Director of Faith-Based Initiatives for the State of TN to Speak to Area Pastors

Dr. Monty Burks, Director of Faith-based Initiatives for the State of Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, is speaking to area pastors and lay ministers at 9am on May 20th. The event will take place on the campus of Adult & Teen Challenge MidSouth (ATCM). He is in town as the keynote speaker for the ministry’s 2021 Freedom Gala later that day, but will use the morning to connect with members of the faith-based community with a goal of expanding addiction recovery support services across the state.

“Dr. Burks is actively engaging faith communities and organizations as a means of increasing outreach, educational activities, access, and visibility to people seeking substance abuse services,” says Dr. David McNabb, ATCM president.

“We want to identify churches and ministries that are open to sharing the recovery message in their community and linking arms with other counties and even sometimes other belief systems,” Burks said.

Burks has been in recovery for more than 18 years and he has seen the role faith can play in a person’s path to getting clean.  “People hit rock bottom and sometimes when they hit rock bottom, the weight of the world is on their back so they need hope and belief in something bigger – something that’s going to pull them out of that trench,” he said.

McNabb adds that Dr. Burks has actively worked with ATCM to bring a light to the ministry’s work on behalf of people struggling with addiction. According to McNabb, “For some, a residential program – away from the pressures and triggers that lead to addiction – is the best course. For those men and women, Adult & Teen Challenge MidSouth offers a focus – not on the drug of choice – but on healing through the truth of God’s Word.”

Pastors of all denominations are invited to attend the breakfast by making a reservation at http://breakfast.tcmidsouth.org. Space is limited.

Adult & Teen Challenge MidSouth (ATCM) is a faith-based, residential recovery program located in Chattanooga, TN. The nonprofit serves adults 18-50 struggling with addiction. Since its beginning in 1958 by founder David Wilkerson on the streets of New York, the mission is to provide freedom from addiction and other life-controlling issues through Christ-centered solutions. The result is radical life-transformation. A 2019 study showed 78% of program graduates were maintaining freedom from addiction. For more information on Adult & Teen Challenge MidSouth, visit tcmidsouth.org or call 423.756.5558.