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Life Issues is Heartland Baptist Fellowship’s addiction recovery ministry serving the greater Cass County community. The ministry is headed by Pastor Steve Fleshman, along with a dedicated team of men and women from HBF and other local churches.

The team works with men and women of all ages to help them learn to let the love of God and the Savior Jesus Christ break the chains of addiction that keep them from finding victory over the sins that beset them. The team meets with men and women bi-weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays to share the truth of God’s word, but mostly they just love the students in the ministry in such a way that they are rescued from addictions, families are restored, and ultimately the communities are enriched from the work the ministry does.

Here just a sample of what the ministry accomplished in November:

  • Six people made profession of faith in Jesus Christ in November
  • The team distributed towels, bed linens, and bath rugs to students that were donated by a church member
  • A church member donated a refrigerator and microwave to a student
  • HBF and Life Issues was given 30 $25 Smithfield gift cards, to distribute in Christmas boxes this year!
  • The Tuesday and Friday night meetings saw at least a dozen first-time visitors in November and two new students started the mentoring program
  • Four people began HBF’s Discipleship I training

 

This is a typical month for Pastor Steve’s team as they make an impact for the sake of the gospel. In the last year students who have come to Life Issues with besetting sins have been recovered from the snares of the devil, and are now engaged members of life at Heartland or other area churches.

One story that needs to be told is how Life Issues and Heartland helped a family in a dire situation recently.

In July, a church member invited an alcoholic co-worker to come to a Friday Life Issues meeting. He came once but only started coming regularly in October. He was three months behind on his rent and about to be evicted, and was behind on his car payment. His water had been shut off at the house where he lived with his mother and a niece. He was working, but his employer was behind in making payroll so he was at the bottom.

God’s love showed through the team at Life Issues and this man accepted Christ as Savior in November. He is so excited to have the burden of sin lifted from him, and he believed that God was going to get him through his situation. Things were looking up for him, but on Nov. 21, early in the morning, his rented house caught on fire and his family was forced out of the home due to smoke damage.

Life Issues and HBF put the man and his family up for a couple nights in a hotel while the word went out on social media of this family’s need for a house to rent. Two days later, the day before Thanksgiving, he had a new job, and his new employer -- who is an HBF member -- knew of a man who had just taken possession of a rental house THAT DAY and was willing to rent it to our student and his family.

Another call went out to a local official who was able to get the gas line pressure test certified, allowing the home to be occupied. The city came out and stayed late (on the night before the holiday) to turn on the electric. The gas company ended up working late too, in order to make sure that this family had heat. The Red Cross helped and was involved along the way too, but most of this transpired in about three hours’ time!

The team in the Life Issues ministry is making a difference in so many lives. If you are interested in learning more about Life Issues, contact Pastor Steve Fleshman, or one of the other team leaders via the church office.

Pro 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Learn Of Christ > Growing Together
Life Issues Addiction Minstry