Loving and Living Well

“Building a bridge with kids caught up in the criminal justice system is a hard-fought battle. To them, I am an old white guy with no street cred,” Steve said. “They have been conned. They have been lied to and abused. They are very defensive, and that makes it difficult to connect. Yet, with persistence, concern, and consistency with our commitments to them, their walls break down.”

When Steve became a Christian at age 19, he never imagined that taking church to where people can’t attend church would become his main ministry. It wasn’t a normal trajectory. Steve was introduced to a ministry that provided weekly Bible studies and church services to the residents at a local juvenile detention center. He started volunteering and got to see firsthand how these vulnerable kids were often abused or neglected, which led them down a path of illegal behavior. Now, Steve works with Celebrate Recovery®Inside (CRI), which takes the life-changing principles of Celebrate Recovery and brings them to people in the justice system.

“Most people feel these kids should be treated harshly,” Steve said. “People think, ‘They did the crime, now they need to do the time — lock them up.’ But most people don’t realize these adolescents have never been nurtured by caring adults. So few people show up to show care and concern for their well-being. These kids are marginalized in our society and are often traumatized because of it. Despite these challenges, I felt I could help those incarcerated by sharing the love of Christ.”

Steve began the process and started the training to become a chaplain. As a chaplain, he never knows how much time he’ll have with each child or teen. Some detention centers have a high turnover, others very little. Some of the kids have committed serious crimes and are charged as adults, which generally means they will be in prison for a long time.

“Chaplains realize we may only have a small amount of time to do the most important part of helping recovery get started,” Steve said. “And that is to replace the shame these individuals feel with the forgiveness God gives.”

Neither of the two chaplains at the juvenile detention center are paid, even though they spend long hours in the facility. Weekdays are devoted to building one-on-one discipleship. On Sundays, a church service is held. One chaplain prepares a lesson while the other gives a gospel message. At every church service, there is an altar call.

“The ministry comes with some financial challenges,” Steve said. “For a while, I worked part time, then quit my job to work full time as a chaplain. I realized this plan wasn’t going to be successful, so I went back to part-time IT work. Despite this, I have continually felt God alongside me. I have never been remorseful over this decision, for I would have always regretted putting my career over sharing love with these children. Sometimes hard decisions are the price of admission for a life of purpose.”

Steve started Celebrate Recovery®Inside (CRI) at the facility where he serves. Based on the Celebrate Recovery principles, the program helps the residents learn the truths of God’s salvation. They begin to see their significance to Christ. Most of the incarcerated youth do not understand their own internal wounds from abandonment and abuse that drives their behavior. Steve and his CRI team help the kids open up and share their hurts, hangups, and habits to begin the process of healing.

“We try to instill in them the notion they aren’t defined by their crime,” Steve said. “Slowly but surely, the Holy Spirit helps them understand who God sees them as — forgiven, valuable, and redeemed. They come to realize that God’s redemptive love can build something beautiful out of their lives.”

One 15-year-old female resident was a believer. Many of the other kids ridiculed her for her faith, making her spiritual growth all the more difficult.

“When she was released back to her family and in a more stable environment, her faith grew as she began to feel God in her life once again,” Steve said. “She remembered the important lessons she learned, and she could begin a new life by making better decisions. She attended college. Now, she is working on her law degree with a deep desire to work with foster children. Her story is one that keeps me motivated. Someone extended her love and grace. Someone spoke value into her heart. In recovery, she is giving back to others what was freely given to her.”

Being a chaplain requires a bit of a balancing act. Chaplains have to remain above reproach and must develop trust with those in charge of the facility. Chaplains also have to overcome incorrect assumptions about Christians — that they are judgmental, boring and hypocritical.

“That’s when the going gets tough: you have to lavish affection in an authentic and honest way,” Steve said. “Learning how to do that taught me a great deal. As I taught these youth offenders love, I learned if you love well, you live well. Love is the agent of transformation God gave us to model. There are so many people I once regarded as opponents who were actually just hurting people desperate to be loved.”

“Our souls can transform into channels of empathy and grace when we serve.” Steve said, “Sometimes folks are called to an area of mission they didn’t even consider at first. That’s what happened to me. It took a while to realize I had the gifting and calling to work with juvenile offenders. It’s been challenging, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.”

Learn more about Celebrate Recovery at saddleback.com/celebraterecovery