Hey L,
For almost two decades, I've served Fireproof Ministries in various capacities. I've seen the creation and birthing of more projects than I can count. I've watched countless leaders receive mentorship here in launching their successful projects and ministries.
But XXXchurch was our project. An idea born out of the thought that God's love should reach sexually broken people within the church and outside of its walls to more uncertain places that exist in the world.
Remember-- twenty years ago, when we started this, the church wasn't even talking about sex from the pulpit, let alone what it considers to be sinful sexual behavior amongst its own. Yet, here at Fireproof, we've always been pretty vocal about our thoughts on darkness. Only light can illuminate the dark. We set out to BE that light and saturate the darkness as lightworkers are supposed to do.
We were viewed as rule-breakers, disrupters and, through the years, took many verbal assaults. But XXXchurch changed the "Christian world" as we knew it, and as a result, hundreds of thousands of people received the unconditional love of God through those willing to "break the rules" and GO.
We didn't know what we were doing, we just trusted God, and here we are twenty years later. XXXchurch has been the number one Christian resource for those who battle pornography addictions and those who have worked in the sex industry. We've trained hundreds of ministries and thousands of teams to do outreaches all over the world.
For two decades, we've spoken in churches around the globe. We've answered phone calls, emails and showed up on the doorsteps of those who called for help-- from men, women, spouses, parents, youth, and college students to porn stars and producers. We created every resource possible to help people.
While we do not believe that this work is over, we know that our team here at Fireproof is called to break more rules and GO just like we did in 2002.
You've witnessed us try our best over the last few years to figure out a new leadership for XXXchurch. Brittni and Rich De La Mora came aboard with a vision for 2020, but within a year, they discovered that a calling to sex addiction ministry wasn't Brittni's passion, nor was fundraising. Brittni's heart is outreach to the sex industry and doing ministry with her husband, which isn't focused on porn addiction but instead speaking and writing and sharing the gospel. She intends to continue the Jesus Loves Pornstars outreaches through her ministry with her husband.
So here we are, but not back to square one.
In the summer of 2019, Carl, who had been on our pastoral team for seven years, took and ran with XXXchurch's Small Groups Online and launched a nonprofit called Live Free Ministries. He recently approached us about his interest in XXXchurch.
With his work and passion for this ministry, it just felt right. He has successfully created programs for those who struggle with pornography and has online groups for men, women, and spouses. His genuine desire to help people and his moral integrity are something I value and appreciate.
So while we're working out the transition details, it's official-- Live Free Ministries will be taking XXXchurch under their nonprofit.
What does this mean for you?
Well-- it allows you to continue to support XXXchurch the same way you always have at XXXchurch.com, and or continue to support our work at Fireproof Ministries.
We are still here and have many projects currently on our plate and more on the horizon, not all will be solely Christian-focused, but all will have the foundation of what Jesus called "the greatest commandments." He was quoted in Mark 12:30-31 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
We learned in Christian ministry over the last twenty years that people, not God, place religious conditions that create barriers to reaching broken or stuck people.
We will love people of all backgrounds and beliefs. One of the most significant projects we have on our plate right now is rebuilding Recover. Instead of being a ministry to wives or couples that focuses on problems around sex -- it will become a ministry of healing for all types of people and conditions.
In 2020 when the world shut down, we started building a retreat center that hosted almost 200 people over the year-- from homeless to affluent. We sat with people who suffered spiritual or sexual abuse and others who turned to drugs and alcohol to escape their reality, even United States veterans with severe PTSD. Some were suicidal or stuck. The countless stories of lives impacted because we invested our time and resources in them have been incredibly humbling.
In other words, there are no limits anymore to who we will help. Our goal is to become more OFFline than online-- meaning authentic one-on-one relationships and interactions with people in person in the real world through retreats and experiences to give them lasting tools to live a life free of shame, abuse, and addiction. In addition to our Fireproof team, we have met some incredible doctors, therapists, and healers to help us in this work. THIS is what we are called to do.
There are so many things ahead of us, and we are excited about this new chapter; we hope you will continue to support our efforts through your faithful partnership. We depend on people like yourself to help us carry out our mission. The lights are still on, and the light needs to illuminate hope and healing in darkness.
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