Support Groups

Because my idea of support groups was influenced by my personal experience of over 10 years with AA / NA groups, which left me very disappointed, I was initially quite confused about the usefulness or the scriptural basis of support groups. Then I read Ed Welch’s book, Crossroads, and I rejoiced so much that there were resources from the perspective of biblical counseling, that is centered on the gospel, designed specifically for support groups. We have translated this book into Romanian and are happy to use it, and in the meantime, we have discovered other useful materials and resources and most importantly biblical ones that we can use in the future.

There is a great need in the Sibiu area and in fact throughout Romania for biblical support groups, for both addicts and their relatives. As far as I know, and I know quite well the national Christian ministry in the field of addictions, there is not a single support group like this in all of Romania. I often spend precious time repeating the same information in individual biblical counseling meetings, which could easily be presented to several people at once during support groups, so that, during individual counseling sessions, we could work more specifically on each counselee’s situation. Addicts also receive information more easily and are often more open when other addicts share their experiences, the way God has changed them, and the hope that the gospel offered them than they are sometimes during individual counseling sessions.

I want to have two such support groups weekly, on various topics, and at least once a week an online group, and once a month a group at the County Psychiatric Hospital. I also plan to train someone who also is a counselor to hold a support group for family members of addicts, because this person has a teenage son who is addicted to drugs. Some of these groups I hope to be able to hold not only at the Church or at the MAMA Center, but also in bars or cafes because there is a great openness to such meetings.