by Dr. Jamie Mitchell,
Senior Pastor,
NewSong Fellowship
Church, Lancaster, PA

As encouraging and powerful as 120 days at the Colony of Mercy may be for a man, the reality is he must return home. That step from the safe, sheltered and structured confines of KESWICK back to the uncertain and potentially hostile haven of home can be an excruciating reality.

A Colony Grad must begin to grapple with life. In 120 days, much has changed … now they know Christ, but still have no job. They know steps to victory, but now have no family. And life can be the same in many ways … pressures of work … pressures of the bills that have piled up … pressures to succeed with everyone watching and waiting to see if they will fall … and pressure to make right all the wrongs they have done! Men must now try to apply all that they have learned; they must put into practice what up until this moment was theory. They are expected to handle these painful, pressure- packed decisions, and because of their past mistakes — face them alone.

The fact is they are not fully recovered — they are redeemed men, coming to grips with their freedom in Christ — but can they face this new life and new walk ALONE? In Paul’s words — “may it never be!” Our former first lady told us “to raise a child takes a village.” No man is an island but it takes more than a village or community to find long-term victory over addiction.

For the believer, that community is the church and for the Colony Grad to find sustained victory it takes a CHURCH! Prior to leaving the Colony of Mercy, each man must have arranged a pastoral covenant; an eight-month accountable, discipling relationship where a church and a pastor invests themselves into the life of a Colony Grad. One church has taken on the challenge and sees it as a unique dimension of its ministry. It is NewSong Fellowship Church of Lancaster, PA.

A long-time KESWICK friend and conference speaker, Jamie Mitchell pastors NewSong. For a number of years, NewSong has become both a haven and boot camp for Colony Grads. God has used not just Pastor Jamie but the entire congregation to assist men to get established and begin to rebuild their lives. Pastor Jamie states “It started with Craig in the summer of 1999. We were only a church of 100 and not yet a year old. Craig came and enrolled in Lancaster Bible College. We helped him get reunited with his wife and saw her come to Christ and defeat a habit of prescription drugs. God then sent us Ron in October 2000. He called me on a Friday and asked if he could come — I told him we would pick him up on Tuesday. In four days God gave him a home with a single guy in our church, a car and a job.

In July 2001, we saw Dwayne come to NewSong. He had visited our church in 1999, and met Craig. Craig led him to KESWICK, and even paid his upfront money. Dwayne just completed the covenant, and we celebrated at KESWICK’SMen’s Day. Now we have Bruce, and God is doing a great thing in his life. All in all, it has been amazing how God has used this new, young, growing church to build these men’s lives. The vision is growing at NewSong. This past December, one of the men found a house and rented it for housing KESWICK Grads who want to go through the program with NewSong.

They call it Barnabus House — a place of encouragement! They believe that a man needs a hand up, not a hand out! They must work, attend Bible Studies, and serve at the church (cleaning, setting up for functions, ushering, or in worship). They must make themselves accountable about money. We have found that if a man does not have money in his pocket to burn it is unlikely that he will be able to pick up Village…CHURCH! a drink or a drug. Basically, we ask every guy to get a checking account in his name and then we lock up the checkbook at the church.

If they need money, they must ask — this forces them not to be so impulsive and to think through every decision with advice and accountability. What does this kind of ministry mean for the church and the pastor? “Each man is introduced to a mentor who will meet with him and encourage him. They are encouraged to connect with families and our church members are challenged to have them for dinner and make them a part of everything! Being a part of our small groups is key because there is a group who can watch over them. The other ingredient to success is the “Big Dog” — Pastor Jamie.

He meets with them regularly, stops by their place of work and gets to know their employers (who, by the way, know each man’s story) and will stop by their homes! “Each night a man needs to call me by 10PM at my house and tell me they are home! That does two things — makes them responsible and accountable. Accountability is not something I do to you — but something you ask for! Also, in my thinking, someone who is drunk or stoned is not going to remember to call me at 10 o’clock!” It might seem very unorthodox — but it works!

Each KESWICK Grad who has been baptized at NewSong, becomes a member and is a productive part of the church’s ministry. Most of them are now taking classes at Lancaster Bible College evening school. “God has given us a great opportunity where the guys can take classes. It is great for discipline, building study habits, and it gives each man the chance to gain confidence that they can accomplish something!” “The church must be a place where we look at lives that have been wrecked and ruined by the world and sin, but we see what can be! The broken person might not believe that their life will amount to anything — but we must for them. We must champion their cause, until they see light at the end of the tunnel and begin to believe what God can do.

Seeing KESWICK Grads reestablished and functioning as wholehearted followers of Christ is not done in a vacuum. It takes a church!”