, including 250 memorized
scripture passages. Graduates can
attend ongoing support groups and
annual alumni reunion events. “The
reunion events and social media allow
us to check in with each other, and
encourage and support others we may
see slipping off,” says Baughman.
The adolescent program operates
similarly and helps teens aged 12-17
battling addiction and behavioral
issues, like fighting and acting out at
school. They receive the same faithbased
services as well as attend online
school daily.
Baughman says the program is not
easy, but it’s life-changing. “I wasn’t a
“ Secular centers
treat addiction like
a medical disease
that has
to be coped with
and treated with
medication your
entire life. There
is no freedom
in that.”
Adult & Teen Challenge, San Antonio
Prayer is an essential part of the program. Adult & Teen Challenge services are exclusively faith-based.
– Sarah Baughman,
Director of Development
10 www.saBeacon.com February 2019
/www.saBeacon.com