Only about 20% of those who need addiction recovery will actually go to a residential program. Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland established Hope for Life groups to reach the other 80% with the love of Christ and provide the help and accountability that they need for long term success. Hope for Life groups are geared toward any life-controlling issue, not just drug or alcohol addiction. The 6 month series of classes utilize the group curriculum from Turning Point Ministries and include Insight, Free to Grow, Stepping into Freedom, and Anger Management.

A Concerned Persons group is also offered at the Church on the Hill location in Cookeville which is uniquely designed to help family members understand and assist their loved one who may be dealing with life-controlling issues. It covers enabling, boundaries and codependency.

A Hope for Life all day Saturday training was recently held at Carthage Full Gospel Church for 30 volunteer community leaders from West View Baptist Church, Hope Center of Warren County, Pleasant Grove Fellowship, Mineral Springs Baptist Church, and Carthage Full Gospel Church to become certified facilitators. These certified facilitators are now able to facilitate Hope for Life groups in their communities.
Pictured here are (L to R): Pastor Scott Smith, Pastor Jackie Dawson, Pastor Kevin Phillips, Pastor Bill Cowan, Pastor Bernie Morris, Pastor Brian Goodman, Pastor Tim McLauchlin, Pastor Jimmie Simpson, and Youth Director Houston Jared.

Groups are currently meeting at the following locations:
Putnam County area:
Church on the Hill
3001 Phillips Cemetery Rd
Cookeville, TN 38506
Tuesdays at 6:00pm
Call 888-688-0470 for info

Monterey Senior Citizen Center
105 N Elmore St
Monterey, TN 38574
Thursdays at 6:30pm
Call 888-688-0470 for info

Warren County area:
Hope Center
203 W Main St, Suite 12
McMinnville, TN 37111
Thursdays at 6:00pm
Call 931-815-7800 for info

Cumberland County area:
Faith Assembly of God
2155 West Ave
Crossville, TN 38571
Wednesdays at 6:00pm
Call 931-484-9319 for info

Smith County area:
Carthage Full Gospel
109 W 1st Ave W
Carthage, TN 37030
Thursdays at 6:30pm
Call 615-735-3284 for info

Stay connected to through TeenChallengeUC.org and our Facebook page to find out about other upcoming start up locations and meeting days.
For more information about the Hope for Life non-residential groups for yourself or someone else, please contact the Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland office at 888-688-0470, ext 100.

I grew up in a very dysfunctional home. I am 31 years old and have never met my real father. At home, alcohol and drug abuse was considered “normal.” On the other hand, anything to do with Christianity was foreign, except for the picture of “The Lord’s Supper” that hung on our wall. It was no surprise that I began experimenting with drugs and alcohol at age 13. I used all types of drugs; everything from marijuana to prescription pain killers….until someone along my path led me to a drug known as methamphetamine. Meth instantly became my master. I became a monster, an IV meth addict. I gave up on everyone and everything that I loved - my home, my marriage, my children, and my family. The drug consumed my mind, my world. To support my habit I began to manufacture meth.

November 2013, my world as I knew it came crashing down. I was arrested for manufacturing methamphetamine, along with numerous other charges. That night, in that cold jail cell, I knew I had allowed that drug to take away from me the one thing I had left…my freedom. I had a chance to sober up in jail while facing my legal charges in the courtroom, and without the drug racing through my veins I could FEEL for the first time in years. I felt lonely, ashamed, scared, HOPELESS and HELPLESS. I hit my knees in that cell and I cried out to God. After confessing my sins, and asking Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior, I got up off my knees and I did not feel as lonely or scared anymore.

I began to go to church services there in the jail and met a lady volunteer that first told me about the ministry of Teen Challenge. When we took the option to the courts I was refused immediately. Within a couple of weeks I was sentenced to 23 years in the state penitentiary and shipped to prison to begin serving my sentence. The state of Kentucky was done with me, to them I was nothing more than just another “meth cook” and “junkie” they were glad to remove from society. But God saw more in me than the courts did. The jail ministry volunteer and my attorney petitioned the judge that sentenced me to take another look at my case, and by the grace of God the judge agreed to release me from prison and allowed me to come to Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland in May 2014.

