Church leaders from 18 states attend training at Cokesbury
By Annette Bender
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - It was the biggest conference group ever hosted at Cokesbury Center: 661 participants. It was the largest one-day, off-site seminar hosted by the ministry's founders.
On Feb. 12, Cokesbury United Methodist Church hosted leaders from many denominations at a Celebrate Recovery seminar that drew from 18 states. Celebrate Recovery's founder, John Baker, led the seminar, along with other organizers from the ministry's founding church, Saddleback Church of Lake Forest, Calif.
Saddleback is also the home of the Rev. Rick Warren of "Purpose-Driven Life" fame.
Among 3,000 churches that support Celebrate Recovery ministries, Cokesbury has one of the largest, organizers said. The typical Celebrate Recovery program has 35 to 40 participants. Cokesbury hosts more than 300 participants in its Thursday-night program, with 70 percent coming from within the community, according to Director Gil Smith.
Celebrate Recovery is a 14-year-old Christ-centered rehabilitation ministry for people with addictions and other habits. Cokesbury began its program in April 2003. Burks UMC, Chattanooga District, launched its ministry in September 2004 and currently has 30 participants.
Denominations represented at the seminar included Baptist, Church of the Nazarene, Pentecostal, Evangelical Lutheran, Christian, Brethren, and Presbyterian. Participating Holston congregations included Pleasant View of Abingdon District, Beaver Ridge and Tazewell of Oak Ridge District, Seymour of Maryville District, and Hillcrest of Knoxville District. United Methodist groups also came from Kentucky, Alabama, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
The Rev. Pat Polis, Hillcrest pastor, brought a team of three to the seminar, with an interest in beginning a Celebrate Recovery program.
"We have six families in our church with some type of addicition - and everybody has some kind of hurt in South Knoxville," he explained. "Plus, we have a good resource here in Gil Smith."
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