re:generation

In April of 2018, Faith Bible Church held a Men’s Retreat in Prescott AZ. On the final night at the campfire, the men were prompted to write their sin struggles on an index card…not to share publicly. However, the Holy Spirit had different plans. God began to move in the hearts of the men to share some of their deepest struggles out loud. After the retreat, there were a group of men who felt strongly that we had to find a way to help our men. Much of what was shared around the campfire had to do with sexual fantasy and using pornography. In June of 2018, six men began to look at material that we could utilize to help them work on their issues.  We focused on sexual struggles and pornography. The materials we first looked at had a parallel course for wives of men who struggled with this area. So, in January 2019, some of the wives of the six men launched a pilot for Betrayal and Beyond.

The men decided to target the next men’s retreat intentionally focusing on sexual sin issues.  During that time of preparation, people were concerned that men would not attend. What happened is that 55 men across generations attended the retreat. God was doing something. There was an incredible level of transparency and brokenness as men confessed to one another their hidden sins. From the retreat, we launched Grace groups. The men met on Monday evenings using the materials we had worked with from the beginning. As we launched another local sexual recovery ministry iwe did not expect anyone from our own church to come. About 20 men came... almost entirely from FBC. God was doing something. In September 2019,  at the Women’s Retreat, Sandy Lucci and Kelly Flores shared that there was going to be a parallel Women’s Recovery Ministry for women who’s significant others had fallen into pornography. A handful of women began this journey.

During our first season of Grace Groups, we began to realize that what we really wanted to do in recovery was not just help people gain sobriety, but to disciple them to become fully devoted followers of Christ. In the same month, September 2019, at the encouragement of Pastor Dan Lind, Jim and Cris Dilworth attend a Recovery Ministry conference at Watermark Church in Dallas, Texas. The ministry promised to be more about discipling people to embrace Christ as the Lord of their lives and learn how to access His Power for recovery in a nurturing relationship with others searching for hope. Jim and Cris came back with a deep desire for us to consider looking deeper into this discipleship curriculum. We did and we were hooked.

In November 2019, re:generation launched as a grass-roots movement with men who had been attending our Grace Groups. On January 20, 2020 the first re:generation Step Group was launched for men. Re:generation is not about sobriety from particular presenting issues. It is about seeking Jesus and becoming a healthy and whole follower of Jesus. It seeks to unearth and crucify the areas of misplaced worship in our lives by leading people to embrace the power of the Holy Spirit through deepening faith in Christ. It is for both men and women. So, in February 2020, two groups of women launched re:generation pilot groups. In August of 2020, the leadership of Faith Bible began a four week series as a ramp-up to the official launch of re:generation churchwide and beyond. The official launch was set for September 14, 2020.

The word regeneration means "new birth." The colon in our name,re:generation creates double-meaning for the word: "regarding" or "concerning" a generation. At re:generation, we are people who have been given new life by God and long to share the freedom, love and joy we have received from Him with this generation.

"For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
(Titus 3:3-7)

If we could describe the re:generation difference in one word, that word would be discipleship. re:generation is spiritual formation through the vehicle of recovery. Our goal for participants is full-devotion to Christ in all areas of life. With this as our foundation, some of the main differences between re:generation and other recovery ministries include: a discipleship focus, daily lessons, emphasis on scripture memory and prayer, integration and participation with the church, real time leadership training, no separation based on struggle, and lastly, extended curriculum for victims of abuse. For a more in-depth explanation of these differences, see the re:generation Difference Page.

Re:generation is structured within the context of small groups. The first two months are spent in a Groundwork group. Once the participant completes the Groundwork curriculum, demonstrates a willingness to participate, and decides they want to move forward, they are placed into a step-group to go through the 12 steps. Step-groups have a set number of participants and leaders. Once a step-group is launched, no new members are added. For the next 8 to 10 months participants progress through the steps using daily curriculum alongside other step-group members.

The entire re:generation process takes about a year. Groundwork groups take about 2 months; step-groups take 8 to 10 months. The Groundwork curriculum lessons take participants roughly 15 minutes per day and step-group curriculum takes about 30 minutes per day. Spending 30 minutes a day with God for one year while working on your recovery can change your life.