In the time I have been here at Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland, the Lord has restored relationships that were torn apart by years of hurt and pain. My children are getting their mother back, the godly mother they need and deserve. Through Pastor Tim McLauchlin and the staff here at Teen Challenge, I have experienced true love from people who love me for me, not for what I can give them. I have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and through Him, I have a real peace, the kind of peace that no amount of meth could ever give me. Philippians 1:6 says, “He who has begun a good work in me will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”, and I stand on that knowing that when I graduate from Teen Challenge I will be a light that shines in the darkness for those still in bondage, that they may be able to see the love of Jesus Christ through me.

At two years of age, my life was quickly thrown into the fire when my parents divorced and my mother remarried an abusive alcoholic. Growing up in a broken home was very difficult and I dealt with feelings of rejection, depression, and severe anxiety. I was sexually abused by several men in my family for about 12 years of my childhood. To escape the pain I had developed, I began experimenting with marijuana, which soon turned into an everyday occurrence. By sixteen I had my first drink of alcohol and I was hooked.

Seeking attention in all the wrong places landed me in a lifestyle of homosexuality. Consumed by the grips of the enemy, I allowed my need to feel wanted to drag me down a path I never imagined going. After six years of living like someone I was never created to be, I felt so lost and torn apart. I started to attend church, but my heart was just not where it needed to be. Two years later I found myself homeless and hopeless. Most of my family washed their hands of me, and I don’t blame them, I was a mess. I was so empty inside.

Tired of fighting a losing battle, I reached out to a pastor in Mississippi who then contacted Pastor Tim at Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland. At that time, circumstances did not allow for me to go to Teen Challenge immediately, but through it all, God had a plan. After a long two weeks, Pastor Tim contacted me asking if I was still interested in Teen Challenge. A week later and a 24 hour bus ride from Texas, I found myself in Livingston, Tennessee.

I did not know what to expect coming into Teen Challenge, but God knew what He was doing, even when I didn’t. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Not only was I missing a personal relationship with my Lord and Savior, but I was also missing His purpose for my life. I can remember the Teen Challenge staff picking me up from the bus station and welcoming me with open arms and a genuine love I had never experienced before. That same unconditional, Godly love has captivated me ever since.

Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland is the tool that God used to transform me, to completely wreck my life. I have experienced God like never before. I now have a purpose, a future, a sense of worth. My value is no longer calculated by others, but by my merciful God. I now know who I am; I am a child of the Most High. He gives me the boldness, and I give Him the glory. The peace of God protects and covers me. He has blessed me beyond what I ever could have imagined.

I graduated from Teen Challenge here in Livingston just over two months ago and God has opened doors I never thought possible. As an intern, I now get to share the same love I encountered when I walked off that bus - God’s love. I get to see miracles take place every day. I am blessed beyond measure, and my greatest desire is to be used by God to be a blessing to others. I know that God has even more in store for me, this is only the beginning.

I made a decision months ago that I will always remember, to NEVER limit God’s ability to use me in mighty ways. Matthew 28:19 speaks volumes in my life, to go and make disciples of all the nations. Teen Challenge is known as a discipleship program, where those struggling with life controlling issues are given God’s Word to be transformed into productive disciples for the kingdom of God. And that is exactly what has occurred in my life. God has not only called me out of darkness, but He’s also called me to share His light across the world. God placed a vision inside of me and I am on a mission to see that vision fulfilled for His glory.

My name is Heidi. My parents divorced when I was a young child and ever since an early age, I resented the idea of family. I was torn between my mom and dad and ran with any opportunity I had from my “broken down family”. As a way of escape, I ran to relationships. At the age of twelve, I began experimenting with drugs and alcohol. At fifteen, my drug abuse escalated when my step dad passed away. I was devastated by his death. He and I were very close. With him gone, I felt so alone. I was desperate to find stability in my life. I felt abandoned by God. I was very angry at God because I felt like he had taken two fathers away from me.

