The purpose of Celebrate Recovery is to experience God’s healing power in our lives through eight Biblical recovery principles and twelve Christ-centered Steps, while maintaining anonymity and confidentiality in a family-like atmosphere.
Through honest, authentic relationships and by applying the principles learned, we begin to grow spiritually and become free from anything that hinders us from fully being who God created us to be. This freedom creates peace, serenity, joy and a stronger personal relationship with God and others.
History
Celebrate Recovery started in 1991 at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. At that time, the church was meeting at a high school gymnasium. John Baker wrote Pastor Rick Warren the “now-famous, concise, 13-page, single-spaced” letter outlining the vision God had given John for Celebrate Recovery. After reading John’s letter, Pastor Rick said, “Great, John — go do it!”
The first night 43 people attended, and Celebrate Recovery was born. Beginning with only four Open Share Groups — Men’s and Women’s Chemical Dependency and Men’s and Women’s Codependency — the ministry has grown to over 14 groups today. Over 27,000 people have gone through the program at Saddleback Church. Many of them are now serving in Celebrate Recovery and the Church. Celebrate Recovery is the number one outreach ministry at Saddleback Church, with over 70 percent of its members now coming from outside the church.
The first 10 years were the birth stage of Celebrate Recovery, and now God is calling us to take it to the world. There are now 35,000 Celebrate Recovery churches around the world, and that number continues to grow. We are part of a movement that is bringing the healing power of Jesus Christ to the hurting and broken through working Celebrate Recovery’s Step Studies, The Journey Begins, and The Journey Continues. To date, over 5 million individuals have completed a Step Study.
In addition, Celebrate Recovery is not just growing in churches, but in recovery houses, rescue missions, universities, and prisons around the world. New Mexico was the first state to adopt Celebrate Recovery into its state prison system and now has Celebrate Recovery pods in all its state prisons. In August 2004, Celebrate Recovery was announced as California’s state-approved substance abuse program for prisons. This is an exciting and growing outreach opportunity for every Celebrate Recovery.
We are a part of something much larger than one church’s Celebrate Recovery. We are part of a movement that God is blessing.
What Does an In-Person Meeting Look Like?
Large Group Meeting from 7-7:50 pm
Our weekly large group session includes worship, reciting the principles together and alternating weekly between doing a recovery-based lesson and having someone share their testimony of how God has changed their life.
On the second Monday of each month, we do chip acknowledgement to celebrate the freedom that God is bringing into people’s lives. From a new acknowledgement and surrender to months and years of freedom.
Small Group Meetings from 8-8:50 pm
After the large group meeting, we break up into gender-specific small groups to honestly share our life-experiences. We use this time to find hope and freedom from our past, together.
The Small Group Meetings we offer are:
Newcomers – this is a one-time meeting for those that are attending for the first time. You will have the opportunity to find out the history and purpose of Celebrate Recovery, know what to expect, and ask any questions that you may have.
Open Share Group – these are gender-specific meetings that give the opportunity to get a feel for what being in a small group is like by listening to others and sharing, as you feel comfortable, based on the small group guidelines.
Step Study Groups – A personal journey through each of the 12 Steps in a confidential, gender-specific group led by an experienced facilitator. It requires up to a one-year commitment to walk through the steps, in an accepting, relational atmosphere of encouragement and accountability. We have both The Journey Begins (Year 1) and The Journey Continues (Year 2) Step Studies.
Is It Just for Addictions?
No, it’s not just for addictions. Celebrate Recovery simply teaches biblical principles that can benefit anyone. Some of the issues that we have seen God heal are:
• Family Dysfunction
• Co-dependency
• Relationship Addiction
• Eating Disorders
• Compulsive Behaviors
• Sexual Addiction
• Chemical Dependency
• Alcoholism
• Physical/Emotional/Sexual Abuse
• Perfectionism
• Insecurities, etc.
