Launching & Sustaining a Recovery Ministry

Course Syllabus

Course Description

This final course of the Recovery Ministry Leadership Certificate prepares you to help a church start, lead, and sustain a Christ-centered recovery ministry. You will write a vision rooted in Scripture, learn to serve under pastoral authority and church policy, and assess the real needs of your community. You will design a weekly meeting that combines worship and teaching with small groups built on The Restoration Path, and you will learn to recruit, screen, train, and care for leaders. You will study the policies every ministry needs (confidentiality and its limits, mandatory reporting, safety and emergency response, child care, vulnerable adults, and background checks according to church policy), and you will plan partnerships with treatment providers, re-entry organizations, and correctional facilities. You will build a simple budget, plan for leader care and burnout prevention, and learn to evaluate and sustain the ministry over time. You will finish with a Ministry Launch Plan and a commissioning service or statement. This is a lay ministry credential, not a clinical license. Every activity can be completed on paper.

Faith Integration

Second Corinthians 1:4 says God comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble. A recovery ministry is that comfort given a shape: a regular place, a trusted team, and an open door. Scripture also teaches that good intentions need wise structure. Nehemiah inspected the broken walls before he rebuilt them (Nehemiah 2:13–15), Moses learned he could not carry the people alone (Exodus 18:18), and Paul wrote, Let all things be done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40). In this course we build a ministry that is full of grace and also safe, accountable, and humble about its limits. Recovery leaders point to Christ and walk alongside people; they do not replace doctors, counselors, or treatment programs. God works through all of them.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Write a biblical vision and purpose statement for a Christ-centered recovery ministry (Habakkuk 2:2) and explain the call to share the comfort we have received.
2. Describe how a recovery ministry serves under pastoral authority and church policy, and assess community needs and existing resources before launching.
3. Design a weekly meeting format with large-group worship and teaching and small groups built on The Restoration Path, with clear group guidelines.
4. Plan how to recruit, screen, train, and support leaders, using background checks and other screening according to church policy.
5. Explain essential ministry policies: confidentiality and its limits, mandatory reporting, emergency and overdose response, child care, vulnerable adults, and safe conduct.
6. Build a verified referral list and plan partnerships with treatment providers, re-entry organizations, and correctional facilities, including volunteer clearance.
7. Create a simple ministry budget and resource plan, and a leader-care plan that prevents burnout.
8. Evaluate and sustain a ministry with simple, privacy-respecting measures, and prepare a Ministry Launch Plan and commissioning service.

Course Materials

• This student workbook
• A Bible (King James Version)
• Your notes, cards, and plans from RML 251–253, including your Restoration Path card and When to Get Help card
• A notebook or lined paper and a folder for your Ministry Launch Plan
• Pen or pencil (no devices are required; every activity has a paper version)
• A device with a word processor when available (optional)

Weekly Schedule

How You Will Be Graded

To pass this course: earn 70% or higher overall and attend at least 80% of sessions.

Classroom Covenant

• We begin and end each session in prayer. Participation in prayer is always welcome, never required.
• What is shared in class stays in class. We protect one another's stories.
• We speak with respect, listen without interrupting, and disagree with grace.
• We come prepared, do our own work, and ask for help when we need it.
• We follow all facility rules. Safety and security come first.
• We believe the best about one another and about what God can do.

Support & Accommodations

If reading, writing, vision, hearing, or any other need makes a part of this course harder, tell your instructor privately. Materials can be read aloud, enlarged, or completed orally. Missed sessions can be made up using the module pages. If you are transferred or released, your completed work stays on record and you can finish online.

Welcome

Welcome to the final course of the Recovery Ministry Leadership Certificate. You have walked The Restoration Path yourself; now you will learn how a church can open that path to others. This companion walks beside you with a weekly reading, five devotions for the days between sessions, and a Ministry Launch Quick Guide you can keep with your Bible. Remember throughout: a recovery ministry serves under pastoral authority, keeps people safe, and refers out often. Leaders are not clinicians. We point to Christ, walk alongside, and share the comfort we have received.

How to Use This Companion

• Read the weekly reading after each class session. It takes about 10 minutes.
• Reflect on the questions. These are for you; you do not have to turn them in.
• Meet with God through the five daily devotions between sessions.
• Keep the Quick Guide at the end to carry home after release.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.— Psalm 119:105 (KJV)