My drug addiction continued over each successive year, with each year getting worse than the one preceding it. I tried everything I knew to find someone or something to love and accept me. I wanted anything to fill the void I felt in my heart. I turned to friends, boyfriends, and drug after drug searching for happiness. Over time I became filled with self-hatred. I was so ashamed of the person I had become, but I could not stop. I began injecting cocaine and Oxycontin into my veins daily. This self-hatred and shame I felt soon turned to self-destruction. I was ninety pounds and killing myself with my drug addiction and eating disorder.

At my lowest point, I robbed my drug dealer. A few days later she came after me. She showed up at the apartment and threatened me. I was terrified, and that night I called out to God for the first time in months. Fearful that my life may be taken that night, I said, “God I’m not ready to die.” Three days later, as an answer to that prayer, I was checked into a rehabilitation detox facility. I was in a safe place. I completed the days that were required of that short term program. But I knew I needed more time to change. I knew I wasn’t ready to leave. I knew that if I started using drugs again that I would die, so I went straight from the detox facility to Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland’s crisis center. When I arrived, I was scared and completely overwhelmed. I experienced love and acceptance from the staff and students, which compelled me to stay after trying to leave immediately upon my arrival.

I was transferred to Appalachian Teen Challenge for my long term program, where I stayed, and graduated after thirteen months. In those thirteen months I encountered something real - something so much more real than the passing feeling of a high, or momentary happiness that a relationships brings. I encountered Jesus Christ - the person with whom I have a relationship with, who holds me up and has freed me from addiction. Knowing Jesus Christ freed me from a life of addiction, hurt, insecurity, and shame. I am now filled with joy, zealous for life, strong in my faith, and hopeful for the future. Jesus Christ took away all the hurt and replaced it with joy and peace!

It has now been over a year since I graduated Appalachian Teen Challenge. I am studying Christian Ministries and Psychology at Emmanuel College, with hopes of getting my degree in Clinical Psychology, to become a clinical counselor to those that battle drug addiction and other life controlling problems. I run Cross Country and Track at a collegiate level, with all praise going to Jesus’s name! I was recently elected as Miss Emmanuel of Emmanuel College for the 2014-2015 school year. Miss Emmanuel is an elected student that the staff and student body believe represents Christ-like behavior. Her responsibilities include, but are not limited to, being a leader in SGA, holding a public figurehead position and representation of the school, and interacting with staff and alumni. I have had opportunities to testify and evangelize about what the Lord has done in my life!

I never thought that this would be my life. I thought I would die a drug addict, a junkie. But since being rescued from addiction by God, He has continually had His hand on my life. Today, I am able to tell you that God changed my life ever since I chose to serve Him. He has completely changed my life for the better. I have never experienced the joy or fullness of life that I now have in Him. I now feel like I am finally alive - something I never experienced in my addiction. God surely can do “immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine”. I am living proof that God can change your life and make you fully alive in the life that He has planned for you - one filled with a sense of purpose and fulfillment!

1 Corinthians 4:20-21 says, “For the Kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” Christianity is more than something said; it is something marked by miraculous power.

We understand that a lot of people say a lot of things that have no merit or significance. People write books about 12 ways to do this, 10 ways to do that, and so on. There are many programs that boast about recovery, run billboard ads, newspaper articles, and even receive government assistance for drug and alcohol recovery, only to have no success.

Am I boasting that Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland is better than everyone else? Absolutely not!

However, the Word of God says in Matthew 7:20 Jesus says, “Therefore by their fruit you will know them.” The Greek definition for Word is logos, which means, “something said.” And the Greek word for Power is dunamis, which means, “miraculous power.”

At Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland, we have more to offer than nice and encouraging words. We have a power that is available to all who confess, all who believe and all who live the name of Jesus - power to transform, power to deliver, power to heal and power to redeem! The world has words……we have The Power!

The Apostle Paul said the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. Luke 17:20-21 says, “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.’ ” Jesus said the Kingdom of God “is within you.”

Some look at the Kingdom of God as a place where we will arrive at after death, but Jesus said the kingdom, the power, the anointing, is within those of us who believe. The Kingdom of God will not change man’s outward appearance but will change their hearts and lives by the power of The Holy Spirit.

I am sharing this with you for three reasons: First, without the power of God we would have nothing to offer the residents of Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland. It is the power of God that transforms their lives and brings them to a place of deliverance and freedom from life controlling issues. With all the curriculum we have, all the teaching we do, and all the chapel and church services residents attend, absent the power of God, Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland would be just another rehab or program.

Second, as ministry leaders, we need the power of God to direct us and give us wisdom. God has given us a vision for the future of Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland. Without His wisdom, we could insert our own plan which would never lead to long term success. However, with the wisdom of God that comes through the power of His Holy Spirit, we are seeing lives, land, and lodging developed and constructed completely for His glory.

Third, we need the power of God to overcome the oppression of the enemy. Satan, the ruler of this world, would try to tell us that the drug epidemic is too big and that we are not making any progress against it. Or he would say that the economy is not good and we will never get the funds Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland needs to grow and fulfill God’s vision. The enemy has even lied to Teen Challenge graduates and said because they have stumbled they never really were delivered. All of these are lies! We will not receive them for we believe 1 John 4:4 that says that “You are of God little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

I am proud to say Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland is a spirit-filled work where we believe in the miraculous power of God to transform lives from defeated to completely victorious. Because of this power at work, more than 300 men and women have been placed into long term programs and over 200 women have come through Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland since 2009. The power of God has touched over 259 individuals who made a decision to follow Jesus. What does the future hold for Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland? With the power of God working, there is no limit!

This is Natasha’s first testimony from when she came to the crisis center in December 2012….

My name is Natasha. Before I came to the Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland Crisis Center, I was in a lot of bondage. When bad things would happen to me or things didn’t go my way, I would always turn to drugs. I thought drugs were okay, because “I had control of my
using”. The truth is, I never had any control. My crack addiction had control over me. It later led to me doing things that I would have never done if I would have had Jesus in my life. Life went on like that for a few years, until I went to jail and heard about Teen Challenge.

I heard how it was changing lives, so I decided to give it a chance. Since I have been at the Crisis Center, I have been saved. I have also learned a lot of things about my Heavenly Father that I didn’t know. Of course, I know that I still have a big journey ahead of me, but I cannot wait for whatever God has in store!

This is her testimony she shared while she was at her long term center…

I was not raised in a Christian home, I was raised around drugs, alcohol and abuse and watched my parents split up when I was 5 years old. My mom began a relationship with a raging alcoholic when I was 6, and he abused me in every way possible for several years. When I was 13 I began hanging out with older kids and got involved in dealing drugs, and by the age of 17 I was addicted to crack cocaine. By age 23 I had a felony on my record. I began prostituting myself when I was 25 and my life continued on its downward spiral out of control for the next three years until I felt a pull to get to know more about God, and reached out to Teen Challenge. I was accepted into Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland on December 10, 2012, and then went onto Illinois Teen Challenge to complete my long term program.

Since being at Teen Challenge I have realized that something really amazing has happened inside of me. I am happy to be alive and I understand that I’ve been given a second chance at life. Before Teen Challenge, I did not care about anybody at all, and now I find myself full of compassion and love for others and I have a desire to help them in any way possible. I am aware of areas that I have struggled but I believe that I am completely free. I just thank God that I am no longer a part of that old life that I left behind, and that I am a new creation in Christ.

Natasha graduated from her long term Teen Challenge center in April. She is looking forward to going back to school and completing her education! Because of the faithful support of our partners, life-transformation stories like Natasha’s are possible!

