Greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ!
I am writing to inform you or remind you about a ministry coming to Dayton this fall which I believe will make a major impact for the Kingdom of God here in Rhea County. Recovery at Dayton is God’s plan, I believe, to offer Christ to those in our community suffering from addiction, grief, loss, compulsions of any kind, co-dependency, and other hurts, habits or hang-ups. By partnering with Recovery at Cokesbury, a proven ministry in Knoxville which has helped thousands discover freedom in Jesus Christ over the past 11 years, we are hoping to bring lasting, transformative change to the multitudes in our county who have little hope.
On November 6 we intend to officially launch and meet every Thursday night thereafter. This ministry will begin with a free dinner to all from 6-7PM, followed by a contemporary worship service with a recovery based message centered on Jesus Christ from 7-8PM, followed by a minimum of 8 support/accountability groups from 8-9PM, each led by trained facilitators addressing Men’s and Women’s Chemical Dependency, Men’s and Women’s Co-dependency, Men’s and Women’s Grief and Loss, Men’s Sexual Integrity and an Orientation (First-time Guests) Group.
The host site as we launch will be Mountain View UMC, located at 124 Shasta Ave in Dayton. I want to stress that this is not about a particular church or denomination. This ministry is about sharing Jesus with a large segment of our community who have nothing like this in Dayton to attend on a weekly basis. Addicts cannot make it easily to Chattanooga or even Spring City for weekly groups, and to find groups where Jesus is the focus, and where hospitality like free food and lively worship are rare. We have members from churches across the county who have been faithfully participating each Thursday night in our training as we prepare to launch, and health-care professional and members of the legal community who are excited about this and desiring to be involved. Justin McCosh, a member of New Union Baptist Church, is our director, heading up logistics and weekly coordination of events. All this to say this: We need and want you and your church seen and heard and involved!
So how can you be part of this? First, pray. Pray for this ministry, pray for the leaders involved, pray for volunteers to step up, pray for those in our community who need hope. Beyond this there are several ways to plug in. The easiest would be to attend one of our Thursday night groups which meet at Mountain View UMC at 7PM. There you will learn more about this ministry and the people already involved (This Thursday, 9/25, we will be attending Recovery at Cokesbury in Knoxville – our parent site. To join us please call for details). You can help tremendously through your vocal support from the pulpit and other avenues of communication. Let people know about this and encourage them to get involved or to attend in November if they struggle with addiction and compulsions. We are looking for servants to help prepare and serve food each week, greet guests, lead worship, and more. Another important way your people can help is through giving. On October 5th we are encouraging everyone to participate in a community-wide love offering for Recovery at Dayton. Of course, donations can be accepted at any time, and an easy way to do that is provided online (see links below).
Pastor, I would love to be in partnership with you as we launch this in November. I envision the pastors of this community coming together each Thursday night, simply mingling with those who need the love of Christ. I would love for you to be part of a rotation of local pastors offering the greeting each week at the opening of worship. As people find sobriety, they will be seeking a church to attend, and I pray it be one of yours participating in this outreach.
For more information please call me at anytime. I encourage you to visit and share the links below, too. The link for the love offering is also included here.
Praying for and with you! May God richly bless your ministry and increase your tribe!
In His Service,
Chad Holtz
Pastor, Mountain View UMC
(423) 331-0639
mvumcpastor@gmail.com
Links:
Recovery at Cokesbury (our parent site): http://www.recoveryatcokesbury.com/
Recovery at Dayton (Facebook Page) https://www.facebook.com/recoveryatdayton
Online Giving: http://www.mtviewdayton.com/give.html
Checks can be made out to “Recovery at Dayton” and sent to:
Mountain View Church, 124 Shasta Ave. Dayton, TN 37321
