In 2001, the church where I [pastor ken] came on staff had just experienced an incredible growth wave over an 18 month period.  The new people coming were not healthy Christians from other churches.  They were hurting, some were internally bleeding under the scars of undealt with sexual abuse or neglect.  Many were enslaved to pornography and various forms of immorality.  Some were suffering through broken marriages.  Others will simply broken themselves.  And all were desperately hoping that the message of freedom in Christ that they heard about on Sunday mornings would be true in their lives as well.

We soon found out that we couldn't handle the counseling load following messages that dealt with the real issues of life.  We tried various approaches to help people find freedom, but discovered their issues were most often only a symptom of deeper and often buried wounds from people's developmental years.  We needed something that probed deeper into the hearts of those who came seeking help.  Long story short, in fall of 2003, Freedom Session was written.  And as people began experiencing the healing/freedom Jesus promises, the ministry began to grow.  Eventually other churches began asking to start Freedom Session in their churches so we published the 1st edition of Participant's Guides and teaching DVDs in 2005.  We've learned a few things over the years and released an updated and re-filmed version teaching in fall 2009.

Freedom Session has developed a reputation of being one of the most extensive (toughest) Christian 12 Step programs available.  We have also seen many find lasting freedom and healing.  In my opinion, there are four reasons for this:

1. Freedom and healing is God's idea, not ours.  The power we rely on is that we've kept true to God's Word and not compromised the teaching of Jesus to be politically or recovery culture correct.  Just to be clear:  programs like this don't heal anyone - Jesus Christ does.  The role of Freedom Session is to lead you on a journey of uncovering the wounds Jesus wants you to bring to Him.  We have no doubt He will heal you.
2. Freedom Session is transferable. Our goal in publishing Freedom Session was to make it "dummy proof" - like the digital cameras available today.  We have personally invested time and money into the 2009 edition so that anyone who is truly authentic, loves broken people and believes in the healing power of Jesus Christ can run the program via DVD even if they don't have a teaching gift or recovery background.  At the same time, those who have a teaching gift and/or experience in recovery ministry can teach the program live - teaching scripts, PowerPoint and briefings are all available.
3. Freedom Session is pastor and user friendly.  I [Ken] am a pastor and I know how important it is to have a program that is solidly biblical and trustworthy, that won't lead volunteers in and over their heads.  During our re-writing, I kept in mind that many of the volunteers facilitating the program will still need a measure of healing themselves.  There is a measure of "safety" built into every session, especially in the small group discussion.  In the Facilitator Training we emphasize that the role of a facilitator is not to counsel or fix but to lead participants through the program as written in the context of community.  In this way, Freedom Session actually becomes one of the most effective "leadership training engines" in the church.
4. Freedom Session is designed for those who actually want to become well. Regular attendance and weekly homework for each participant is expected.  Those who want to "play at recovery" or remain encased in a victim mentality sometimes drop out but those who are willing to put a little effort eventually complete the program and experience permanent life change.  Those who drop out often return the following year after seeing the difference Freedom Session has made in the lives of their friends.

If you are considering running a Freedom Session ministry in your church, click on Pastor to Pastor for a personal message from pastor ken.