{"id":28104,"date":"2025-06-18T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T12:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/?post_type=resource&p=28104"},"modified":"2025-06-26T09:44:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T13:44:33","slug":"former-addict-plants-church-in-needy-missouri-community","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/former-addict-plants-church-in-needy-missouri-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Former addict plants church in needy Missouri community"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"John Bartholemew never wanted to spend the night in the room where his brother died from withdrawals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey promised me that I wouldn’t have to go to the section of the rehab that he died in,\u201d John recounts. \u201cBut my fifth or sixth night in rehab, they put me in the room where he died, and it was overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, John turned to the only option he had left.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cried out to God, and I said, \u2018take me or fix me,\u2019 and, immediately, I felt the presence of God,\u201d he shares. \u201cI laid there and cried and talked to God all night.\u201d<\/p>\n

That hadn\u2019t been the first time John needed to resort to his \u201clast option.\u201d In twenty-six years of meth addiction, he had had plenty of \u201cone last time\u201d \u2013 moments that had led him, his girlfriend, and his seven children to living out of a Mazda 2300 truck.<\/p>\n

But this \u201clast time\u201d was the first time John decided to include Jesus in his recovery, and sitting in the office where he now counsels others, he says that\u2019s what made all the difference.<\/p>\n

A Church that Loves the Unlovable<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWithout Jesus, recovery doesn’t last,\u201d John says. \u201cIn order to have long-term success, we need to be planting churches like Send Network does that love the unlovable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, that\u2019s exactly what John is doing. With help from Send Network and their Sending Church, Splitlog Baptist Church in Goodman, Mo., John and his wife, Marilyn, planted In Christ Alone Baptist Church three years ago in Fairview, Mo. \u2014 a city marked by poverty and addiction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had three different pastors approach me and say, \u2018Hey, you don’t want to do this. I’ve tried to start a church in the same building before. You’ll never get more than 20 people there.\u2019\u201d John recalls. \u201cBut I felt like God was calling me to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What began as a gathering of 12 people has now grown to a thriving church of nearly 100, with 14 people coming to know the Lord and following in believer\u2019s baptism in just this past year. \u201cSend Network provided a lot of spiritual support,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd having people from all over the country praying for us\u2014I think played a big part.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Strange Group of People<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cWe’re kind of a strange group of people,\u201d John admits with a laugh. \u201cWe’ve got people in recovery and law enforcement officers who mainly build up the body of our church.\u201d<\/p>\n

This unique mix of people has seen God work in incredible ways. There\u2019s Matt, a former addict who fell into drug abuse as a teenager. He now leads the church\u2019s youth ministry. There\u2019s also James, who first started attending services to fulfill a recovery program requirement and ended up becoming an elder. Just a few months ago, In Christ Alone sent him out to pastor a nearby church in need.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Dereck and Bryan, who serve in law enforcement and local government. Despite losing friends over the company they now keep, they remain faithful elders in the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a huge family, is what it is,\u201d John says. \u201cIf you visited us on a Sunday, you would see people wearing badges and people with face tattoos. Lots of kids. We worship loud and proud\u2026 You would see hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Movement to Plant More Churches<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the In Christ Alone family, church isn\u2019t just about a Sunday morning service. It\u2019s the Scripture-based recovery meetings that fill church classrooms on weeknights. It\u2019s the meal they share before each service. It\u2019s the food pantry that stays fully stocked for anyone who needs to bring groceries home.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people think, \u2018Once an addict, always an addict.\u2019 That there\u2019s no hope. But that’s just not the truth,\u201d John says, \u201cI am seeing God raise up an army of people that have a past to reach others.\u201d<\/p>\n

For John and his church, planting more churches to reach those struggling with addiction just feels like the next natural step.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a goal is to have one planted in the first five years and three within ten,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n

Send Network is a family of churches planting churches everywhere for everyone. To discover how your church can get involved in the kingdom work of church planting, visit <\/em>SendNetwork.com\/Mobilize.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Bartholemew never wanted to spend the night in the room where his brother died from …<\/p>\n

Former addict plants church in needy Missouri community<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":28105,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"content-type":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[],"topics":[],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-28104","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFormer addict plants church in needy Missouri community - 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