The Genesis group

 

Back in 2024, amazing stories reached our ears of incredible transformations in the lives of those who had been addicts and those suffering with their mental health. Remarkably, they were not only seeing people recover from addiction but they were also seeing people healed of mental health disorders. The name of this ministry is called COTS led by Bishop Mick Fleming based in Burnley. This man has gone from gangster to bishop; you can see stories of his testimony on YouTube. Church on the Streets started in the pandemic when nothing was allowed to open. Pastor Mick Fleming started a church predominantly for those struggling with addiction and homelessness.

Church on the streets 

 We began to hear amazing stories coming from the Burnley area; Accounts of people deep in addiction and with complex mental health conditions getting completely well.  We thought to ourselves, what if we could see this happen in the lives of the Guests we are working with. What if, transformation was possible? What if we could see massive change in our guest’s lives? It was true that we were seeing people make decisions to follow Jesus but they weren’t moving on from there. We desperately wanted to see people begin a journey of discipleship and move forward with their lives.

We had to find out more. So Neil and Angela the Faith Coordinator travelled over to Burnley to find out what was happening, and to meet the man behind these transformations; Pastor Mick Fleming from Church on the Streets or COTS as it has become known. COTS (click here  to find out more) in Burnley is very impressive it is a massive operation which takes place in a church building which Pastor Mick acquired miraculously  some years ago. We heard some amazing faith filled stories whilst we were there. The centre runs a drop in with access to NHS services during the week and they run a church on a Sunday, which is 60% people from the broader community and 40% people who have come through their services. The operation very much reminds me of what we do here at Barnabus.

They have devised a couple of courses the first is the Genesis course, which is the first course of the recovery academy they are building. Genesis is the first step to get people talking about the concept of change. Recovery can be a lonely place and one of the biggest lies that addicts and those in recovery face is that. Everyone will judge you and no one understands what you are going through, you have to do this on your own. The course is designed to create a safe space for support and community where guests can talk freely about what they are facing on a day-to-day basis in relation to their addictions and recovery journey. The premise the course is based on is that a person is more than their addiction whatever that might be. Like a divine reset, going back to the beginning how they were supposed to be. We want to help them to remember they have a purpose and that they can live a fulfilled life outside of addiction.

The Elephant in the room 

 Secondly, by talking about the Elephant in the room we can talk about what can help someone change and progress to a stronger recovery journey. By removing denial, recognising the power of taking responsibility and giving them the tool of which the second course Exodus is one. However, at this moment in time we are focusing on Genesis.

We had the pleasure of welcoming Emma Daggers from COTS who helped write the course, she has a lived experience story much like Bishop Mick Fleming and his right hand woman. She shared her own story with the guests who came on the first session and encouraged them to what was possible

From Triggers to Faith

We have now been going for over 3 months and we are blown away by the level of engagement from our guests, we thought that it would take some weeks to take off but straight away, we had a group. It really is early days for us. Working in this field we know that these things take time, It also takes time to build trust, but we are hopeful of the results that we will see in time.  The beauty of the course is that each session is stand-alone, so guests can continue to come or they can drop in and out, depending on where they are. It is a simple yet powerful method where questions asked on seven subjects from triggers to faith, the idea is that the person who is leading simply facilitates the conversation and encourages the people to open up and start a conversation.

Hope has a Name 

Each week the conversation flows and it is amazing the way the questions are like keys to something deeper underneath. It turns out that in general people really do want to talk about how they are feeling, their struggles and even their successes. One of the secrets of the course is the community built, when people share together past experiences and present struggles it bonds them together. There is an element of cheering each other on and sharing what works and what does not work. All this is discussed in the context of faith and yet it is not bound to faith. Even in other programmes like the 12 step programme there is an acknowledgement of the need for a higher power to help. In our own recovery group, the higher power has a name and his name is the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When those who are exploring the possibility of recovery come to our sessions, in some ways it is evitable that they all end up exploring the issues of faith. Those who have lived experience or who are a little further along in the process are signposts of hope. We make it a hallmark of the dwell sessions to leave the guests with Hope, hope has a name, and his name is Jesus.