Today, at Helping Up Mission, we celebrate the graduation of our 1,000th graduate from our 12-month residential Spiritual Recovery Program. Actually, today we celebrate number 1,000 and 1,001!
While there were graduates in prior years, we didn’t start keeping records here until 1999. So this has been a 14-year procession of guys taking a year out of their lives to get it right for the rest of their lives.
Not that none ever struggle again – in fact, a couple of them have actually come back and graduated again! But at HUM guys begin the process of feeling some hope again, then finding some answers and finally experiencing some real supernatural empowerment in their lives. And once it gets that real, nothing else will ever satisfy again.
So today we celebrate Mick and Randy’s graduation – but they just represent 999 of their brothers who have gone before them and who are also working on being different guys.
Graduation after 12 months at HUM is like graduation after 12 years of elementary, middle and high school. Neither grad has arrived – but they’ve all made a great start!
I’m already working with the next 1,000 guys! Man, I love my job!
One Guy, One Day at a Time,
Pastor Gary Byers
Deputy Director