First Baptist Church Clinton offers re:generation curriculum
Special to The Clinton Courier
“Before I came to re:generation, my life was unmanageable and out of control…”
“Before I came to re:generation, I thought I had to keep everyone happy with me all the time…”
“Before I came to re:generation, I used unhealthy coping mechanisms to cover up the pain of my past…”
Those words have been echoed by many who have walked through the doors of re:generation at First Baptist Church Clinton. While every story is unique, the common thread is the same: Jesus Christ changes lives.
Over the last four years, eighty-two individuals from the Clinton community and surrounding areas have completed the ten-month re:generation curriculum. Participants have ranged in age from fifteen (through the student version of the ministry) to eighty-six years old. Organizers say their stories are reminders that no one is too young or too old to experience God’s transforming grace.
Re:generation is a Christ-centered, Bible-based care and recovery ministry built around biblical principles and a twelve-step process. More than an addiction recovery program, it is a discipleship journey that helps people experience freedom from the hurts, habits and hang-ups that keep them from walking fully with Christ. Organizers say participants have found hope and healing from struggles such as pride, shame and guilt, control, codependency, people-pleasing, body image issues, same-sex attraction, addiction, compulsive spending, anxiety, fear and many other life-controlling patterns.
At its core, re:generation is built on a simple but powerful truth: everyone needs regeneration. Everyone lives in a broken world, carries wounds, develops unhealthy patterns and struggles with sin. Regardless of where one has been, what one has done, or what has been done to someone, leaders say God has not abandoned them; and, through Jesus Christ, He offers forgiveness, healing, restoration and the opportunity to become new.
Each week, participants gather in a same-gender, safe and authentic environment where honesty is welcomed, grace is extended and biblical truth is applied to everyday life. Through daily curriculum, Scripture, prayer, accountability and Christ-centered community, individuals learn to depend on Jesus rather than themselves. As they encourage one another, bear one another’s burdens, and pray for one another, lives are transformed – not by human effort, but by the power of the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word and His people.
Participants begin to say things like, “But now…. I have a new life in Christ.”
“I’ve learned to give my shame and guilt over to the Lord.”
“I’ve found a community of people I can be real and vulnerable with.”
“I’m free….”
Leaders say the greatest testimony of re:generation is not that people have overcome particular struggles, but that they have become more devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Relationships have been strengthened and restored, burdens lifted and hope renewed. Participants leave not simply with healthier habits but with a deeper understanding of God’s grace and a growing desire to follow Him faithfully.
Re:generation leaders say life change is possible, because Jesus still makes all things new. Whether someone is carrying deep wounds, battling destructive habits or simply longing for a closer relationship with God, re:generation offers a place to find hope, healing and lasting transformation through Christ.
To learn more, visit fbcclinton.org/regeneration.
