Kristopher's Story

A few years ago, Kris wanted to die. He was stuck in his addiction and had reached the end of his rope. “Every single morning I’d wake up just miserable,” he says. “I even started having these thoughts of, “Maybe life would just be better if I wasn’t here.” But something in him stopped him from taking the step to end it all. Instead, he cried out to God.

You might think the heavens opened and a bright light shined down. Or that Kris heard angels singing the Hallelujah Chorus. None of those things happened. But Kris woke up the next day with a new desire — to read the Bible. Kris knew about God. He had even gone to church and volunteered at the Mission with his parents. But God hadn’t been real to him. Until now.

Knowing that his addiction was out of control, Kris called his parents and told them his life had fallen apart. He was addicted, had no healthy relationships left and was losing his apartment. His parents encouraged him to call the Mission. On Sunday, when his parents were scheduled to volunteer, Kris came to the Mission with them. He joined LifeChange for Men just a few weeks later.

Through nourishing food, Christ-centered counseling, daily Bible reading and the other aspects of the program, Kris began to see things more clearly. He remembers one day in counseling, the group was talking about false beliefs and Kris realized he’d always felt worthless. His counselor encouraged him to tell God that he was worthless and see what happened.

“When I prayed that, it just blew me away. I realized that’s not true. That’s not who I am. I’m a son of God. He loves me, and I have worth there. Suddenly I was just almost a new person, and it was just such an impactful moment. So, doing that in a safe space was very important for me,” says Kris.

“You can pray, read your Bible anywhere. But getting that counseling here, and then having an issue and dealing with it in-house made all the difference . . . there’s so many skills that translated to my life.”

Kris graduated from the program but wanted to keep giving back. He became one of our Shepherds — a mentor to other men in LifeChange — and continued doing that for several years. “LifeChange gave so much to me, that it’s the least I could do to give back,” Kris says. He also joined a church when he first started the program and he’s still involved. In fact, he met his wife there. They were married in 2022. Kris also went back to school and earned a college degree. Now, because of partners like you, he’s got a great job and is looking forward to seeing where God takes him next.