Ministry Spotlight - Promise of Hope Recovery

For the Matt Friedeman Show Ministry Spotlight, Denise Dobbins & Sandy Tarpley - Promise of Hope Recovery - talked about their ministry to women.


Denise started first. 

Talk to us about what the mission is for Promise of Hope, kind of the overall structure of the program.

Our mission statement says that we present to women God's word n

We bring together a balance of the teaching of Jesus Christ and his life. We bring that together with the twelve step programs. Any kind of secular program they have available.

Most of these ladies come from rural areas that don't have access to recovery programs.

You talk about a 6-12 month program. Is that enough time?

We see the turnaround, the miracle as we call it, happen around the 9-month point.

Talk to us about this halfway house y'all have.

It allows the residents a little more freedom, so they can utilize the tools they've been taught.

We allow them to work with a sponsor.

They begin to see how a life with a personal relationship with life unfolds.

I've found that a lot of ministries find it helpful to introduce clients to work. Is that something that has worked well for you guys?

Oh yes, they begin that the day they get here.

They fall in line with structure through getting up on time everyday, being at breakfast on time everyday...beginning to retrain their brains to get them to think about what they need to do.

The women do begin to go to work between 30 and 90 days after they're here at fast food restaurants.

(At this point, Sandy began to answer the questions)

Talk to us about "the miracle." What gets these women turned in the other direction?

For me, it was pain. I hit an emotional rock bottom while I was here.

All I could do was fall on my knees and beg God to help me.

It's interesting how much I hear this word surrender. Why is that word used by a lot of people who are now whole who once were broken?

That's when I was able to move out of God's way, and surrender the fight.

Are there problems unique to women that men don't know that much about? What is unique to the women?

Women are emotional and men are angry usually when they show up for help.

Women hold on to pain a lot longer than men do.

Women have the shame issue and the guilt whereas men don't seem to have as much shame.

Women are to be the caretakers of their families and when they're addicted they can't do that. That brings a lot of shame.

Talk to me about shame. But that word keeps coming up. Shame. What is that?

That is a remorseful feeling for the things that I did wrong, or perceived that I did wrong, or couldn't do perfectly.

They continue to grow inside of me, until I would give up, quit, run, try to numb hit, try to hide from it, deny it.

Until the rest of the women learn that there is no condemnation in Jesus Christ, that shame stays.

For most of these women it's not an overnight thing. It's not a flash thing that happens. It's a process.

God has to move in their heart, as you know. These women don't trust anything.

That trust has to develop horizontally before it can vertically. And that takes time.

Outside of money, what are the biggest challenges ahead?

We are embarking upon a new area. We are almost finished with the building for a men's program.

That volunteers will come, that the director for this men's program will come.