Ministry Update

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Subject: Ministry Update

Jared's Testimony

Hi, my name is Jared Bohl! Before entering the Pure Life Ministries Residential Program in May of 2019, I was addicted to pornography and self-gratification. I grew up in a Christian home and heard the truth of God’s word every Sunday. However, this did not prevent me from being exposed to pornography when I was just 12 years old. Even though I gave my heart to Jesus at age 14, I continued to battle with sexual sin for the next six years.

Upon graduating from high school, I felt the Lord calling me into ministry, so I enrolled in Bible college at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. This only produced greater hypocrisy and self-righteousness in my life. While I had a form of godliness, I continued to dive deeper and deeper into sexual sin, eventually seeking sexual encounters online. When the girl I was in a serious relationship with heard about my sexual sin, we eventually separated, and God used this to absolutely break me.

My sin was exposed to the school, and I had to face the shame and all the hurt I caused her and her family. I remember God warning me through Luke 12 that I would go to hell if I continued to live this way. I knew I desperately needed help, which led me to Pure Life Ministries.

Shortly after coming into the Residential Program, God continued to break me as I spent the first few months working through Psalm 51 with my counselor.

At Pure Life, I encountered the Lord’s presence on numerous occasions, but there was one Friday night service in particular when the Lord began speaking to me about letting go of all the idols and things I had been holding onto. It was at the altar call that night, that I responded to the Lord and surrendered everything to Him. That was a tremendous moment of healing for me.

From that point on, the Lord began teaching me the importance of living a life of humility and serving others from a pure heart. The Lord has forever changed my life through Pure Life Ministries, specifically, my love for sexual sin. I don’t desire sexual sin the same way I once did. My life is completely different. There is power to resist temptation now and I am walking in true freedom.

I want other men to know that freedom from sexual sin is possible. When we see our absolute poverty and cry out to Him, He will change us through His wonderful gift of repentance!

Donor Updates

A graduate and faithful friend of the Ministry reached out to us a few months ago and graciously offered to pay for a new playground to be built on our residential campus for visiting families with children. Check it out!

The Counseling Office Addition project is complete! The new offices are meeting a tremendous need and have already been put to good use. For all of you who gave to this project, we want to say thank you. We hope these pictures bless you!

Check out the Pure Life Difference on our newly redesigned website!

See the Pure Life Difference

Reaching a Younger Generation

Counseling Programs Update

As you have probably heard, the lockdowns associated with the Covid-19 pandemic led to a significant spike in online sexual activity. As a result, our At-Home Programs have flourished and continue to experience record enrollments. The pandemic also expedited the transition from phone calls to video calls as the standard format for counseling in the At-Home Programs.

However, the pandemic reduced enrollments for the Residential Program by 20% over the past year. This period provided us an opportunity to review the program with the aim of being able to minister more effectively to the spiritual needs of the younger generations that make up of the majority of our students. Developing curriculum, including more video curriculum, is an ongoing process. A number of other changes have already been introduced on campus, including much greater use of informal counseling settings. Meanwhile, enrollments have rebounded, and suddenly we are facing the likelihood of a brief waiting list! Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and guidance in all we do.

Counseling Staff Update

With the increased enrollment in our At-Home Programs, many of our counselors have begun double duty, both discipling men at home in addition to walking alongside men in our Residential Program. It is now normal for a counselor to carry a caseload of 12 men between both programs. We are very grateful for all the men seeking help through our programs and for the workers the Lord has sent into this vineyard!

We have made many improvements to the food service and quality of meals over the past several years. Most of these projects, including our new coffee machine and salad bar, were spearheaded by our head chef, Ryan Adams. Last month, Ryan officially passed the spatula to Paul McKay and is now a full-time counselor with both residential and OCAH students. In 2021, we added two more certified biblical counselors to our staff, and hope to have six more certified staff in the next six months!

New Staff

When Steve and Kathy Gallagher decided that they would only hire those who had been through one of PLM’s programs, they recognized that filling key positions would be a real challenge. But fostering humility and like-mindedness among the staff was far more important to them than recruiting talented people. And God has constantly proved faithful to bring men and women through our programs at just the right time!

The last few years has seen steady growth in the Ministry, with a great need for godly young men to willingly lay their lives down here. We are incredibly thankful for Luke Imperato, Tyler Hollinger, Anthony Clifford and Patrick Hudson (just to name a few) who have recently taken on positions of real significance in the Ministry. The most valuable asset Pure Life Ministries has is its people, and we could never fulfill our mission without their dedication and service.

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Subject: Ministry Update