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| The Teen Challenge Model is
summed up as: "It's not just drugs or alcohol; it's moral training. [The Gospel
of] Mark, chapter seven says, 'It's not what enters a man that makes him unclean,
it's what comes out that destroys him; it's what's in a person's heart that is
the problem.' We don't just talk about drugs and alcohol. We talk about character." |
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| The road to recovery is paved
with the knowledge that there is real hope for every addict. A willingness to
change is the common denominator in recovery. Once this is realized, no one is
viewed as beyond help. Teen Challenge's holistic approach is often cited by graduates
as something that stands out from other programs they have tried. Teen Challenge
deals with "the whole person." In helping students lay a "foundation" by working
on "what is inside" and challenging them with "biblical teaching," they discover
faith in Jesus Christ and a new way of living. |
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| The long range transformation that is projected for each addict is broken into three stages: addict, ex-addict and non-addict. When a person first comes to Teen Challenge, she is usually at the "addict" stage - still engaging in addictive behavior and thinking. Upon entry into the program, she is required to stop addictive behavior. Some students may go through a detox program in a local hospital before entering Teen Challenge. |
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| The ex-addict stage is potentially risky. This person may revert to old ways of responding to pressure and problems. The third stage in this process is to move to the non-addict stage. At this point the person no longer thinks like an addict, but has developed a completely different way of thinking. His entire world-view has changed. He no longer wakes up in the morning thinking like an addict. His self-identity is not based on using drugs. His new identity is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. |
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| The Teen Challenge approach is built on the foundation that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is essential for long term success. Founded on this, Teen Challenge attends to the needs of the whole person, not merely the drug addiction problem. |
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