Dan Ward, Executive Director, Metro Hope Ministries
Jesus prayed that his followers “would be one” – so that the world would know that He was from God. No part of our world hungers more for the Hope found in Christ Jesus than people struggling with addictions. In no Christian work is the evidence of unity more crucial than in ministry to wounded hearts seeking something real in which to believe.  I and Metro hope Ministries honor those who have launched this visionary endeavor and applaud their tireless efforts to bring unity to the Christian recovery community.

Mary Akehurst, Metro Hope Ministries, Recovery Celebration Program Committee
Working alongside other men and women with the same heart in the celebration planning process brings me joy. The power of Christ in our lives…now that’s worth celebrating.

From bondage to the boardroom.
Charles, Lending Industry, is an alumni and board member of Metro Hope
After yrs of trying to get free from substance abuse I woke up one day in Jail to hear the voice of the Lord say to me "Are you ready to try it my way?"   On that June day 14 yrs ago I said "yes" to the Lord. Since then the Lord has restored my soul and healed my heart and mind.  With the help of Metro Hope Center my life has been given back to me.

Today I live and work as a contributing member of the business community and now the Lord is using me to support the work of the Gospel through the mission of Metro Hope Center.  By helping others to also say "Yes Lord I will try it your way!"   I thank God for Metro Hope Center and the faithful believers who make it possible.   By exchanging what I had for what HE has, my ways for His ways, this has been the Greatest Bargain I have ever found.

Cold hearted biker, a miracle of God’s Grace
Dan, Corporate Trainer, Friend of Metro Hope Ministries
My life revolved around motorcycles, drugs and alcohol. I was living in a hard-core party house. We would start out smoking pot and drinking beer and then progress to hard alcohol, cocaine, narcotics, acid and anything else that people brought over that day. For five years I was constantly high. We were running with the devil and engaged in violence and all forms of depravity.

It got to the point that I didn’t care if I lived or died. I rode motorcycles while in full blown blackouts and much of the time had little recollection of the previous night’s activities. If someone pulled a gun on me I would literally dare them to pull the trigger. It was only by God’s grace and mercy that I survived.

By God’s grace I met Geri who would eventually become my wife and as I go to know her as a friend, I realized I had something to live for. I checked myself into St. Mary’s Rehab Center because she told me she would be there for me when I was released. After two days I started to come out of the fog and remembered all the terrible things I had done and all the people I had hurt. A heavy oppression settled over me and the pain became intense. By the end of the second day I had decided that I would check out the next day and resume my suicide mission. By God’s grace, Dick Denny the father of one of my outlaw buddies came and witnessed to me. I told him that there was no way that God could forgive me for the things I had done. He quoted 1 John 1:9, “If you confess your sins He is faithful and just and will forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.” That little word “all” is what the Holy Spirit used to penetrate my cold hard heart. He left me some tracts and a book about becoming a Christian and that night I knelt on that cold tile floor, confessed every sin I could remember and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. He became the Lord of my life and since September of 1982 by His grace it has been one miracle after another.