God bless you,
Pastor Tim McLauchlin

My heart stopped as I gazed upon the letters etched in stone: Heather K. Price. I never imagined looking upon a headstone containing my very own name at 38 years of age. Bearing even my date of birth, all that remained after my husband’s suicide was for my parting date to be inscribed. I’ll never forget the longing to write my death date in the blank, for it wasn’t just the end of my husband’s life that he took that cold February night, I too stopped living. Sure, my lungs were taking in the air of this world and my heart pushed blood through my veins, but I curled up and died right along with my husband that meant more to me than life itself. You see, therein was the problem, he meant more to me than anything, even God Himself.
Don’t get me wrong, my life contained many obstacles as far back as I can remember. The abuse of my childhood poured a foundation whereupon many outcries of pain were built. But by God’s grace, I kept a hope, a will to live, tucked deep inside. In an instant however, that hope I held so dear vanished the moment my husband’s feet left the ledge. As the psalmist writes, “Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me, I saw only trouble and sorrow.”(116:3) Misery pierced my heart and buried its roots deep in my soul. My every day became a façade and living was a chore. The grandest mask ever adorned among the living, I was dead. Captive by despair, alcohol became my means of survival. I was a slave to death, a prisoner shackled to despair, as I walked out the days on this earth.
Months flew by and I was oblivious to the fact that I walked about this earth chained to the dead bones the prophet Ezekiel speaks of; helplessly and utterly hopeless. I was lifeless, scattered everywhere across the ground and completely dried out. During my first three months at Teen Challenge, I began to see that I wasn’t just standing on the edge of that bridge waiting for the end, I had taken the leap in my heart and opened the grave to my death two years before. “The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the spirit of the Lord to the valley of dry bones. He led me all among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out.” Broken hearted as I gazed upon my lifeless existence, the Lord asked me the question, “Can these bones become living again?” Unable to imagine feeling anything other than my deep distress, I replied,” O Sovereign Lord, you alone know the answer to that.” Then the Lord said, “Look! I am going to put breath within you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am Lord.”(Ezekiel 37) I knew that The Lord would restore me to the living. He would unwrap the ropes of death that bound me. He would awaken my spirit with His breath like the days of old.
The bones of my body began to come together as I penned a goodbye letter to my late-husband, letting him go. As tears flowed and pain surged, the chains that bound me to death began to fall one by one. Each link that unraveled translated into muscle and flesh that formed over these bones, but they still had no breath in them.
The evening of February 12, 2014 is when God fulfilled His promise to me. Each step into the warm water of the baptism beckoned me home. The gracious, mighty, compassionate Lord wrapped His arms around me as I was consumed by His cleansing hand. All of a sudden, as if something jolted my heart, I opened my eyes while submerged in His loving embrace. Words cannot explain what I was taking in. It was as if time stood still and I was seeing for the very first time. The clarity, the purity of the water above called out to me. The light piercing through the waves reached down into the waters and drew me to my feet. Unable to breathe, God blew into my nostrils, I inhaled Him deep into my lungs, His breath of life reached every corner of my being. Death could not hold me, the grave could not keep me. God opened my grave and brought me back to the land of the living. I was alive!
The words of the prophet Isaiah resonated through my newfound heart,“Fear not, you will no longer live in shame. Don’t be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you. You will no longer remember the shame of your youth and the sorrows of your widowhood. For your Creator will be your husband; The Lord of Heavens Armies is His name! He is your Redeemer!” (Isaiah 54:4-5).
Through the Lord’s use of Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland, its devoted staff and supporters, I stand now in the resurrected life of my Savior and Lord and share in the 116th psalm of David, “Then I called on the name of the Lord; “Please Lord save me! How kind The Lord is! How good is He! So merciful, this God of ours! The Lord protects these of child like faith; I was facing death and He saved me. Let my soul be at rest again, For the Lord has been good to me. He saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. So I walk in the Lord’s presence as I live here on this earth!”